Stephen Wynn – författare

Englandspiel Nordpol, or Operation North Pole, was a successful Second World War counterintelligence operation conducted by Germany's military intelligence (the Abwehr) between 1942 and 1944.On the night of 6-7 November 1941 two SOE agents, Huub Lauwers and Thys Taconis were parachuted into the Netherlands and dropped over Stegerveld, near Ommen. Lauwers was captured on 6 March 1942, whilst Taconis was captured 3 days later on 9 March. Lauwers was persuaded to send messages back to London by the Germans, in which he intentionally left out two security checks. This should have automatically sounded 'alarm bells' with those who received the messages, but for some inexplicable reason, it did not. Whether this was just a genuine mistake or something more sinister has never been fully ascertained. After all, security checks were in place to ensure that messages received from agents in the field were genuine and were part of the SOE's own transmission protocol.   As no one in London realised messages being received from SOE agents in the Netherlands were being sent under the control and direction of German military intelligence, more and more agents and equipment followed unabated for more than 18 months. Of the 54 SOE agents sent to the Netherlands from England during Operation North Pole, 50 died or were executed whilst being held prisoner by the Germans.

Stalag Luft lll was where Germany sent all its habitual Allied escapers, and the first British and Commonwealth POWs arrived there on 11 April 1942.The following year, on 29 October, what became known as The Wooden Horse Escape took place – the name deriving from the use of a gymnastic vaulting horse to cover the fact that a tunnel was being dug underneath. The escape was devised by Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams and Lieutenant Richard Michael Codner. Joined by Pilot Officer Oliver Philpot, all three men escaped and made it safely back to England. The escape inspired others and, five months later, on the evening of 24/25 March 1944, what became known as the Great Escape took place.The intention was to break out more than 200 British and Allied POWs, but a combination of tunnel collapses, a nearby Allied air raid and the discovery of the tunnel exit meant only 76 escapees made it out. Only 3 made it back to the UK, with 73 being recaptured and 50 of those being murdered by the Gestapo on Hitler’s orders.Both escapes were made famous first by books and then even more famous by their respective films, and although not entirely accurate, each ensured that the stories told would reach a worldwide audience.

The Battle of Itter Castle was undoubtedly one of the strangest events of the Second World War, being one of only two occasions during the war in which Americans and Germans fought side by side.The castle was seized by the Nazis on 7 February 1943, on the direct orders of Heinrich Himmler, and in just ten weeks was changed into a five-star prison for a number of high-ranking French dignitaries, both civilian and military.In the final days of the war, in May 1945, with the castle's German guards having deserted their posts and an attack by SS units imminent, those inside the castle realised they needed help. Having sent out two men to try to make contact with American forces, it was then a case of sit and wait, not knowing if they had been successful in their task or had been captured and killed by the SS.Help eventually arrived in the shape of United States Army Captain John C. "Jack" Lee, his tank and a handful of men, along with German Wehrmacht officer Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl, and some of his men. Although happy that their 'prayers' had been answered and help had arrived, the French dignitaries could not hide their disappointment at such a small force of rescuers.The subsequent battle started early on the morning of Saturday, 5 May, and continued until mid-afternoon when a larger American force arrived and defeated the remaining SS forces. The victory came at a price for Major Gangl, who was the only one of the defenders to lose his life in the fighting.

Walter Tull would have been a remarkable individual no matter when he had been born, but to achieve what he did, during the time that he did, makes him even more remarkable. He was an orphan at just six years of age, and despite not wanting to, his step mother, Clara, had no choice but to place him and his elder brother, Edward, in to a children's home in the East End of London. As neither Walter or Edward had ever travelled outside of Folkestone before, the upheaval must have come as quite a shock. Two years after entering the home, Walter and Edward were split up when Edward was adopted and went to live in Glasgow.Walter's sporting prowess saw him play for top local amateur side, Clapton Football club, signing for them in 1908, but it was to be a short lived affair, as by the following year he had signed as a professional for the prestigious Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, making his first team debut against Manchester United.In October 1911 Walter was transferred to Northampton Town Football Club, where he would go on to play over one hundred first team games, before the First World War brought a premature end to his career as a professional footballer. With the outbreak of war, Walter wasted no time enlisting in the British Army, initially as a Private in the newly formed 17th (Football) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. Further promotions followed and in no time at all he had reached the rank of Sergeant.He was put forward for a commission and passed out as a 2nd Lieutenant on 29 May 1917. He went on to become the first black officer in the British Army to lead white troops in to battle, and was fondly regarded by the men who served under him.Walter was killed in action whilst leading his men in a counter attack against German defensive positions on Monday 25 March 1918. He died a hero. He was well liked and respected by all who knew him. Like many men of his generation his life was cut short for the greater good whilst in the service of his country, so that others might prevail.

Until the late 1930s, Singapore was noted as a popular stop-off point for wealthy European travellers on their way to countries such as Australia and New Zealand. All of that changed with the outbreak of the Second World War.Despite Major-General William Dobbie, the General Officer Commanding Malaya between 8 November 1935 and August 1939, warning that Singapore could be conquered by the Japanese, his concerns went unheeded. As far as the British authorities were concerned, Singapore was an impregnable fortress.There were many reasons which led to the fall of Singapore. The apparent arrogance of some senior British military personnel and politicians; a misconception that Japanese soldiers were inferior to their American and Commonwealth counterparts; a belief that Japan would not militarily engage both America and Britain at the same time; and that as far as the Allies were concerned, victory in Europe was a priority over defeating the Japanese throughout Asia and the Pacific.Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942 and was then controlled by them for the next three years, a time in which Chinese civilians and Commonwealth soldiers were murdered at their hands, in such incidents as the Sook Ching massacre and the Burma Railway death march.Included in this account is one mans never before told story of his time as a PoW in Changi prison. The book explores how he miraculously survived the horrors of working on the Burma railway, only to be sent back to Changi, and reveals how the Japanese authorities held letters that his wife sent him for three years.Winston Churchill decided against a public enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the fall of Singapore, and no subsequent British Government has seen fit to change that decision. This remarkable book seeks to remedy that by using an array of sources to tell the fascinating and largely forgotten story of the fall of Singapore.

Chatham played a very important part in the nation's Great War effort. It was one of the British Royal Navy's three 'Manning Ports', with more than a third of the town's ships manned by men allocated to the Chatham Division. The war was only 6 weeks old when Chatham felt the affects of war for the first time. On 22 September 1914, three Royal Naval vessels from the Chatham Division, HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue, were sunk in quick succession by a German submarine, U-9. A total of 1,459 men lost their lives that day, 1,260 of whom were from the Chatham Division. Two months later, on 26 November, the battleship HMS Bulwark exploded and sunk whilst at anchor off of Sheerness on the Kent coast. There was a loss of 736 men, many of whom were from the Chatham area. On 18 August 1914, Private 6737 Walter Henry Smith, who was nineteen and serving with the 6th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, became the first person to be killed during wartime Chatham. He was on sentry duty with a colleague, who accidentally dropped his loaded rifle, discharging a bullet that strook Private Smith and killed him. It wasn't all doom and gloom, however.Winston Churchill, as the First Lord of the Admiralty, visited Chatham early on in the war, on 30 August 1914.On 18 September 1915, two German prisoners of war, Lieutenant Otto Thelen and Lieutenant Hans Keilback, escaped from Donnington Hall in Leicestershire. At first, it was believed they had escaped the country and were on their way back to Germany, but they were re-captured in Chatham four days later. By the end of the war, Chatham and the men who were stationed there had truly played their part in ensuring a historic Allied victory.

With the outbreak of the First World War, it was not surprising that a number of individuals who were of German decent, and who lived in Hartlepool and its surrounding areas, were rounded up and detained by the British military authorities, in the interests of both national security and for their own personal safety. They were held at the towns Stranton Ice Rink. Their numbers included the ex-German Consul for the Hartlepool's district as well as others who had been local residents of many years standing.The first soldier with connections to Hartlepool to be killed on foreign soil during the war, was Corporal 57561 John Robert Richardson, who was serving with the 54th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, when he was killed in action on 4 October 1914. He is buried at the Bergen Communal Cemetery at Mons.The war came to Hartlepool on the morning of Wednesday, 16 December 1914 in the shape of three vessels of the Imperial German Navy. By the time their attack was over, more than 1,100 artillery shells had landed on the town, killing 9 soldiers, 86 civilians and wounding a further 438. Amongst the dead was 29 year old Private 18/295 Theophilus Jones of the 18th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, making him the first British serviceman to be killed on British soil as a result of enemy action during the course of the First World War. Before the war was over, his brother Alfred, would also be killed, during fighting at the Battle of Arras, on 3 May 1917.By the time the war had ended, some 1700 men and women from Hartlepool and its surrounding areas had paid the ultimate price of having served their King and country.

Because of the geographical location of the Isle of Thanet, it was always going to play a part in the First World War. For some wounded British and Commonwealth troops returning from the fighting in France and Belgium, it was their first sight of England in months. The Isle of Thanet just happened to be on one of the routes German Zeppelins and Gotha Bombers took on their way to try and bomb London, which meant that parts of the district were always going to be vulnerable from a sudden an unexpected attack from the air. The Isle of Thanet not only provided thousands of men for service in the armed forces, but hundreds of men and women to serve in the Voluntary Aid Detachments that were greatly needed, not just throughout the Isle of Thanet, but all over Kent, to help deal with the steady influx of returning wounded soldiers from across the English Channel. Members of local Territorial units, the 4th Battalion, The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and the 3rd (Kent) Battalion, Royal Field Artillery, were quickly mobilized for war time service, during the early days of the war, suddenly making everything so very real for those concerned.Many of the districts Police Constables, were ex-servicemen, some of whom were still on the Army Reserve, they too were called up to once again go and serve with the colours. There was a great clamour across the country with everybody wanting to do their bit in what ever way they could, the people of the Isle of Thanet were no different. By the end of the war, they had certainly played their part in ensuring that the outcome was a victorious one, making the sadness of the ones who had paid the ultimate price, slightly easier to accept.

The Isle of Sheppey, although not a heavily populated area, played an extremely important part in Great Britain s war effort on the home front throughout the four and a half years of the First World War. In doing so, Sheppey provided protection for the Thames Estuary, the River Medway and the naval shipyards at both Sheerness and Chatham. Its defensive emplacements largely responsible for acquiring the nickname locally of the 'Barbed Wire Island.' One of its main claims to fame in relation to the years of the First World War would have undoubtedly been in relation to aviation. The island had been a hive of activity in relation to flying since the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Royal Aero Club came to Leysdown, making it the first airfield in England. What became Eastchurch Aerodrome was where the first pilots of the Royal Naval Air Service were trained, making it the first military flying school in the country. The Short brothers also had an aircraft factory at Eastchurch where they designed and built their own aircraft, some of which would be used during the First World War.The Isle of Sheppey also boasted another aircraft factory, which was situated at Shellbeach on the east coast of the island, an emergency landing strip at Harty on the south east side of the island, and a balloon station at Sheerness. The First World War certainly saw the Isle of Sheppey rise to the occasion and add to its long and illustrious military history. The part it played went a long way in enhancing the island s reputation of having a dogged determination to do what needed to be done for the greater good in the nations time of need.

The First World War was fought on two fronts. In a military sense it was fought on the battlefields throughout Europe, the Gallipoli peninsular and other such theatres of war, but on the Home Front it was the arduous efforts of women that kept the country running. Before the war women in the workplace were employed in such jobs as domestic service, clerical work, shop assistants, teachers or as barmaids. These jobs were nearly all undertaken by single women, as once they were married their job swiftly became that a of a wife, mother and home maker. The outbreak of the war changed all of that. Suddenly, women were catapulted into a whole new sphere of work that had previously been the sole domain of men. Women began to work in munitions factories, as nurses in military hospitals, bus drivers, mechanics, taxi drivers, as well as running homes and looking after children, all whilst worrying about their men folk who were away fighting a war in some foreign clime, not knowing if they were ever going to see them again.With the work came a wage, which provided women with financial freedom for the first time, as well as an element of independence and social integration, which they would have possibly never otherwise experienced.Women were not paid the same wages as men for doing the same work, but what they did earn was much more than they had ever earned before. This was also a time of the suffrage movement, who wanted more out of life for women. Accordingly, some of these women were reluctant to stop working, with some of these being sacked so that returning soldiers could have their pre-war jobs back. Whilst, tens of thousands of women were left widowed, many with young children to bring up. Despite all of this, one thing was for sure, for lots of women there was no going back to how things had been before the war. There was only going to be one way, and that was forward.

The question is, how did a once great nation that built an empire lose it all? From the Meiji Restoration in 1868, restoring Imperial rule under Emperor Meiji, until Japan's surrender at the end of the Second World War in 1945, the dream lasted a comparatively short period of time: seventy-seven years from beginning to end.Under Emperor Meiji's rule, Imperial Japan began a period of rapid industrialisation and militarisation, leading to its emergence as a world power and the establishment of a colonial empire. Economic and political turmoil in the early 1920s led Japan down the path of militarism, culminating in her conquest of large parts of the Asian and Pacific region. The beginning of this path can be traced back to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, when Japan's proposal for racial equality was supported and approved by the other members, but overruled by the American President, Woodrow Wilson. Was this rebuttal by the West, and in particular the United States, the moment that changed the course of history?During the empire's existence, Japan was involved in some sixteen conflicts, resulting in the occupation of numerous countries and islands throughout Asia and the Pacific regions. Thousands were under the emperor's control, not all of whom were treated as they should have been.The book culminates with the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which finally brought about Japan's surrender and the end of the war in Asia and the Pacific.

During the First World War, Etaples, a coastal fishing port situated on the North-East French coast, 15 miles south of Boulogne, was a base camp for the British Army, as well as a major medical facility for wounded and sick troops, including both British and Canadian hospitals. The Etaples camp also included a military cemetery, which by the end of the war contained the graves of more than 11,000 British and British Imperial soldiers.Soldiers crossing the Channel on their way to the battlefields of the Western Front found themselves at the Etaples camp, where they would stay an average of two weeks undergoing further training and drills. The training staff who oversaw them had a bad reputation for either their training methods or their lack of genuine military experience at the Front.The Etaples camp was also part of the route taken by men on their way back to the UK. Opportunities for leisure and recreation activities for soldiers away from the camp could be found in Etaples town. Officers, meanwhile, headed to the slightly more up-market beach resort of nearby Le Touquet, which was separated from the Etaples area by the river Canche, and accessible by a bridge. To ensure it remained 'just for officers,' pickets, usually members of the Military Police, were placed on the bridge to enforce its exclusiveness.The men's overall treatment, conditions in the camp and the poor relationship between them and members of the Military Police, was a cocktail for disaster, culminating in a number of incidents in September 1917, which have collectively become known as the Etaples Mutiny, the full story of which can be found in this book.

Walter Tull would have been a remarkable individual no matter when he had been born, but to achieve what he did, during the time that he did, makes him even more remarkable. He was an orphan at just six years of age, and despite not wanting to, his step mother, Clara, had no choice but to place him and his elder brother, Edward, in to a children's home in the East End of London. As neither Walter or Edward had ever travelled outside of Folkestone before, the upheaval must have come as quite a shock. Two years after entering the home, Walter and Edward were split up when Edward was adopted and went to live in Glasgow. Walter's sporting prowess saw him play for top local amateur side, Clapton Football club, signing for them in 1908, but it was to be a short lived affair, as by the following year he had signed as a professional for the prestigious Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, making his first team debut against Manchester United. In October 1911 Walter was transferred to Northampton Town Football Club, where he would go on to play over one hundred first team games, before the First World War brought a premature end to his career as a professional footballer.With the outbreak of war, Walter wasted no time enlisting in the British Army, initially as a Private in the newly formed 17th (Football) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment. Further promotions followed and in no time at all he had reached the rank of Sergeant. He was put forward for a commission and passed out as a 2nd Lieutenant on 29 May 1917\. He went on to become the first black officer in the British Army, to lead white troops in to battle, and was fondly regarded by the men who served under him. Walter was killed in action whilst leading his men in a counter attack against German defensive positions on Monday 25 March 1918\. He died a hero. He was well liked and respected by all who knew him. Like many men of his generation his life was cut short for the greater good whilst in the service of his country, so that others might prevail.

The City of London was always going to be an obvious target for German bombers during the Second World War. What better way for Nazi Germany to spread fear and panic amongst the British people than by attacking their capital city?Although not vastly populated in the same way that a bigger city or larger town would be, there were still enough people working there during the day for attacks on it to take their toll. The city's ancient and iconic buildings also bore the brunt of the German bombs, including churches designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire in 1666.The book looks at the effects of war on the City of London, including the damage caused by the 8 months of the Blitz between September 1940 and May 1941. The most devastating of the raids took place on 29 December 1940, with both incendiary and explosive bombs causing a firestorm so intense it was known as the Second Great Fire of London.It also looks at the bravery of the staff at St Bart's Hospital, which was one of the medical facilities that remained open during the course of the war. Other stories include the sterling work carried out by the City's civilian population and the different voluntary roles that they performed to help keep the city safe, including the Home Guard and the Fire Watchers, who spent their nights on the city's rooftops looking out for incendiary devices dropped by the German Luftwaffe.Despite the damage to its buildings and its population, by the end of the war the City of London was able to rise, like a phoenix, from the flames of destruction, ready to become the vibrant and flourishing borough that it is today.

Two days before the outbreak of the Second World War, the British government imposed blackout regulations across the nation as it was believed that in the event of war, Germany would very quickly begin conducting air raids on British towns and cities. The measures included covering windows in a dark, thick material at night to ensure no light could be seen from the outside. The use of vehicle headlamps was also prohibited, which resulted in a number of accidents and pedestrians being killed.These restrictions, enforced by Air Raid Precaution wardens and the police, were for the benefit and safety of the British public, but it also unintentionally made life a lot less dangerous for members of the criminal fraternity, allowing them to go about their regular night time activities with less chance of being caught by the police.As a result, during one week in February 1942, Gordon Cummins, RAF, was able to move around freely to carry out his attacks and make it back to his billet without being caught, or even stopped, by the police.The very restrictions put in place to protect the British public from German bombers actually placed women in danger from men such as Cummins: three of his victims were known prostitutes, as was at least one of the two women he is known to have attacked, but who survived.All of Cummins victims were attacked during the hours of darkness whilst the blackou? was in place, leading to him becoming known as the Blackout Ripper.

On 19 August 1942, an Allied amphibious raid took place on the coastal town of Dieppe in northern France, when a force of some 6,500 infantry soldiers, predominantly Canadian, and supported by a number of tanks were landed by ships of the Royal Navy under a blanket of cover provided by the RAF.The official reason for the raid was to capture the town's port, gather relevant intelligence, and destroy a number of coastal defences, port structures and other identified buildings. Allied authorities believed the raid would not only provide a much-needed boost to Allied morale, but also demonstrate to Stalin that Britain and the United States were serious in their commitment to opening a second front, in order to help the Soviet army fighting on the Eastern Front. It has also been suggested that the real reason for the raid was to capture a new German 4-rotor Enigma code machine, along with related code books.Whatever the reasons for the raid, it was an unmitigated failure. The German defences were more formidable than intelligence reports suggested they would be, Allied aerial and naval support was insufficient, meaning soldiers were unable to achieve their objectives, and most of the tanks failed to make it off the beaches. Indeed, due to the unexpected mounting casualties, the decision was taken to cut short the raid and evacuate the remaining men.

This book looks at the invaluable work carried out by members of the Air Transport Auxiliary during the course of the Second World War. Comprised of both men and women, it was a civilian organisation tasked with the collection and delivery of military aircraft from the factories to the RAF and Royal Navy stations. Men who undertook the role had to be exempt from having to undertake war time military service due to health or age, but other than that there were very few restrictions on who who could join, which accounted for one-legged, one-armed, one-eyed and short sighted pilots being accepted. Initially it was only men who were allowed to carry out this service, but by December 1939, British authorities were persuaded by Pauline Gower (the daughter of Sir Robert Vaughan Gower, a wartime Conservative MP, and an accomplished pilot in her own right), to establish a women's section of the Air Transport Auxiliary, of which she was put in charge. The first eight women were accepted in to the service, but it would not be until 1943 that its male and female members received the same pay.By the end of the war 147 different types of aircraft had been flown by the men and women of the Air Transport Auxiliary, including Spitfire fighter aircraft and Lancaster bombers. These brave pilots were not just British, but came from 28 Commonwealth and neutral countries and their efforts sometimes came at a price: 174 Air Transport Auxiliary pilots, both men and women, died during the war whilst flying for the service.

The Holocaust is without doubt one of the most abhorrent and despicable events not only of the Second World War, but of the twentieth century. What makes it even more staggering is that it was not perpetrated by just one individual, but by thousands of men and women who had become part of the Nazi ideology and belief that Jews were responsible for all of their woes.This book looks at the build up to the Second World War, from the time of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, as the Nazi Party rose to power in a country that was still struggling to recover politically, socially and financially from the aftermath of the First World War, whilst at the same time, through the enactment of a number of laws, making life extremely difficult for German Jews. Some saw the dangers ahead for Jews in Germany and did their best to get out, some managed to do so, but millions more did not.The book then moves on to look at a wartime Nazi Germany and how the dislike of the Jews had gone from painting the star of David on shop windows, to their mass murder in the thousands of concentration camp that were scattered throughout Germany. As well as the camps, it looks at some of those who were culpable for the atrocities that were carried out in the name of Nazism. Not all those who were murdered lost their lives in concentration camps. Some were killed in massacres, some in ghettos and some by the feared and hated Einsatzgruppen.

The Shetland Bus was not a bus, but the nickname of a special operations group that set up a route across the North Sea between Norway and the Shetland Islands, north-east of mainland Scotland. The first voyage was made by Norwegian sailors to help their compatriots in occupied Norway, but soon the Secret Intelligence Service and the Special Operations Executive asked if they would be prepared to carry cargoes of British agents and equipment, as well. Fourteen boats of different sizes were originally used, and Flemington House in Shetland was commandeered as the operation's HQ. The first official journey was carried out by the Norwegian fishing vessel the _Aksel_, which left Luna Ness on 30 August 1941 on route to Bremen in Norway.This book examines that first journey, as well later ones, and discusses the agents and operations which members of the Shetland Bus were involved in throughout the war. It also looks at the donation of 3 submarine chasers to the operation, made in October 1943, by the United States Navy. These torpedo-type boats were 110 ft long and very fast, allowing journey times between Shetland and Norway to be greatly reduced and carried out in greater safety.The story of the Shetland Bus would be nothing without the individuals involved, both the sailors of the boats and the agents who were carried between the two countries. These were very brave individuals who helped maintain an important lifeline to the beleaguered Norwegians. It also allowed British and Norwegian agents a way in to Norway so that they could liaise with the Norwegian Underground movement and carry out important missions against the German occupiers.

The raid on St Nazaire has gone down in history as one of the most daring commando raids of all time. Given the code name of Operation Chariot, it took place in the early hours of Saturday, 28 March 1942, and was a joint undertaking by the Royal Navy and British Commando units.The port at St Nazaire, which sits on the Loire estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, has a dry dock that was capable of accommodating some of Germany's biggest naval vessels, such as the _Bismarck_, or the _Tirpitz_. By putting the port out of action, any repairs or maintenance work that needed to be carried out would instead have to be undertaken back home at the German port of Bremerhaven. To do this, the German vessels would either have to navigate the waters of the English Channel or the North Sea, with both journeys potentially bringing them to the attention of the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy.A raiding force of 612 officers and men were assembled and dispatched from Falmouth to carry out the raid, sailing on board the obsolete British destroyer HMS _Campbeltown_, along with 18 Motor Launches. The idea was to ram the destroyer in to the outer gates of the dry dock at St Nazaire and put it out of action for as long as possible. The raid was a success, but came at a price: of those who set out, 169 were killed whilst a further 215 were captured. Only 3 Motor Launches and 228 men escaped and made the return journey back to the UK.Many brave men gave it their all during the action at St Nazaire, to such an extent that 89 of those who took part in the raid were awarded decorations for bravery, including 5 who were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Joachim Peiper held the rank of Obersturmbannfuhrer in Nazi Germany's fanatical Schutzstaffel, more commonly referred to as the SS. He spent the first two years of the war as an adjutant to the Reichsfuhrer of the Schutzstaffel, and leading member of the Nazi Party, Heinrich Himmler, where he would have witnessed at first hand the construction and implementation of numerous SS policies, many of which would have been in relation to ethnic cleansing and the Holocaust.In October 1941, having yearned for a chance at combat, he changed roles and became a commander in the Waffen-SS, although he still remained in regular contact with Himmler. As a member of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte, he saw service in the Soviet Union, Italy and Belgium.On 19 September 1943, he and his men were responsible for the murder of twenty-four Italian civilians at the village of Boves. On 17 December 1944, men under his command were responsible for what became known as the Malmedy massacre, involving the murder of eighty-four unarmed American prisoners of war. Following this, between 17 and 20 December, Peiper and his men were involved in the murder of a number of other American soldiers, as well as Belgian civilians.Peiper was never charged with the atrocities at Boves, but in 1946 he faced an American military tribunal for the Malmedy masssacre. Although found guilty and sentenced to death, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment but he was eventually released in 1956.In 1972, Peiper moved to the French village of Troves in north east France. On 14 July 1976, his home was attacked and set on fire. Overcome by smoke, he died in the flames.

Operation Dynamo, the successful evacuation of Belgian, British, Dutch, French and Polish troops from the beaches at Dunkirk between 27 May and 4 June 1940, was not only a pivotal moment of the war, but one that changed its final outcome.There has been much debate in the years since the end of the war concerning the "Hitler Halt" order, which was given to German Panzer units waiting patiently on the outskirts of Dunkirk to be allowed to finish the job they had started. Many theories have been put forward as to the reasons behind this, but the consequence was that it allowed Britain to remain in the war.A total of 338,226, British and Allied troops were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk, aboard a total of 861 vessels, of which 243 were sunk. For those left behind, official figures record that up to 80,000 French and British troops were captured, whilst during the time of the actual evacuation, somewhere in the region of 16,000 French and 1,000 British soldiers were killed.Equipment wise British forces left behind somewhere in the region of 90,000 rifles, 11,000 machine guns, huge supplies of ammunition, 880 field guns, 310 large calibre artillery pieces, 500 anti-aircraft guns, 850 anti-tank guns, 700 tanks, 45,000 cars and lorries, and 20,000 motor cycles - enough equipment to arm nearly ten divisions of soldiers.It is known that two atrocities took place during the Battle of Dunkirk: the Massacre at Le Paradis, and another at Wormhoudt, carried out by Waffen- SS soldiers, against British and French troops who had already surrendered.Although the Battle of Dunkirk must ultimately go down tactically as a German victory, the rescue of so many of its men, ensured that like a phoenix, Britain rose from the ashes of defeat to gain a great and lasting victory.

Stalag XXA was a Second World War German POW camp for non-commissioned officers located in Nazi occupied Torun, in northern Poland. The camp consisted of fifteen forts, which in September 1939, under the name of Stalag 357, was used to house Polish POWs who were captured after German forces had taken the Polish fort at Westerplatte. British POWs didn't arrive at the camp until June 1940, and were those captured during the Allied campaign in Norway, the evacuations of the British at Dunkirk, and the men of the 51st (Highland) Division at St. Valery. At its peak, the camp housed more than 10,000 men and was liberated by Russian forces on 1 February 1945.This book examines in detail what life was like in the camp for those held there, which over the course of the war numbered more than 60,000 men, including Polish, French, Belgians, British, Yugoslavians, Russians, Americans, Italians and Norwegians.The bulk of the book is based on a diary kept by Leonard Parker, a POW at Stalag XXA who was forced to undertake a march from the camp, commencing on 19 January 1945, taking himself and his comrades to the Russian port of Odessa. It was a difficult march undertaken in harsh wintery conditions, where lack of food, the cold, and the fear of death were their constant companions.The final leg of their liberation saw the men of Stalag XXA board the _Duchess of Richmond_ at Odessa, before arriving at Greenock, Scotland, on 17 April 1945, and finally finding their freedom.

Stalag 383 was somewhat unique as a Second World War prisoner of war camp. Located in a high valley surrounded by dense woodland and hills in Hofenfels, Bavaria, it began life in 1938 as a training ground for the German Army. At the outbreak of war it was commandeered by the German authorities for use as a prisoner of war camp for Allied non-commissioned officers, and given the name Oflag lllC. It was renamed Stalag 383 in November 1942.For most of its existence it comprised of some 400 huts, 30 feet long and 14 feet wide, with each typically being home to 14 men. Many of the British service men who found themselves incarcerated at the camp had been captured during the evacuations at Dunkirk, or when the Greek island of Crete fell to the Germans on 1 June 1941.Stalag 383 had somewhat of a holiday camp feel to it for many who found themselves prisoners there. There were numerous clubs formed by different regiments, or men from the same town or county. These clubs catered for interests such as education, sports, theatrical productions and debates, to name but a few.This book examines life in the camp, the escapes that were undertaken from there, and includes a selection of never before published photographs of the camp and the men who lived there, many for more than five years.

The role of the police firearms officers is possibly one of the most thankless jobs there is in a non-military environment. Home Office figures for March 2022 to March 2023 show there were 6,038 police officers throughout England and Wales who were authorised to carry firearms for operational purposes, out of a total of 149,572 officers overall - the culmination of a four-year decline in firearms officers, from a peak of 6,621 in March 2019.Being a firearms officer carries a kudos in policing, although why this is the case is not absolutely clear, especially when considering  the real risk of either being shot dead, shooting somebody and being charged with their murder, or not shooting somebody and it resulting in the death of a colleague or a member of the public.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the police's use of firearms was far removed from what it is today. Nominated officers were allowed to draw firearms on an 'as and when' basis, and would undertake firing practice on only a few occasions throughout the course of the year, with little or no thought or consideration given to tactical approaches to a particular scenario. However, the change in attitudes by senior officers to firearms can be traced back to the August 1966 murders of three Metropolitan police officers by two armed criminals close to Wormwood Scrubs prison, in west London.This book looks at the history of police firearms units, which started to be formed in the immediate aftermath of the 1966 killings, and how they have subsequently evolved, improving in the selection of suitable officers, along with the weaponry and equipment used and the training provided to the officers who volunteer for this extremely dangerous and stressful role.

The Shetland Bus was not a bus, but the nickname of a special operations group that set up a route across the North Sea between Norway and the Shetland Islands, north-east of mainland Scotland. The first voyage was made by Norwegian sailors to help their compatriots in occupied Norway, but soon the Secret Intelligence Service and the Special Operations Executive asked if they would be prepared to carry cargoes of British agents and equipment, as well. Fourteen boats of different sizes were originally used, and Flemington House in Shetland was commandeered as the operation's HQ. The first official journey was carried out by the Norwegian fishing vessel the Aksel, which left Luna Ness on 30 August 1941 on route to Bremen in Norway.This book examines that first journey, as well later ones, and discusses the agents and operations which members of the Shetland Bus were involved in throughout the war. It also looks at the donation of 3 submarine chasers to the operation, made in October 1943, by the United States Navy. These torpedo-type boats were 110 ft long and very fast, allowing journey times between Shetland and Norway to be greatly reduced and carried out in greater safety.The story of the Shetland Bus would be nothing without the individuals involved, both the sailors of the boats and the agents who were carried between the two countries. These were very brave individuals who helped maintain an important lifeline to the beleaguered Norwegians. It also allowed British and Norwegian agents a way in to Norway so that they could liaise with the Norwegian Underground movement and carry out important missions against the German occupiers.

Before the outbreak of the First World War, the Channel Islands were viewed as they are today; scenic, sunny and relaxing holiday destinations, where it was possible to briefly escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. As soon as the fighting began, the immediate worry was the threat of a German invasion to the Islands, which are much closer to the coast line of France than they are to the southern coast line of Great Britain.Both men and women alike played their part. Men by either joining one of the islands Militia or enlisting in one of the numerous regiments of the British Army, including the 'Jersey Pals', and the men who served with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Irish Regiment. The book looks at the pride in the commitment and achievements of the Channel Islands' very own Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, formed in December 1916.The Islands' women volunteered in their droves to serve with the British Red Cross' Voluntary Aid Detachments, but not just throughout the Channel Islands, but to mainland Great Britain, and further afield in Belgium and France and other similar theatres of war.As far as most people are aware, the first time German soldiers stepped foot in the Channel Islands, was when their troops landed unopposed in June 1940 during the Second World War. However, between 1915 and 1917, some 2,000 German prisoners of war, were held captive at the Les Blanches Banques camp.The book closes by taking a look at the men from all of the Islands who voluntarily went off to war, and ended up paying the ultimate price and didn't make it back home to their loved ones.