Bøker av David Meara

Former Archdeacon of London David Meara celebrates the beautiful churches designed by architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.

An accessible history of Oxford from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day highlighting the city's significant events and people.

Oxfordshire is rich in many things: fine agricultural land and areas of dense woodland; delightful towns like Burford, Woodstock, Dorchester and Henley; the stately River Thames that bisects the county; the ironstone villages of the northern border; the Oxford Canal meandering its way through remote countryside; and splendid country houses at Blenheim, Chastleton and Rousham. The jewel in the crown is the city of Oxford itself, with its ancient honey-coloured buildings and dreaming spires. This book celebrates both Oxfordshire's well-known glories and hidden gems such as the ruined manor at Hampton Gay, the brewery at Hook Norton and the glories of Wytham Woods. Highlighting these and other gems, this book gives an enticing picture of the rich variety of experiences and sights the county of Oxfordshire has to offer.

Captain John Alexander served in the Royal Engineers and was posted to the 17th Indian Division, known as the Black Cats, which was sent into Burma against the Japanese as part of the 14th Army. John's unit was 60 Indian Field Company. After the capture of Hong Kong and the fall of Singapore in February 1942 the Japanese army advanced into Burma, catching the Allies ill-equipped and unprepared. Rangoon fellin March, thus beginning a long fighting retreat by the Allies through thick jungle to the northwest frontier with India. But the Allies regrouped and fought back, and in 1944 fierce fighting, culminating in the battles of the Admin Box, Kohima and Imphal, caused the Japanese forces to begin to withdraw. At the beginning of 1945 the 14th Army launched a successful offensive pushing the Japanese southwards before them. Mandalay was retaken and then Rangoon in May 1945. The Japanese Army finally surrendered on 15 August 1945. Many histories of the Burma Campaign have been written, and the terrible conditions of jungle warfare against a brutal enemy are well known. John Alexander returned home on leave before the end of the conflict with his body weakened by fever, jungle sores and dysentery, and his mind affected by what we now call PTSD. But he also brought back with him a collection of 'souvenirs' from the campaign - artefacts that range from Japanese currency and cigarettes to letters, swords, a bayonet, sketches, and his own diaries, letters and decorations. This book will be a reflection on the personal stories behind this terrible and often forgotten war, looking at the conflict both from a British and a Japanese perspective. Through an examination of these artefacts, the horror and humanity of the combatants who took part in this far-away conflict will be vividly brought to life.

Sir John Betjeman was born at the start of the twentieth century, and lived to become Poet Laureate, an accomplished writer and campaigner, and something of a national treasure. All his life he loved churches, which are woven into his poetic output. He wrote extensively about churches and architecture, telling a journalist in 1955 'If I have a mission, it is to show people things which are beautiful so that they will very soon realise what is ugly. When you look at things, instead of just looking through them, life starts absolutely crackling with interest and excitement.'Now, Betjeman's particular way of looking at churches is in danger of being lost in the face of a more academically driven and forensic art-historical approach. This book picks out some of the buildings, especially churches, which Betjeman was particularly fond of. It highlights and celebrates Betjeman's more poetic, parochial and personal response to the built environment, and his evocation of the English parish church through the ordinary and the charm of hassocks, old incense and oil lamps. Highlighting his religious, aesthetic and social pre-occupations, this book is both gazetteer and commentary on his own particular vision of England and architecture, which deserves to be celebrated afresh.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow, David Meara draws on archive material - including a previously unpublished first-hand account - to bring the story to life.

In this book, illustrated throughout, David Meara tells the fascinating story of hundred years of Scottish sleeper services.