WW2

Torpedoes, Tea and Medals: how Captain Chris O’Flaherty discovered a wartime naval hero

To mark the publication of Torpedoes, Tea and Medals this month, we asked author, Captain Chris O’Flaherty about his passion for boats, where the idea for the book came from, and what initially appealed to him about capturing the story of Derek ‘Jake’ Wright DSC** RNVR. Read on for the first installment of Chris’s journey in discovering this little-known naval hero – a tea-trade trainee whose bravery and skill saw him become one of only 44 officers in the Second World War to receive a DSC with two Bars.

The Unsung Heroes of WWII’s Atlantic Campaign

This week, Brian Walter, author of The Longest Campaign, shines the spotlight on not one individual, but the collective seamen and airman who served during WWII’s Atlantic Campaign. Who do you think is history’s most unsung hero and why? While history is replete with countless examples of men and women who performed laudable deeds, the… Read More »The Unsung Heroes of WWII’s Atlantic Campaign

The Longest Campaign: Britain’s Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and Northwest Europe in WWII

In The Longest Campaign, Brian Walter gives us a complete account of the British maritime contribution to victory in World War II. Pictured above is the sloop Starling from the highly successful British 2nd Support Group. Scroll down for a detailed account of maritime action in May 1943, and how battleships like Starling contributed to… Read More »The Longest Campaign: Britain’s Maritime Struggle in the Atlantic and Northwest Europe in WWII

Film Review: Leadership in Patton (1969)

This October, expert John Antal is releasing an invaluable guide to anyone wanting to improve their leadership skills, Leadership Rising. Today, he gives us his first lesson. Through the excellent film Patton, Antal explains that true leadership boils down to three Cs – Character, Competence, Commitment. Scroll down to find out more (and enjoy some… Read More »Film Review: Leadership in Patton (1969)

Alan Brooke: The Man Behind the Stern Face

The Alan Brooke presented to us in contemporary accounts and photos is a stern, hard-nosed character that rarely smiles. Here, and in his recent biography, we’re invited to view Brooke as more than just a war strategist & Churchill’s right-hand critic. On reading Brooke’s diary, his papers and accounts of contemporary people who knew him… Read More »Alan Brooke: The Man Behind the Stern Face

The Führer and the Caudillo

  A Meeting Between Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco to Decide the Future of Spain In an often overlooked part of World War Two, Hitler was beginning to tighten his stranglehold over Western Europe. Having secured the enthusiastic approval of Benito Mussolini and was well on the way to signing an armistice with Phillipe Petain’s… Read More »The Führer and the Caudillo