Tank Tracks, Peter Beale
This is the story of 9 RTR in WW2 written by one of its officers and including material from many of the survivors and contemporary diaries, including the battalion war diary, the brigade history and at one point the radio logs. It is packed with a wealth of material, much of which is directly quoted from a primary source. If you want a feel for what life was like for a heavy tank battalion then this is the book to read. The stories told by the survivors and in the diaries don't pull any punches, and some of what is described is quite horrific, many of the casualties in the battalion are well documented and the nature of the injuries suffered by tank crews tend to be severe. The battalion re-formed in and was one of the first to be equipped with Churchills. It trained in the UK…
Taming the Panzers, Patrick Delaforce
Taming the Panzers: 3 RTR at War, 1914-45 This is a history of 3rd Royal Tank Regiment (a battalion sized unit for those not au fait with UK Armoured regiments). It starts with a chapter of their origins in the First World War and then their subsequent peacetime evolution. 3RTR fought in the 1940 France campaign at Calais, then in Greece in 1941 followed by the western desert. They returned to the UK in late 1943 and took part in the NW Europe campaign eventually meeting up with the Russians in the Baltic. The Author was an artillery officer (with 13 RHA) who supported 3RTR in the NW Europe campaign and this gives him a connection to those that he has written about, much of the text is based on letters and conversations with the surviving officers and men of 3 RTR. Synopsis During the desperate days of May…
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More Morning Frost
Last couple of morning's have been decidedly chilly with a coating of frost on the ground. Looked like it might have snowed very briefly overnight on Monday, but only evidence was a smattering on the top of the car.
The Floating Republic, Manwaring & Dobree
18th century illustration of Richard Parker (British sailor) about to be hanged for mutiny. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) An Account of the Mutinies at Spithead and the Nore in 1797 by Manwaring (Author), Bonamy Dobree (Author). First published in 1935 and re-published by Pen & Sword Military Classics in 2004. 300 pages in paperback. Synopsis The naval mutiny of 1797 is the most astonishing recorded in British history; astonishing by its management rather than by its results, for other mutinies had been successful. Though it shook the country from end to end, it was largely ordered with rigid discipline, a respect for officers and an unswerving loyalty to the King. Moreover, it was so rationally grounded that it not only achieved its immediate end, the betterment of the sailor's lot, but also began a new and lasting epoch in naval administration. Here are familiar names: the aged hero Lord Howe,…
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Potting Shed After Photos
Now that the paint has dried the potting shed isn't looking pink at all, a much more reasonable colour. PhotosTo the left of the picture is the area that I tried my hand at growing things in last summer, although the extremely wet weather meant that very little was produced by the crops. The slugs ate most of the onions and the potatoes didn't fare that brilliantly either! I've got a new batch of earlies chitting on the counter in the potting shed, inside the incubator that you can see on the front left corner of the window. Hopefully this morning's frost didn't do them any harm. Over the weekend I've also managed to clear some brambles, plant a hydrangea bush and fix a rocking flagstones on the driveway. The next thing to do is plant a rose bush up…