Holding the small island of Malta, the British Empire’s strategic centerpiece in the Mediterranean Sea, was critical to the Allied cause in World War II. Taking it was essential for Axis victory. German forces laid siege to the island beginning in June 1940—it soon became the most bombed place on Earth. By August 1942, with supplies running out, Malta was in dire need of relief. In what was then the largest Royal Navy force yet assembled in the war, two battleships, three aircraft carriers, seven light cruisers, 32 destroyers and a fleet of transports were mustered from far-flung theaters. This day-by-day account of Operation Pedestal chronicles the planning, execution and climactic battle that saw only five of 14 merchant ships make it to Valletta, all but one heavily damaged.

Early in World War II, fifty obsolete US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy in return for a 99-year lease British bases in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Newfoundland. Though they were obsolete and far from ideal, they played a vital role in the Royal Navy's campaign. This is their complete story. Topics covered include the background to the acquisition of the ships - the Battle of the Atlantic; their specification and design, and modifications in RN service; operations and achievements, such as the St Nazaire Raid and finally, losses and accidents. This authoritative text is supported by many contemporary photographs and twenty eight detailed plans prepared specially for this book.

Welcome to The Grapes - a Northern pub full of warmth, good cheer and nicotine. Where the regulars ponder their lives, loves and who's been leaving fag ends in the blocked urinals.

Season One
Does Melanie ever find her real dad? Will Jean get to go to Crete? Who did father Janice's baby? Can crime crack itself? Will Eddie get to share his concern over the installation of temporary traffic lights on Samuel Street? Does anyone give a toss? No.

Season Two
There seems to be romance in the air, Tanya can pull a good pint but can she pull the landlord? Ken's got other things on his mind though, the pub's on its arse and the brewery are on his back. There's talk of them turning it into a fun pub but they'd have to evict Old Tommy first and he's going nowhere.

Welcome to The Grapes - a Northern pub of warmth, good cheer and nicotine. Where the regulars ponder their lives, loves and who's been leaving fag ends in the blocked urinals.

Will Ken the landlord ever find out? Does Melanie ever find her real Dad? Will Jean get to go to Crete? Who did father Janice's baby? Can crime crack itself? Will Eddie get to share his concern over the installation of temporary traffic lights on Samuel Street?

Does anybody give a toss? No!

The revolutionary battleship Dreadnought of 1906 brought together in one package the new technology of oil fired boilers and steam turbines, and all-big-gun armament; in doing so she rendered all other capital ships then afloat completely obsolete. Ten years later the V&W Class did to destroyers what the dreadnoughts had done to battleships: they set a completely new and higher standard of technology and were a cut above anything that had come before. They were, however, less revolutionary than evolutionary and in this new book John Henshaw takes the reader through all the developmental stages with a detailed history of the step-by-step lessons that were learnt, not all of which were fortuitous. In one package the Royal Navy finally acquired a hull that possessed not just good sea-keeping capability but one that was able to carry heavier armament without any adverse effects. Range and speed were commensurate with their size while the super-firing guns, fore and aft, could be deployed in all weathers for a four-gun broadside. The V & W design set the trend for all destroyer design for the next two decades and, indeed, the basic layout of destroyers stayed the same long beyond that. The formula of a raised foredeck and super-firing guns fore and aft continued in the Royal Navy until the Battle Class of 1944 and in the United States Navy until the Fletcher Class of 1943. That the V & Ws served on through World War II in various forms is a testament to the soundness of the basic concept, their adaptability and strength. The V stood for Venerable, because they certainly proved that, and W for Watershed, because they were truly a turning point in destroyer design. The narrative is superbly illustrated with forty-five detailed profile and deck plans, for which the author is so well known, of the principal early British destroyer types and illustrates all the V&Ws through to the end of World War II, including some conversions that were considered but never completed. The book also looks at the influence of the basic design on the destroyers of other navies. This new book, which will appeal both to naval historians and modelmakers, brings together under one cover a narrative that is comprehensive in its scope, well researched and elegantly supported with detailed line drawings and selected photographs for the period 1890-1945.

A Natural History Of The Bureaucrat, His Habitat, Feeding Habits, Protective Coloration, Fertility, Ubiquitous.

Powerful television drama based on a true story. Between 1963 and 1965, Ian Brady (Sean Harris) and Myra Hindley (Maxine Peake) abducted, sexually assaulted and brutally murdered five children, disposing of the bodies in shallow graves across Manchester's Saddleworth Moor. The chilling story is told from the view of Hindley's sister, Maureen Smith (Joanne Froggatt).

Three-part drama telling the true life story of the Liverpudlian singer and personality. Born Priscilla White, Cilla Black (Sheridan Smith) started off life as a secretarial typist, dreaming of one day making it in the glamourous world of showbusiness. When Bobby Willis (Aneurin Barnard) notices something in the young girl he pursues her with promises of the big time. With the help of renowned agent Brian Epstein (Ed Stoppard), Cilla becomes determined to make it as a big star but first she must make some sacrifices. Will it all be worth it?