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Bangkok, Thailand, 1969. Young British lawyer Matt Benson has his first case. He's a long way from home, it's hot and he finds himself facing the might of the American military justice system in a court martial the Pentagon is determined to win. His client is US Army veteran Sgt Al Moreau, accused of selling off military vehicles destined for troops in Vietnam. Matt has to catch up fast with US Army law. His tough client won't make life easy. Nor will his new apartment above a seedy Go-Go Bar or a love affair with a US Army nurse who's hiding a dangerous secret. Al is depending on him. Matt can't let him down. He forms a bond that's hard to break in a case that will stay with him forever. Based on the adventures of David Hallmark, OBE, the only English lawyer to appear in a US court martial during the Vietnam war.

Municipal Boundary changes in 1964 elevated Solihull to County Borough status and at the same time transferred Hockley Heath to the Stratford-upon-Avon Rural District Council. On surveying their newly acquired lands the 'new owners' were shocked by what they found. The Stratford Herald of 5th June 1964 reported that they included the Mount Estate, a badly run-down area that Solihull had neglected. The Chairman of the Rural District Council reported: The county borough of Solihull can gain little credit for having been able to unload that colony of shacks without any main water supply, main drainage or roads on a less fortunate council. To us with our limited resources, it is a gigantic task. It is a problem that cannot be faced without much careful thought, work, planning, consultation and advice. It is a problem that we cannot turn a blind eye on as has been done for the past 30 years. The dreadful situation with which the Mount residents then found themselves facing was only eased when the Greaves Organisation purchased the 143-acre site and built the Village of the Seventies. This is the story of the events of that time, how that new village and its community developed over the next 40 years.

At the end of the 2016 Speedway season, the Coventry Bees Speedway team ceased racing due to their stadium at Brandon being purchased for housing development. Although it sent shockwaves through the Speedway world it didn't come as a complete surprise, as rumours about its future had been circulating for two years or so. Tony Watson is a keen supporter of Speedway Racing and the Bees in particular. In this book he sets out all of the final season's racing results, its team members, the guest riders used and the scoring statistics of the riders. He also touches on the attempts to keep the team's name alive by 'track sharing' at nearby Leicester, a venture which did not succeed. A must read for any Speedway follower

Birmingham's Got Talent! Well, there can't be any question about that - a shopping centre that has always rivalled almost anywhere in existence, a manufacturing industry with a worldwide reputation andtheatres and cinemas in abundance.In this collection we have tried to show that, after the terribleevents of the forties, our city was busy replenishing and starting to flourish again - shops, factories and places of entertainment and, of course, the people. In the fifties shops played an enormous part in our lives as very few people had refrigerators and daily trips were a necessity. Politically the Conservatives held their ground from 1951 until 1964 when Labour came into its own. Musically the Beatles dominated the sixties and television finally burst into colour. So, there you are, in this, our 33rd Birmingham book, there are more wonderful items to enjoy. All proving, once and for all, that Birmingham has ALWAYS had talent!

Jim Simpson of Big Bear Records has been involved in the music business for nearly 60 years, as musician, bandleader, promoter, record producer, festival director, manager, journalist and photographer. In his candid, constantly surprising, frequently amusing and occasionally shocking account you will encounter the joys and difficulties of managing Black Sabbath or of running a jazz festival in sun-kissed, crime-ridden Marbella. At home in Birmingham meet some of the characters who have enlivened 35 years of the Jazz Festival and read Jim's take on the scandals that closed the city's premier jazz club. Revisit the exciting Brum Beat scene, take to the road with some 40 of the best (in some cases, most eccentric) American bluesmen of the 1970s, encounter the Blues Brothers Band in surprising places and enjoy Jim's tributes to some of the great names in British jazz, such as Humphrey Lyttelton and Kenny Baker, with whom he worked closely.

Desperate, exhausted after the Battle of Worcester and hunted by Cromwell's troops, King Charles II was helped by the courageous and resourceful Colonel Careless, who in one of history's most enthralling incidents, hid with him in an oak tree. Who was this brave officer risking his life for his Monarch? Where was he from and what became of him after these dramatic events? This thoroughly researched book reveals the life and character of Colonel William Careless as witnessed by his family, his friends and even the King himself! It gives an insight into the lives and hardships of some of Staffordshire's ordinary people in the seventeenth century, who were so convinced of their beliefs and loyalties they were prepared to face the dangers of imprisonment or even death. Above all, this is the story of an honourable man who, in one of England's most troubled and momentous times, acted as a trustworthy and loyal hero.

This book relates the history of Rotton Park Lodge and the surrounding area of Birmingham. Margery Elliott provides a detailed account of the Lodge and gardens and its environs including the former farm, Edgbaston Reservoir and Perrott's Folly. She includes biographies of people associated with the Lodge and their families, several played a significant role in Birmingham's history. The author's grandfather, James Richard Turner, was a builder and prominent City Councillor who lived in the Lodge from 1903 to 1933. Her father, Edwin Elliott, was founder and managing director of E. Elliott Ltd, manufacturers of injection-moulded plastic goods. The book incorporates numerous photographs and reproductions of old maps and documents. It offers a fascinating insight into the social history of Britain's second city.

Born in 1943, Richard Pottinger grew up in and around the small rural villages near Cirencester, Gloucestershire. His engaging childhood reminiscences reveal the charm of living a simple country life within a small and friendly community, but also the instability experienced by many families due to the transient nature of employment for farm workers at that time. It meant a childhood spent moving from place to place with friendships gained and lost and a precarious existence which impacted upon the whole family. Each time his father uttered the words We're shiftin Richard, his mother and three brothers would all have to up sticks and move at short notice to where there was work with a tied cottage or accommodation âEUR" good or bad, they didn't know until they arrived!

Deep in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside lie a number of secret places that played a special part in protecting a generation from the onslaught of a world war. Travellers passing through leafy Worcestershire lanes may catch a glimpse of a structure that seems out of place against the backdrop of fields and hills - the dish of a gigantic radio telescope. How did such an incongruous structure arrive in the middle of nowhere, and what does it do? This book answers the question, and recounts the dramatic history of two 'Top Secret' wartime airfields, and how their activities were inextricably linked to the 'boffins' of the Malvern Telecommunications Research Establishment. It tells the story of brilliant inventions, wartime courage and sacrifice, tragic air crashes, and ordinary and extraordinary people, pushing themselves and their machines to the limit and beyond. Crafted using personal recollections - the book reveals the truly extraordinary wartime commitment and camaraderie that fuelled extraordinary endeavour and achievement.

When Alex's bowling hits a rough patch, his sister tells him he needs to be more aggressive. Alex doesn't think much of this advice and embarks on his own journey to discover what kind of preparation will work best for him. Can Alex sort out his bowling in time for the important match against the dreaded Smasher Jones and his team next week? This story touches on the themes of mindfulness, resilience and the sometimes underrated art of just being yourself. At Chance to Shine, our aim is to improve the lives of young people through participation in cricket. In schools, we take our work in the classroom as seriously as our work in the playground. For this reason, we are delighted that Alex's cricketing journey continues in this new reading book. You will find some familiar characters and meet a few interesting new ones. My favourite is Smasher Jones! Laura Cordingley, Chief Executive, Chance to Shine.

The Girl from Guildford Street describes a working class childhood, growing up in Lozells, Birmingham, 1957-1968. The author and her sister and cousins were the last generation to grow up in the back to backs: Birmingham council houses, two up, one down; no bathroom, inside toilet, central heating or hot running water; centred around a back yard with outside toilets, sheds and a brew'us or wash house. The author looks at family life in the back to backs, and how whole families lived on one street. The author's parents both worked in local factories at a time when manufacturing was booming in Birmingham. This is not a misery memoir - it is the story of a happy childhood in one of Birmingham's poorest areas. It also looks at the Sixties - the fashions, the politics, the music, the hairstyles, the World Cup - as a golden age.

A collection of ghost stories, this work includes chapters that deal with a specific Midlands region, containing eye witness accounts of unexplained phenomena. Areas covered include: Birmingham, Coventry, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, the Cotswolds, and the Black Country.

This first and ground-breaking biography of Arthur Jefferson, the father of Stan Laurel (the mastermind behind the legendary comedy partnership of Laurel and Hardy), reveals that he was a major influence on his son, a fine comic actor himself, a successful playwright, and an excellent example of the provincial theatrical lessees who provided Victorians and Edwardians with their main source of entertainment. It describes the ups and downs of his life, family and career and how, in middle age, he had to confront the challenge to the world of intimate, local, live theatre from the emerging global, silent and then sound cinema industry. Ironically, it was the success of films like those of Laurel and Hardy which all but destroyed the provincial theatrical world that Arthur loved.

In Down to Earth, Nancy Cooper gives us a glimpse into the real life of a seventeen year old young woman who is recruited into the Women's Land Army in 1943. It is a big change from her life at Old Hill in the Black Country, and a welcome escape from the secretarial training that she was desperate to avoid. She soon found herself living alone, far from home and working on several farms. She managed to milk 30 cows, working alone, as she did her part in providing the country with enough food in the shortages both during and after WWII. At one farm she cared for a yard full of pigs, who cunningly tried to outwit her attempts to share their food out. Dealing with unfairly jealous wives, strange billeting arrangements with a nocturnal visitor and rats everywhere were also ways in which Nancy's resourcefulness was tested. There is now a memorial to honour the work of the Women's Land Army at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. If you go to see it you will notice that the rats have got in on this as well!

U.S. Army Hospital Center 804' tells the story of five U.S. Army hospitals located on the Shropshire/Flintshire border during World War II: Llanerch Panna, Penley, Iscoyd Park, Oteley Deer Park and Halston Hall. They were built by British contractors during 1942-44 and used by American hospital units until the end of the war in Europe. When the American units left the area some of the hospital sites were used by displaced Poles. For a few months at the end of 1944/beginning of 1945 the hospital at Iscoyd Park treated German Prisoners of War. The headquarters of the 5 hospitals - Hospital Center 804 was first located in Gwemheylod (Flintshire) and later moved to Whitchurch (Shropshire). U.S. ARMY HOSPITAL CENTER 804 An AawMolltis U& Military Hospitals in lb. This book looks at the day to day activities at the hospitals using archive material and accounts and previously unpublished photos from those who were there at the time and their relatives. It also looks in depth at the stories of some of the patient-soldiers who passed through the hospitals. It touches on the impact the occupants of the camps and other U.S. camps in the area, had on the surrounding towns, with particular regard to Wrexham in Flintshire.