Bøker av Alan Phillips

Wales, a small country, is littered with the relics of war - Iron Age forts, Roman ruins, medieval castles and the coastal forts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The biggest construction of fortifications in Wales took place during the reign of Edward I. They were not only built to deter an invader, but to control the frequent Welsh uprisings. The next wave of constructions occurred during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when a number of forts and gun emplacements were built, mostly in South Wales, to deter a seaborne invasion. The twentieth century introduced a new mode of defence, especially during the two world wars, in the form of pillboxes, tank traps and gun emplacements. The various airfields constructed were the most visible form of defence and could be regarded as the castles of the period. This book looks at how Welsh castles protected Wales to make it what it is today.

Opened in 1931 as Yeadon Aerodrome, Leeds-Bradford Airport is the largest in Yorkshire. Regular flights began from the airport in 1935 with a service to Newcastle, Edinburgh and London (Heston). During the war, the airfield was used as a shadow factory and constructed almost 700 Lancaster bombers, as well as almost 4,500 Avro Ansons. Civil flights began again in 1947 and by 1978 Regional Airport status had been granted as long as runways were extended. This work began in 1982 and the new airport opened in 1984, with Wardair flying transatlantic to Canada in Boeing 747s. The airport has continued to grow, with new terminal buildings and new hangers to accommodate Boeing 737s in the midnoughties. Leeds-Bradford airport continues to grow in its ninth decade. Alan Phillips tells the story of Leeds-Bradford from its beginning in the 1930s, the war years and to the present day.

A history of this renowned Pembrokeshire air base and the units which operated from it