The RAF Halton Apprenticeship Scheme has a deserved reputation for excellence. The brainchild of MRAF Hugh Trenchard, the founder of the Royal Air Force, it took the 'traditional' idea of an apprenticeship and interpreted it in a novel way. It allowed teenage boys from any social background or geography to learn a technical trade that would equip them for their future lives, within and beyond the RAF. It also gave the best an opportunity to become pilots and break into the once public-school-dominated officer class. Of the 50,000 boys trained as apprentices, seventeen won the Sword of Honour at Cranwell, and more than 1,200 were commissioned with 110 achieving Air Rank. Eighteen have been knighted, with well over 1,000 others being honoured at various levels of state. More than a hundred Halton Boys served as pilots in the Battle of Britain (and many more as airframe/engine fitters and armourers), including the mercurial Don Finlay, the former Olympic hurdler. Others like Gerry Blacklock and Pat Connolly flew bombers on perilous missions over Western Europe or took part in the famous 'Dams' Raid. Then there were the three men murdered for their part in the Great Escape, and those who battled and survived years as prisoners of the Japanese in the Far East. In the jet era, ex-apprentice Graham Hulse became an 'ace' in Korea, serving with an American fighter squadron, and Mike Hines went on to become OC 617 Squadron after having first flown operations during the Suez crisis. Others like Charles Owen became a pioneer commercial jet pilot, and Peter Goodwin had the misfortune of being captured in the first Gulf War and used as a human shield. Some forged successful careers beyond the RAF, like Lawrie Haynes, who was on the main board at Rolls-Royce and is now chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, and Eugene Borysuik - one of the many Polish apprentices trained at Halton, who enjoyed a successful career at GEC. And there were many others beyond air and ground crew including policemen, government officials and even bishops whose careers started with the Halton family. This is the story of Halton told through and by the boys who were there and who are still proud to be called 'Trenchard Brats'.

Twice a Hero is the true story of George Adamson, a young Irish patriot and rebel, who started his quest for freedom by joining the Irish Volunteers in Moate, Athlone, in the Irish Midlands. Then, on the promise of Home Rule for Ireland at the war's end, he enlisted in the British Army and fought in two forgotten conflicts, the Great War, Salonika & Palestine. Decorated for bravery, he returned home to Ireland after four years of war to find that Home Rule was not forthcoming. He rejoined the National Volunteers, which later changed its name to the Irish Republican Army. Now a wanted man, he went on the run, living off the land during the two years of the Irish War of Independence. Following the signing of a treaty with Britain, he joined the National Army with the rank of Commandant. During the Irish Civil War that followed he was promoted to Brigadier General in command of the Midland Division of the Irish Army. His life came to an end when he was murdered on a street in Athlone. He died from his wounds on his 25th birthday. The title of the book reflects the fact that he was a decorated hero in the Great War and again in the Irish War of Independence, where he was promoted to Brigadier General in the Irish Army. The book cover reflects the end of 700 years of conflict as the Irish National flag was raised over Athlone Castle, a national monument to, and a concrete symbol of, the centuries of tyrannical imperial rule. My research uncovered the history of conflict, ethnic cleansing and oppression denied to me by the educational system in Ireland during my school days. I would encourage my fellow Irishmen, the Irish of the great Diaspora and in particular Irish/Americans, to read the book and be proud of their ancestors who fought and died for the freedom and prosperity that Ireland now enjoys.

A second collection of incredible and heart-warming canine stories from around the world, from the bestselling author of The Dog That Saved My Life.

Animals have accompanied man into battle since war first waged. Since those times, many stories have been told of the bears, camels, cats, dolphins, monkeys, mules, rats and other creatures that have served with the Armed Forces during both world wars and beyond. The four stories in this book represent the devotion and unquestioning loyalty of the canine companion in the darkest days of war.

From the stub-tailed Bull Terrier that became a hero of the First World War, and the most decorated dog in history, after his bravery in the trenches of Flanders, to the remarkable loyalty of an Iraqi stray dog who attached himself to British troops in North Port and then patrolled their camp every night, protecting them from being attacked by the vicious packs of dogs living in the desert, each is an incredible tale of wartime bravery as well as an example of inspiring commitment and courage.

Eighty years after the Battle of Britain this vivid and dramatic book tells the story, in their own words, of six brave young men who fought courageously in the skies above England to prevent Hitler's invasion of Britain. This thin blue line in their Hurricanes and Spitfires were the 'few' to whom Churchill said the nation owed so much. It was, as one pilot's wife put it 'a queer, golden time', when men in their teens and twenties fought each other in a brutal but still gentlemanly conflict. At stake was the very future of Britain. The six men in this sympathetic but honest portrayal were from vastly contrasting backgrounds. Geoffrey Page, shot down in his Hurricane and the victim of horrendous burns, was a founder member of the legendary Guinea Pig Club. Bob Doe, also badly injured, was one of the most successful fighter aces but remained unheralded and out of the public eye. Cyril Bamberger rose from humble origins as a Sergeant Pilot to win a DFC and bar. Joseph Slagowski was one of the small band of heroic Polish pilots whose contribution to the Battle, as this book shows, remains scandalously undervalued. Former Daily Telegraph journalist Geoffrey Myers, Intelligence Officer in a squadron that was hopelessly and fatally led, wrote eloquent contemporaneous letters to his family, extracts of which are published here for the first time. Not all the heroes fought for Britain. Unusually this book includes the parallel but contrasting story of Luftwaffe pilot Ulrich Steinhilper, shot down and captured over Kent and destined to become one of the greatest escapers of World War II, evading British and Canadian prison camp guards five times. This unique and moving record throws light on the long-term consequences of the Battle of Britain on the lives of the young pilots in the frontline. These insightful portraits illuminate the ineradicable marks that one momentous battle made on the brave participants of both sides. Just a few months of brutal aerial combat changed their lives and history forever. As Geoffrey Page said: 'I still find it hard to take when children point at me because of my burnt face and hands. They are my enemies now, not the Germans.'

When 3 Para began their assault under cover of darkness on Mount Longdon in June 1982, nobody knew what to expect. The three platoons of B Company each approached the mountain silently, treading carefully through a series of defensive minefields. But following an explosion, fighting quickly escalated with shocking speed and severity, resulting in some of the bloodiest close hand fighting, terrible injuries and shocking loss of life experienced by British troops since the Korean war.

Forty years on, James O'Connell - who fought there and was injured himself - recreates this bloody battle in a gut-wrenching 360 degree classic.

Frustrated by highly inaccurate books about the battle, O'Connell decided to set the record straight. He revisited the Falkland's five times with comrades and Argentine soldiers and literally walked through the battle with them, step-by-step, creating an unprecedented masterpiece of immersive military publishing.

Combined with rare access to the Battalion's records and radio logs, the resulting book is the last word in Mount Longdon, and might be the most harrowingly realistic description of modern warfare you will ever read.

An incredible tale of one man's adversity and defiance, for readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz. Horace Greasley escaped over 200 times from a notorious German prison camp to see the girl he loved. This is his incredible true story. A Sunday Times Bestseller - over 60,000 copies sold. Even in the most horrifying places on earth, hope still lingers in the darkness, waiting for the opportunity to take flight. When war was declared Horace Greasley was just twenty-years old. After seven weeks' training with the 2/5th Battalion, the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, Horace found himself facing the might of the German Army in a muddy field south of Cherbourg, in northern France, with just thirty rounds in his ammunition pouch. Horace's war didn't last long. . . On 25 May 1940 he was taken prisoner and so began the harrowing journey to a prisoner-of-war camp in Poland. Those who survived the gruelling ten-week march to the camp were left broken and exhausted, all chance of escape seemingly extinguished. But when Horace met Rosa, the daughter of one of his captors, his story changed; fate, it seemed, had thrown him a lifeline. Horace risked everything in order to steal out of the camp to see his love, bringing back supplies for his fellow prisoners. In doing so he offered hope to his comrades, and defiance to one of the most brutal regimes in history.

BOOK TWO IN THE SERIES, SURVIVE TO FIGHT, IS AVAILABLE NOW! THE FIRST IN A BRAND NEW SERIES FROM SAS: WHO DARES WINS STAR. A country in turmoil. A rescue mission gone wrong. A hero unlike any other fighting to save a broken world. Matt 'Mace' Mason is deployed on a deniable SAS mission in war-torn Yemen, becoming embroiled in a hostage rescue that goes terribly wrong. Pulling at the strings of the local political scene is not only the local warlord who is destined to become Mace's nemesis, General Ruak Shahlai, but hardbitten American arms dealer Erica Atkins, who controls a whole international network to her advantage. As well as his own team, Mace has to work, initially unwillingly, with female CIA Agent (and Islamic scholar) Redford. Together they will need to prevent an attack that would spark a regional war and create the largest environmental disaster the world has ever seen. DON'T MISS THE FIRST IN THE NEW MATT MASON SERIES FROM AN AUTHOR WHO HAS BEEN THERE AND DONE IT ALL, BILLY BILLINGHAM. About the Author Billy Billingham spent 17 years in the SAS. He was responsible for planning and executing strategic operations and training at the highest level in locations including Iraq, Afghanistan, South America and Africa, and has led countless hostage rescues. He later became a bodyguard to A list celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Sir Michael Caine, and Tom Cruise. Since 2015, Billy has been one of the lead presenters on the popular Channel Four series SAS: Who Dares Wins.

The Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria (FAR), one of the most powerful and little-publicised air forces in the Americas, had Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) fighters as its main fighter aircraft, both in the defence of Cuban territory against the threat of US invasion and in support of Cuban leader's efforts to export their revolutionary ideals. The book casts an unprecedented look at the introduction and utilisation of all MiG models in Cuban service, since their arrival before the Cuban Missile Crisis, to current times, going through all of the conflicts in which Cuba was involved, from incidents with the Dominican Republic ('Operacion Pico') and the Bahamas, to its entanglements in wars in Vietnam, Syria, Guinea, Southern Yemen, Angola, Ethiopia and Nicaragua and the recent apprehension of 'export goods' to North Korea in the Panama Canal. The story of military aviation in Cuba before the arrival of the MiGs is also briefly presented, from the beginning of their air corps and its role in the political crises that affected the country, in Castro's Revolution and the ill-fated attempted invasion at the Bay of Pigs, contextualising the times when they happened. This is the result of extensive research using Cuban publications, documents, interviews with former pilots, historians and contributions by veteran Cuban airmen both in exile and residing in their homeland. The book is richly illustrated with over 170 photographs and colour profiles detailing the history of all twenty models of MiG fighters operated by Cuba from 1962 to the present.

'Both inspiring and disturbing, Sex Cult Nun unravels Jones' complicated upbringing, the trauma she endured as a result and her eventual path to liberation.' TIME 'A moving story about family, courage, religious oppression, and more, and readers will have their heads spinning.' SHONDALAND 'Her gripping memoir-like Educated-takes you inside a disturbing childhood and leaves you marvelling at the resilience of the human spirit' PEOPLE MAGAZINE Faith Jones was raised to be part of an elite army preparing for the End Times. Isolated on a farm in Macau, she practised devotions and read letters of prophecy written by her grandfather, the leader of the now infamous cult, The Children of God. A direct decedent of the founding family, Faith featured in international media coverage - she was celebrated as extraordinary and then published doubly as a sharp reminder that she was not. With indomitable grit, Faith created a world of her own, pilfering books and educating herself in secret. At the age of 23, she escaped, abandoning her history, her inheritance and her legacy. While her childhood friends succumbed to addiction, suicide and prostitution, Faith fought her way into Georgetown University and went on to establish a successful career in law. Sex Cult Nun is an enthralling coming-of-age story that gives fascinating insight into the closed and complex world of extreme belief. Exploring the issues of psychological and physical control, Faith draws on her hard-won insight to interrogate the binaries of good and evil, and shed light on the insidiousness of oppression. At its heart, this extraordinary story is a stark warning about the consequences of surrendering our rights and responsibilities.

'An unpretentious Aussie's experiences in one of the most ramshackle and soul-destroying military organisations on Earth.' COURIER-MAIL A real-life boy's own adventure, MARCHING WITH THE DEVIL is a hell-raising account of five years in the infamous French Foreign Legion. 'In 1894 a French Foreign Legion General said, "Legionnaires, vous etes faits pour mourir, je vous envoie la ou on meurt." Legionnaires, you are made for dying, I will send you where you can die. When I was in my mid-teens and first read those words they were powerful and confronting. I read them as a challenge and an invitation. The words, and the feelings they evoked, remained with me until I was ready. On 20 May 1988, I enlisted in the French Foreign Legion.' Searching for something he wasn't finding in his life in Australia, David Mason joined the French Foreign Legion. This is a frank account of how Mason came first in basic training, trained other Legionnaires, went to Africa, did sniper, commando and medic training and took part in two operations, both in the Republic of Djibouti where a civil war nearly crippled the nation. It tells of his daily life in the Legion, in the training regiment, in Africa and with the Legion's Parachute Regiment. But more than this: it reveals his disillusionment, frustration and disappointment with the much mythologised Legion, and how the Legion today is not what it seems - or could be. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION. 'Remarkable' THE AGE

A Few Bad Men is the incredible true story of an elite team of U.S. Marines set up to take the fall for Afghanistan war crimes they did not commit-and their leader who fought for the redemption of his men. Ambushed in Afghanistan and betrayed by their own leaders-these elite Marines fought for their lives again, back home. A cross between A Few Good Men and American Sniper, this is the true story of an elite Marine special operations unit bombed by an IED and shot at during an Afghanistan ambush. The Marine Commandos were falsely accused of gunning down innocent Afghan civilians following the ambush. The unit's leader, Maj. Fred Galvin, was summarily relieved of duty and his unit was booted from the combat zone. They were condemned by everyone, from the Afghan president to American generals. When Fox Company returned to America, Galvin and his captain were the targets of the first Court of Inquiry in the Marines in fifty years. "Fred Galvin is the real deal. His dramatic retelling of his experience as commander of Fox Company reads like a thriller, full of twists and turns, filled with unassuming heroes and deceitful villains." - Rob Lorenz, Producer/Director, American Sniper, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Mystic River, The Marksman "Fred Galvin has written a real 'page turner' that demonstrates how politics permeates The Pentagon and posts abroad...I highly recommend this book." - J.D. Hayworth, U.S. House of Representatives (Arizona), TV/Radio Host "This book is a must-read for every American who wants to know why, after twenty long years in Afghanistan, we did not win." - Jessie Jane Duff, USMC, Analyst, CNN and FOX "A Few Bad Men is a must-read story of valor, betrayal, and keeping the Marines' honor clean." - Jed Babbin, USAF Judge Advocate, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Journalist, National Review, Washington Post "An incredible account and history of the fighting spirit of the 'Marine Raiders' under fire and the relentless fourteen-year campaign by their leader to clear their names." - Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, U.S. Army (Ret.), Deputy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command

It was early Cold War days when 17-year-old David Eagles applied to the Fleet Air Arm hoping to be a fighter pilot for his national service. He little imagined the career that would follow. After flying training with the US Navy and Australian Fleet Air Arm, he settled into Fleet Air Arm fighter pilot life. He progressed through Naval Test Pilot duties - where he was forced to eject from a Buccaneer during catapult launch trials - before joining British Aerospace and playing a major part in the cockpit design and flight-testing of the RAF's first fly-by-wire and swing-wing aircraft, the Panavia Tornado. His other experiences include ditching a Firefly into the sea and the near loss of the first British Tornado prototype after a bird strike. Finally, after 6,000 flying hours in sixty different types of aircraft, Eagles finished his career by making the first flight of the EAP, the technology demonstrator for the new Eurofighter Typhoon. Vividly illustrated with photographs, documents and plans, this is a fascinating memoir of naval-flying and test-flying some of the world's most iconic fighters.

It is 1941, and the German High Command has sent General Irwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps to bolster the faltering Italian ground forces in North Africa and take over the beleaguered fortress of Tobruk. The defenders hang on grimly, but prisoners are taken on both sides in the ebb and flow of battle. In Greece and Crete, the reverse occurs; commonwealth forces are overwhelmed by the might of the Wermacht, and many fall into the hands of the Germans. Many of the Australian and New Zealand prisoners eventually find themselves incarcerated in Campo 57, Gruppignano in north east Italy, under the iron fist of the notorious Colonel Calcaterra of the Caribinieri. Unbroken is the true story of Australian POWs, their capture, their attempted escapes and their ultimate liberation.

"Another Man's Shoes" is a gripping first-hand account of a Norwegian scientist's escape from German custody during the Second World War after his arrest for spying. Written just after the war, Sven Somme vividly describes his 200-mile trek across the mountains, pursued by German soldiers, in a bid to reach Sweden and freedom in 1944. Sixty years later, his daughter Ellie set out on foot with her sister to retrace their father's flight from Nazi-occupied Norway, meeting some of the people who helped him along the way. She recounts the emotional moment when a pair of her father's shoes, exchanged for mountain boots, were returned to her by one family who sheltered him along the way and pays special tribute to her uncle Iacob who was also arrested and later executed.

Back in print after 50 years, this book was the first written chronicle of the evacuation of Dunkirk published by a participant. Written in a modernist style reminiscent of Gertrude Stein, it has been hailed as a unique piece of battle literature. Absorbing, affecting, and often humorous, the account juxtaposes the terrifying aerial bombardment on the beach at Dunkirk with the surreal calm of the England to which the survivors returned. Additional material includes excerpts from Gwyne-Brown's proposal for a book about the London Blitz.

'A reminder that every childhood is different, and some are jaw-droppingly, mind-bendingly, heart-wrenchingly different.' - Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate Deng Adut was six years old when war came to his village in South Sudan. Taken from his mother, he was conscripted into the Sudanese People's Liberation Army. He was taught to use an AK-47 and sent into battle. Shot in the back, plagued by illness and the relentless brutality of war, Deng's future was bleak. A child soldier must kill or be killed. But, after five years, he was rescued by his brother John and, miraculously, they became the third Sudanese family resettled in Australia. Songs of a War Boy is the inspirational memoir of a young man who has overcome unthinkable adversity to become a lawyer, refugee advocate and NSW Australian of the Year. It is also an important reminder of the power of compassion. Content warning: Parts of this book contain confronting material that might cause distress to some readers. For ages 12+

A former senior mujahidin figure and an ex-counter-terrorism analyst cooperating to write a book on the history and legacy of Arab-Afghan fighters in Afghanistan is a remarkable and improbable undertaking. Yet this is what Mustafa Hamid, aka Abu Walid al-Masri, and Leah Farrall have achieved with the publication of their ground-breaking work. The result of thousands of hours of discussions over several years, The Arabs at War in Afghanistan offers significant new insights into the history of many of today's militant Salafi groups and movements. By revealing the real origins of the Taliban and al-Qaeda and the jostling among the various jihadi groups, this account not only challenges conventional wisdom, but also raises uncomfortable questions as to how events from this important period have been so badly misconstrued.

Grenadier Guards, An Account of Operations 1996-2015, covers Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. It provides a detailed narrative at Battle Group, Company, Operating and Mentoring Liaison Teams and specialist Platoon levels of the role played by the Grenadier Guards in these challenging security environments. Each theatre of operation is introduced by a detailed political analysis to underscore the complexities of the situations commanders at all levels found themselves in. Illustrated through with 55 photos, 43 detailed maps and 15 charts.

Thomas Riha vanished on March 15, 1969, sparking a mystery that lives on 50 years later.A native of Prague, Czechoslovakia, Riha was a popular teacher at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a handsome man, with thick, graying hair and a wry smile. After his disappearance, the FBI and the CIA told local law enforcement and university officials that Riha was alive and well and had left Boulder to get away from his wife. But, as Eileen Welsome convincingly argues, Riha was not alive and well at all. A woman named Galya Tannenbaum, she concludes, had murdered him. Galya-a mother of four, a talented artist, and an FBI informant-allegedly went on to murder two more people in Denver as the trail to find Riha ran cold. Her weapon of choice? Cyanide. Galya was a chameleon, able to deceive businessmen and experienced investigators alike. But she had an Achilles' heel: she couldn't spell. She consistently misspelled words, such as "concider" and "extreemly." For the first time, Galya's signature misspellings are linked to documents once thought to be written by Riha and two other murder victims, as Welsome reexamines the facts and evidence of the case. She argues that these misspellings prove that Galya forged the documents and committed other murders. Her conclusion is buttressed by a wealth of additional information from police reports, depositions, and court testimony. During the Cold War era, the Riha case had an extraordinary ripple effect that reached even the highest levels of government. When the local district attorney in Colorado threatened to subpoena intelligence officials to find out who was behind the "alive and well" rumors, the CIA's representative in Denver claimed the information originated with the FBI. Director J. Edgar Hoover was infuriated by this assertion and actually cut off relations with the CIA. Presenting a compelling cast of characters in an era of intrigue and with astounding attention to detail, Eileen Welsome demonstrates why Galya Tannenbaum's alleged crimes continue to fascinate-even as her motivations remain mysterious.

Thomas Pearson, a country parson's son, was commissioned in the 23rd Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers, in 1796. In a career spanning 47 years he fought on three continents, was wounded five times, received two battlefield promotions and achieved the rank of general.Fix Bayonets! follows this hard-biting soldier in the deserts of Egypt, the dikes of the Netherlands, the jungles of the West Indies, the mountains of Spain and the wilderness of America. Through Pearson's true-life adventures we learn about war, wine, women and song in a fascinating epoch and meet a cast of famous and infamous characters, including King George III, Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, James Madison, Winfield Scott, Marichal Soult, Lord Nelson and Major General William ("Auld Grog Willie") Stewart.The centrepiece is a detailed account of the bloody battle of Albuera in 1811. Albuera was the high point of Pearson's career he went into it as a junior major in his brigade and came out as the brigade commander because he was the only officer above the rank of captain still standing.

Trunk Monkeys: The Life of a Contract Soldier in Iraq tells the true story of operators from a private military contractor working in Iraq shortly after the Gulf War. From the perspective of grizzled veteran Lewis Steiner who had left the British Army to join the gold rush in the living hell that was war-torn Iraq, Steiner grew disillusioned about the declining situation in the country as he believed that the joint US and UK invasion had made things far worse. This fascinating and often extremely violent book encompasses the highs and lows of operating throughout the country from Basra in the south up to Mosul in the north. Steiner recounts of friends lost due to negligence and poor planning to the realities of conducting a private war surrounded by civilians who might be the enemy. Ultimately injured in an incident that left two dead, Steiner decides to soldier on due to a misguided sense of duty. Armed with his belt-fed SAW machine gun, Steiner accepted a contract located near Tikrit. The missions rapidly become a death sentence to many of the contract soldiers and dogs of war. In some cases, these missions were pointless, costing men, vehicles and the sanity of brothers in arms. Steiner was in the thick of it from dodging enemy ambushes to taking out a suicide bomber and narrowly escaping death in 'Sniper Alley' collecting cranberry sauce for the US forces on Thanksgiving Day. With the pedal to the metal, his Humvee attracted the unwelcome attention of insurgents who tried to blow him up with RPGs. Forget the fictionalised works of Andy McNab, Tom Clancy and Chris Ryan: this is the real deal. This is a firsthand account of the men who decide to pay the ultimate price, but be warned, this tells the real story that the Government does not want you to know.