Gordon Thorburn Book order

For Bomber Command, the term 'Phoney War' never really meant much. Five Blenheims of 107 Squadron were among the blood and bullets the day after war was declared and only one came back. On 14 December 1939, in a disastrous raid on shipping, 99 Squadron lost six Wellingtons with only three survivors out of thirty-six crew. Even worse, in the biggest air battle so far, 18 December, Wilhelmshaven, five Wellingtons of 9 Squadron went down, four of 37 Squadron and two of 149 Squadron. Bomber Command lost sixty-eight aircraft and crews in action in the four war months of 1939, and a further seventy-eight in accidents. In the months up to the French surrender, losses rose spectacularly as the Germans triumphed wherever they went. In a few hours on 14 May, resisting the Blitzkrieg, forty-seven Fairey Battles and Bristol Blenheims were shot from the sky. Through the Scandinavian defense, in France and Belgium, at Dunkirk and, at last, over Germany, for Bomber Command there was no Phoney War. It was real war from the start.

The young Lady Anne Clifford of Queen Elizabeth's Court became Countess of Dorset at the Court of King James, was robbed of her inheritance, widowed, became Countess of Pembroke at the Court of King Charles, a widow again, and beat them all to be the Lady Anne of great estates and fondest memory in the times of Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II.

The story of Lancaster Mark III EE136, covering its illustrious career during the Second World War and profiling the impressive crews who flew and manned the aircraft.

How did a working-class boy mechanic finish with fifty-seven fighter victories? What was special about Udet, Boelcke, and von Richthofen? Who were the greatest aces, and what were their real scores? What were the best fighter aircraft of WWI? These and many other questions are answered in Gordon Thorburn's fascinating study of the first air war.

The story of one particular lucky Lancaster (W4964) and its pilots.

From early beginnings in wood, wire and fabric kites over France and a pilot armed with a service revolver, to the world's first Tornado squadron in the Gulf wars and Afghanistan, this is the story of the RAF's senior bomber squadron across a hundred years of war and peace.

Was this the greatest medical disaster of World War Two? Who caused it? This new book has the answers.

Read about the Berkshire restorer who saw a heap of old iron in the bushes and realized it used to be a 1926 bullnose Super Sports, and the seven year old boy in Norfolk, Virginia, who read a book called The Red Car and knew that, one day, he would have to have a TC, and the Dutch boy who saw an MGB on his way to school and knew something similar.

The book explores the quirky world of pub names and the intriguing stories behind them. It delves into the existence of unique establishments like The Toad Rock Retreat and examines towns with pubs boasting the longest and shortest names. Readers will uncover the significance of names such as The Speculation and The Welcome Stranger, as well as the whimsical reasons behind titles like The Geese Have Gone Over The Water. Through a blend of humor and curiosity, it invites readers to appreciate the charm of local drinking spots and their identities.

In this controversial and seminal work of reportage, Gordon Burn reveals the strange inner dynamic of Fred and Rosemary West's relationship. Based on meticulous research, this dark history is told in a powerful, compelling narrative. With a new introduction by Benjamin Myers.