EVASION AND ESCAPE DEVICES
Produced by MI9, MIS-X and SOE in World War II
Metropolitan
buses are traditionally coloured red for the inner regions, and dark green for the outer fringes. Some have been repainted for special reasons and all transport enthusiasts will enjoy this nostalgic look back.
(168pp, hardback)
Ever
thought of acquiring a narrowboat? Maybe not, but even if you only hire one you will find this book just the ticket. Advertised as “A complete guide to choosing, owning and maintaining a narrowboat” it contains everything you need to know. Beautifully laid out and well illustrated with fine colour pictures, it is pure delight.
(240pp, paperback)
Candleford Green in Flora Thompson’s “Lark Rise” novels was based on the village of Fringford and in The Real Candleford Green by Martin Greenwood, you can read all about it through the ages, enhanced with contemporary photographic images. (Dorset Press, 184pp, paperback, £9.99)
ISBN 9781-9087-38226
Did one of England’s most unpopular monarchs really meet a grisly end at Berkeley Castle in 1327? In Edward II, The Unconventional King, Kathryn Warner does her best to unravel fact from fiction. (Amberley, 320pp, hardback, £14.99)
ISBN 9781-4456-50548
Being able to draw cartoons is a gift which relatively few of the artists realise. Being able to draw animal cartoons is an even greater skill and a new anthropomorphic beast has just emerged from across the Atlantic. In The Essential Fergus, Jean Abernethy treats us to an urbane equine who, rather like Fred Basset the dog, looks down his nose at the histrionics and ignorance of human beings when things go wrong. (Quiller, 122pp, paperback, £14.95)
ISBN 9781-7813-14814
Norland nannies are the crème de la crème and in British Nannies and the Great War by Louise Heren we learn how a whole regiment of them coped with conflict and childcare, both at home and abroad. Many were involved with royal families and even more with varying levels of aristocracy. (Pen & Sword, 216pp, hardback, £19.99)
ISBN 9781-4738-27530
History can easily become distorted but The Complete Scrimgeour, from Dartmouth to Jutland 1913-16 contains the diaries of Alexander Scrimgeour, a 19-year-old midshipman who was one of the many to lose their life in this naval conflict. His valuable record of events survived but he, sadly, did not.
The last naval conflict to pit so many armed vessels against each other, Britain had 151 combat ships of which 28 were battleships, while Germany had 99 and 16 respectively. Britain lost 6,000 men, Germany 2,500. (Conway, 438pp, hardback, £20)
ISBN 9781-8448-63105
Birds of prey vary greatly in size and temperament and in Eagles by Mike Unwin you can learn about the largest of the species. Not a bird to be trifled with, it is surprisingly quick and agile and its only real enemy is the human being. If you want to know where you can find eagles in the United Kingdom then this is the place to look. (Bloomsbury/rspb, 128pp, paperback, £9.99)
ISBN 9781-4729-21833
Bill Badger in the Rupert Bear stories is the popular image of this splendid looking creature but in Badgers by James Lowen you will quickly discover they are far from being tame. Uncompromising nocturnal carnivores, they have decimated the country’s hedgehog population and are a fearsome opponent to come across in the wild. (Bloomsbury/rspb, 128pp, paperback, £9.99)
ISBN 9781-4729-21819
Poems for Heroes is an anthology of poetry compiled by John Montgomery who enlisted in the Royal Marines nearly 50 years ago. Many poems are hard to understand because they use words and phrases not normally heard in ordinary conversation but these examples fit more easily into the subconscious and stimulate the mind. (Stockwell, 144pp, paperback, £6.95)
ISBN 9780-7223-46440