Hampshire at War 1939-45 looks at the pivotal role Hampshire played during the Second World War, including principal details of the genesis for D-Day and how the Battle for Britain happened on a day by day basis. The author highlights the peoples experience of total war from the blitz in Portsmouth, Gosport and Southampton, along with raids throughout the county, not to mention the role played by the Royal Navy at sea and in the dockyards. As well as saluting the role of civilians who created and built Spitfires and Hurricanes, the book places a rightful spotlight on the role Hampshire's women played in the final victory.Hampshires major effort towards final victory arose from the towns and hamlets of the county. Training for the secret war and espionage took place in Beaulieu and the training for the Cockleshell Heroes took place around Southsea. Hampshires war involved the arrival of men and women from all over the world, but in particular from Canada and America with important cultural changes for everyone living there. When invasion threatened in 1940, a defence of Britain had to be organised and Hampshire's coast was particularly vulnerable. Details of how German troops would be resisted after landings in the Solent and along Hampshires coast are also explored.Hampshire at War 1939 - 1945 traces the progress of evacuating its children from vulnerable cities such as Southampton and Portsmouth, and records the experiences of the children themselves. But most importantly, Murray Rowlands provides the experience of living through the Second World War, as it happened.

The German Fleet at War relates the little-known history of the Kriegsmarine's surface fleet with a focus on the sixty-nine surface naval battles fought by Germany's major warships against the large warships of the British, French, American, Polish, Soviet, Norwegian and Greek navies. It emphasizes operational details but also paints a broad overview of the naval war. The book addresses the lack of information about the specifics of naval engagements in World War II and provides a database of naval engagements for comparison and analysis, but unlike most reference works, it has a continuous narrative and a theme. The result is a unique overview of the German and Allied navies at war that provides new appreciation of their activities and accomplishments.

Its been a State secret for more than seventy years. The official line in the UK has always been that it never happened but this new work challenges the assertion that no German force set foot on British soil during the Second World War (the Channel Islands excepted), on active military service. Churchills Last Wartime Secret reveals the remarkable story of a mid-war seaborne enemy raid on an Isle of Wight radar station. It describes the purpose and scope of the attack, the composition of the raiding German force and how it was immediately, and understandably, hushed-up by Winston Churchills wartime administration, in order to safeguard public morale. Circumventing the almost complete lack of official British archival documentation, the author relies on compelling and previously undisclosed firsthand evidence from Germany to underpin the books narrative and claims; thus distinguishing it from other tales of rumored seaborne enemy assaults on British soil during the 1939-45 conflict. After examining the outcome and repercussions of this astonishing incident, what emerges is an event of major symbolic significance in the annals of wartime history. Its been a State secret for more than seventy years. The official line in the UK has always been that it never happened but this new work challenges the assertion that no German force set foot on British soil during the Second World War (the Channel Islands excepted), on active military service.

This comprehensive account of the southern English county during WWII covers everything from the Dunkirk evacuations to the Battle of Britain and more. Located along the English Channel, the southeastern county of Kent played a significant role in the Second World War. This volume covers Kent’s many contributions—both civilian and military—throughout the conflict. The chronicle details how the Dover Patrol kept Allied shipping safe in the English Channel, as well as the preparation and aftermath of the Dunkirk evacuations of May 1940, with all of the vessels leaving from and returning to Kent ports and harbors. Kent’s numerous airfields were of vital importance during the Battle of Britain between July and October 1940. The Richborough camp, set up in 1939 at the old First World War Kitchener barracks, provided safe haven to thousands of German and Austrian Jewish refugees. This book includes never before published letters written to one of the camps residents during his stay there. Historian Tanya Wynn also discusses the county's military hospitals and pow camps, it’s Victorian Cross and George Medal winners, and the restricted areas that adorned the coast as the people of Kent battened down the hatches, knowing that they were the very first line of defense in case of a German invasion.

This volume provides Compton Hall's pictorial history of submarine warfare in World War II.

York has often been overlooked when it comes to Britain’s wartime experience. The city was not though to have many industries of great wartime importance and it was not a part of the initial evacuation scheme. Yet this does not accurately reflect the wartime contributions of the city, as several of its large confectionary factories were converted to wartime use, while it was also a key rail hub, forming a vital link in the national network. Unbeknownst to the people of the city, York had been selected as the latest target in the Luftwaffe’s Baedeker Raids. In a short, sharp, blitz raid in the early hours of 29 April 1942, more than 3,000 houses were destroyed or damaged and almost 100 people killed while others were left seriously injured. Wartime York had a particularly close connection with the RAF as the city was surrounded by airbases. People became very used to seeing the uniforms of men and women from Bomber Command and the city was to prove very popular with airmen seeking relaxation. Places such as Betty’s Bar became infamous as airmen of almost every Allied nationality came to blew off steam. The nearby presence of the airfields also meant that the people of York and the surrounding area were witnesses to tragedies when aircraft crashed on their return to the bases.