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The only thing I had already heard about were the numerous mutinies at the end of WW1 by troops refusing to leave France to go off and fight the Commies in Russia. There was a very large mutiny at Kinmel in North Wales, where you can still see the graves of the men killed. I really do worry though for the younger generation nowadays. President Trump may be the figure of fun who made it to the White House, but he does have access to some dreadful weaponry.
I put this on my Christmas list and I know my better-half picked up a copy for me. I am sure that you will enjoy it.
Over here, Amazon Marketplace sells off lots of ex-Library copies, some at literally one penny each plus postage. If this exists in the USA you might like to try it.
It certainly gives your imagination a little exercise, wondering who borrowed that book and what their life was like. I hope your hand is back in business shortly. Thank for sharing John. Another week or so should do it. Thanks for a great post John. Thanks a lot, Rich. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks very much for your good wishes. It seems to be OK and I had the stitches out a couple of days ago with no obvious problems. What a terrible way to treat the very men who were laying their lives on the line. I know discipline was paramount, but there are means and ways to gain respect and loyalty, the fact that 50 sergeants asked to be put under arrest says it all!
Some people have no compassion. Even as a teacher you soon learn that discipline is important but it is a lot easier to achieve if your pupils respect you and you are loyal to them when the need arises. A sense of humour is quite useful too.
One was an absolute bastard. Two were ordinary and one was one of the finest gentlemen anyone could ever meet.
In for a Penny, in for a Pound: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Wireless Operator in Bomber Co [Howard Hewer] on bahana-line.com *FREE* shipping on. In for a penny, In for a pound: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Wireless Operator in Bomber Command (1). I haven't written a book.
I am tempted to put a few ideas down on paper. Your book review certainly puts pressure on my Christmas shopping list. I feel there are at least two, if not three blog posts in there.
National Service was abolished in England around so the majority have no idea what it was like to be in the Forces, especially the army with the distinctive hats! Be assured, though, Pierre, as our police forces always say, that this was an extremely isolated incident and by no means showed what usually happened More seriously, in , the top brass even refused to allow the Poles or anybody black to take part in the Victory march past in London.
Again you write history I knew not about. And I will keep you in my prayers, John, for swift healing of your hand. Thanks a lot for your efforts, Amy. It must have played its part because my hand is recovering well. We beat Napoleon by eating weevils and blew the Kaiser out of the air without even having the option of parachutes.
I think the solution is to have lots of allies to take up the burden. It was certainly true, though, that on many occasions between , Churchill thought we would lose the war. He was not impressed by a series of massive Army surrenders at various places around the world. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Twitter account.
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Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Home About Publications Contact. Here is the author, in the middle of the crew of five: When the time came for introductions, the commander of the base, Squadron Leader B, singled the two Canadians out from the rest and said: On January 29th , Squadron Leader B had a notice put up ordering: The book concludes on a more positive note: November 27, at 8: One briefing, before a raid, ended on the following cheery note: The fire should scorch the lungs and cause almost instant death, much preferable to burning slowly.
Well, good luck chaps! Howard is eloquent in describing the horror of watching a fellow squadron bomber go down in flames, wondering which names would be posted FTR Failed to Return. Above all, he portrays the pervasive fear, dread and fatigue of life in bomber command. He agrees with General Patton who observed, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all," but he maintains that each man had to, "find for himself a way to manage his fear.
When he didn't get weird postings, he volunteered for weird assignments. One example was driving deep behind enemy lines for the RAF in North Africa when he could hardly drive a car, let alone a truck. He got his head creased by an Italian bullet in this misadventure; on another assignment out of Suez, his legs were crushed against his radio when his plane crash-landed on the desert after taking flak.
Wherever he was, Hewer always managed to be in the middle of the action, and he certainly got some insight into The Big Picture of the hostilities, from the European Theater to North Africa. I found his observations on some of the so-called neutral countries particularly interesting. He reports rumours later confirmed that the RAF had had to drop some bombs in the waters outside the Irish port of Cork to discourage their nasty habit of refuelling German U-boats.
Spain was no friend to the British either.
While sightseeing on The Rock, Howard learned that a tall tower on a Spanish hill overlooking Gibraltar Bay harboured German observers who recorded Allied ship and air activity. Then, he ended up down in South Africa, where he drank beer with some rich Boer farmers who were suspected of stockpiling ammunition for a planned uprising against the British. They were, but they didn't!
Hewer really captures the ambience of being in London during the Blitz — drinking tea in the air raid shelters and going to shows at The Windmill Theatre which never closed during the worst bombing raids.
Join other followers Search for: He was immediately placed under close arrest and marched off to the Guard Room followed by 50 or so angry sergeants of all nationalities who demanded to be placed under close arrest as well. Some 20, Irishmen from the Republic were in the British forces, but there were a good few who were very sinister in their activities. Louie then gave them the message from Squadron Leader B that the men were all slack and they all needed smartening up. Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web. December 10, at 3:
On one traumatic night, Howard was knocked out by German bomb shrapnel and recovered to spend hours carrying the wounded from a direct hit on a nearby dance hall.