Bøker av Dean Hollands

Explore the secret history of Carmarthen through a fascinating selection of stories, facts and photographs.

With an average age of twenty-six, 'The Gallant Airmen of Brookwood Military Cemetery' honors fifty-two airmen from seven nations who displayed the highest levels of bravery and gallantry while flying. Awarded the Royal Air Force's highest-flying decorations. They now rest in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, the largest Commonwealth Military Cemetery in the United Kingdom. Exploring their stories, the book first provides a brief history of the construction and maintenance of the Commonwealth Military Cemeteries and Memorials of the wars of 1914 - 1918 and 1939 - 1945. It explains the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's heritage principles, the eligibility criteria for interment within a War Cemetery, and the history of Brookwood Military Cemetery, its monuments, and memorials. Having considered the Wider origins of military gallantry awards, the author examines the circumstances that led Britain's military to introduce a standardised system of awards for its service personnel, culminating in creating the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Flying Medal, the Air Force Cross, and the Air Force Medal for aircrew. The author then explains how, during World War Il, Britain trained its aircrews to defend the realm against the axis powers of evil through implementing the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In providing the personal accounts of the fifty-two decorated airmen buried at Brookwood, the author describes the circumstances and training they undertook to become airmen, the commands, and squadrons they served with, the operations they flew, and the battles they fought. Throughout its pages, this book reveals the amazing, and often unbelievable accounts of how they achieved their awards, and the often-inexplicable circumstances in which they lost their lives. This book tells the incredible stories of ordinary men from around the world. Men whose training, instinct, and intuition led them to become heroes of the air. Men who performed extraordinary acts of gallantry, who withstood danger, experienced adversity, suffered misfortune and ultimately came to be buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery. 'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningWe will remember them.'Robert Laurence Binyon

Explore the remarkable military heritage of Carmarthenshire from the Iron Age through to the present day.

This book will interest anyone keen to know more about Dorset's remarkable local military history through time.

This book will interest anyone keen to know more about Berkshire's remarkable local military history.

For centuries Farnborough was a small town south-west of London, but today it has transformed into a large, vibrant commercial community, synonymous worldwide with the international air show, which it has hosted since 1949, and the home of military aviation. However, the real origins of Farnborough's military heritage lie not with aviation but with the arrival of the army in 1856 and the building of a new barrack complex in South Farnborough, called North Camp. The army's presence was further expanded with the arrival of the Royal Engineers, at South Farnborough, followed by the formation of the Army Air Battalion, and then the army's Royal Flying Corps. The Royal Flying Corps was eventually replaced by the creation at Farnborough of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Aircraft Establishment was set up. The Royal Engineers also established a camp in North Farnborough and during the war years Farnborough was home to many other units including troops from the Canadian Army. German prisoners of war were engaged in building housing in Farnborough, captured German scientists were brought here and interrogated about their knowledge of aviation and rocket development and captured German planes were flown and frequently crashed at Farnborough. The war years also saw many heroic stories and tragic events unfold as Farnborough was routinely attacked. Farnborough has a fantastic military heritage that includes hospitals, notable burials and a wealth of military buildings and structures as well as a fine and often overlooked collection of military monuments and memorials along with its association with many military personalities. This, then, is the real story of Farnborough's military heritage.

Hampshire's Military Heritage looks at the military legacy of this county on land, by air and at sea from Roman times to the present day.