At War

The historic city of Chester in Cheshire, in the north-west of England, experienced tragedies and hardships during the two World Wars. In the First World War many young men called up to fight in the conflict lost their lives, leaving communities bereft. On the Home Front, food shortages and the demands of wartime work in manufacturing and other vital wartime industries changed life for all. In the Second World War the city of Chester was a direct target for aerial bombing raids, destroying many homes and familiar buildings with a significant loss of life. Communities learned to deal with rationing, air raids and large numbers of evacuees. Both wars had a devastating effect on local communities, but both were also a time of courage and fortitude in an effort to continue with everyday life. In this book, historian Mike Royden has captured the tribulations of the times in words and pictures, telling the stories of many local men, women and children during these trying periods. Chester at War pays tribute to the people of this city who served, died and lived through the two World Wars, and how they managed to endure in the face of the horrors of conflict.

- Latest title in Amberley's 'At War' series - Author available to promote the book - Potential reviews in local press and media

Kent has a long and illustrious military history dating back to the Roman occupation but the first great conflict of the twentieth century brought the horrors of war to a new generation. Thousands of the county's finest young men were sent off to fight in battlefields around the world including Europe's Western Front, which was less than a day's travel from Kent. Because of its proximity to this major war zone, Kent came to play a pivotal role in the conflict. The ports of Dover and Folkestone were the main staging posts for the British Expeditionary Force and the primary points of arrival for the thousands of wounded servicemen being repatriated from the Front. Its hospitals cared for the wounded and its munitions factories produced the armaments needed to fight the war.The county's geographical position also made it a prime target for German air raids and naval bombardments, which brought the terrors of modern war to the civilian population for the first time.Kent at War tells the remarkable story of the First World War as it unfolded and affected the county and its people.

As one of Britain's largest cities, Liverpool was heavily targeted during the two world wars. Many residents of Merseyside lost their lives in the conflict, both in active combat and as a result of hardships on the Home Front. In this book, author Anthony Hogan has endeavoured to capture the trials and tribulations of the times in pictures and words, preserving the memory of many local men, women and children, as well as telling of their courage and comradeship during these most trying periods. Throughout these pages, you will read about the emotion and tragedy that took over people's lives during the madness of war. Often heartbreaking, sometimes humorous, these personal and individual stories offer an insight into a way of life that very few of us will ever know. Above all, Merseyside at War pays tribute to the people of Liverpool and Merseyside who served and lived through the two world wars, their endurance, and their ability to carry on regardless of how terrible or hopeless things might have seemed.

The Wirral Peninsula in north-west England experienced the tragedies and hardships of war at first hand during the two world wars. Many residents lost their lives in the conflicts both in active combat throughout the world and as a result of the Wirral being a target in itself, particularly around the docks and Birkenhead and Wallasey in the Second World War. Both wars had a devastating effect on local communities through the loss of life, the destruction of familiar places through intensive aerial bombing that in large areas destroyed or damaged virtually all of the buildings, the evacuation of children and the hardships experienced at home. Many served on ships keeping the vital routes from the docks open, the anti-aircraft batteries defending the docks in the Mersey, or on the RAF airfields on the Wirral. In this book, historian and author Mike Royden has captured the tribulations of the times, telling the stories of many local men, women and children during these trying periods. Wirral at War pays tribute to the people of this region who served, died and lived through the two world wars, and how they managed to endure in the face of the horrors of conflict.

Cirencester at War is a pictoral record of the main events of the Second World War as they impacted on the town of Cirencester and its surrounding district. Illustrated with over 200 old photographs and documents, Cirencester at War gives an insight into wartime life with its tragedy, heroism, austerity and humour. With over thirty military establishments within a 12-mile radius, from the 'Piggeries' at Poulton to the US 15th Hospital Center at Stratton, the combat element was well represented. The civillian population showed their resilience through the restrictions of rationing, the blackout and other privations that continued long after hostilities had ceased. Families from all levels of society learned once again how to cope with tragedy as they had some twenty or so years before. There were few major events that did not impinge on the town itself or the surrounding area, or individuals and families not affected by that extraordinary period in our country's history. It was perhaps the period that made the most changes to the town and population during the twentieth century. As those who lived through the war dimish in number, we do well to remember those who did so much to secure the peace we take for granted, a peace which in today's world seems rather fragile.

Descended from the F4F Wildcat (and sometimes called the Wildcat's "big brother"), the Grumman F6F Hellcat debuted with the Pacific Fleet in mid-1943 and soon was taking on Japanese Zero fighters. Over the next two years, the Hellcat proved to be the most successful fighter aircraft in naval history--with more than 5,000 air-to-air kills in the Pacific, and the highest kill/loss ratio of any American fighter plane in Army, Navy, or Marine service during World War II. Taking advantage of the Hellcat's combination of easy handling and lethality, more than 300 of its pilots achieved "ace" status.This lavishly illustrated book offers a thrilling look at the Hellcat at war--from its first action in September 1943, when fighters off the USS Independence shot down a spying seaplane, to its service with the British Fleet Air Arm and its part in the invasion of Southern France. Detailing the Hellcat's design and development, telling its pilots' war stories, and tracing the aircraft's adventures through the end of World War II, this book is a fitting and fascinating tribute to a fighter plane whose performance in a few short years remains unmatched in the annals of naval warfare.

On September 2, 1945, surrender ceremonies officially ending World War II were broadcast worldwide from the deck of the USS Missouri. The ceremony also marked the end of one of the most eventful years for any vessel in the history of warfare. USS Missouri at War chronicles the career of this mighty warship, the last battleship built by the United States. Veteran naval historian Kit Bonner describes "Mighty Mos" powerful strikes against Japan, its support of the Iwo Jima landings and bombardment of Okinawa, and its decisive role in the destruction of key Japanese industrial targets. That war was over, but the Missouri was not done yet; and Bonner follows her service in the Korean War, her modernization and reactivation for the 1991 Gulf War, and her final decommissioning in 1992, with eleven battle stars to her credit. For its authoritative and close-up look at the life and work of a world-class battleship, and for its insight into the history of twentieth-century naval warfare, this strikingly illustrated book is one that no naval enthusiast or military history buff will want to be without.