Leaders collects in one place for the first time the remarkably personal and distinct stories from Pangbourne College of the courageous men and women in war and peace - accounts that are in danger of being forgotten today. Based on original research and neglected first-person accounts, it covers the period 1917-2020, with a particular emphasis on World War II, the Cold War, the Falklands War and contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Leaders documents the courageous and singular actions during a century of peacetime, as well as profiling the outstanding Second World War heroes Mike Cumberlege, David Smiley, and GTS 'Peter' Gray. A chapter recounting amazing exploits in the world of international sport adds a separate dimension to the book. Authored by a former foreign correspondent and leading corporate writer, with a Foreword by a leading naval historian, the book has a global dimension and perspective. This is reinforced by the author's years of investigatory work, his experience covering wars and his long-standing knowledge and understanding of the context.

The stories in this collection have slipped on a sunbeam, skidded on the dew and sprinted fast as a fox to be here with you. Of course, they're true, puffed on to the page with a hint of lavender and a gust of sage. They tell of Sussex: its sparkling seas; chalk giants; wise witches and crossdressing smugglers. Once you've heard them, you'll know that when leaves skitter, it's Puck, the sprite of Sussex, fighting with his sister the Fairy Queen. When you hear laughter in the forest, it's Flint, the phantom highwayman making his escape, and when you run over the Downs, you'll remember they were shaped by the Devil's buttocks. These tales - specially chosen for the enjoyment of 7- to 11-year-old readers - sparkle with magic and explode with adventure. Not only will children love to read them, or listen to them being read, these stories will also stimulate an interest in the county and help children engage with their own surroundings.

This first-ever biography of of Lt. Cdr. Mike Cumberlege DSO & Bar, Greek Medal of Honour, murdered in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Feb/March 1945, recalls a man who was `truly Elizabethan in character-a combination of gaiety and solidity and sensitiveness and poetry with daring and adventurousness-and great courage.' Cumberlege came from a maverick sea-going family. He was highly resourceful and lived by his wits, skippering ocean-going yachts for wealthy Americans before the war. In 1936 he married Nancy; their relationship was close and, with the sea, forms a thread in the book. From 1940 Cumberlege and served in undercover roles in the Royal Navy in Marseilles and Cape Verde and was on the staff of General de Gaulle in London. Posted to Egypt in 1941 in the SOE, he formed a para-naval force of fishing vessels, took part in fighting in Greece, attacked the Corinth Canal, escaped from Crete, was wounded and returned three times to Crete clandestinely. On a second operation to destroy the Corinth Canal in 1943 he was captured. Tortured in Mauthausen concentration camp, he was transferred to Sachsenhausen and spent 21 months in solitary confinement. The book contains unique material gathered from the family and from well-wishers in places as far apart as Ukraine, Australia and the USA.