Åbo Akademis bibliotek

Following on from Blitz on Kent, all aspects of life during the Second World War were experienced during in this embattled county. From the onset of the war Kent became a key part ...

As one might expect from a county with the motto 'Invicta' (Unconquered), Kent has produced her fair share of military heroes. Here Roy Ingleton honors 50 of those who have been aw ...

Formed in 1935, First U-Boat Flotilla operated against Hitler's enemies from the very earliest stage of the war through to September 1944 when disbanded amid the flames of Brest du ...

When Gerald Constable Maxwell was flying as a fighter pilot in World War I, his brother Michael was born. Both went on to have distinguished flying careers in World War II. This is ...

They were volunteers to a man. These were the airborne troops who dropped into enemy territory ahead of any others, pinpointing the Drop Zone by means of a radio marker. They would ...

Alexander Ollar, raised in Scotland, became an exceptional sporting shot and volunteered as an RAF Air Gunner in 1939. Helmut Lent enrolled for pilot training in the Luftwaffe as ...

In July 1809, with the Dutch coast ‘a pistol held at the head of England’, the largest British expeditionary force ever assembled, over 40,000 men and around 600 ships, weighed anc ...

This is the fifth release in a series that provides a comprehensive insight into all aspects of RAF Bomber Command in World War Two. It begins in late September 1944 when the Allie ...

For centuries the south coast of Kent – in particular the ports of Dover and Folkestone - have been England’s front line, as her enemies have planned invasions and launched attacks ...

To many they were nothing more than cowards, but the 'conchies' of the First World War had the courage to stand by their principles when the nation was against them... 

An innovat ...

Donald Dean lied about his age to enlist in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment and serve on the Western Front, where he worked his way up from Private to acting Captain. It ...

X D Operations is the first account of the thrilling operations by the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers, a small Territorial Army Unit given the largest demolition program ever undert ...

Richard 'Dickie' Haine first went solo in a de Havilland Gipsy Moth during August 1935, after only one week of tuition. He joined the RAF shortly afterwards as a Direct Entry Serge ...

For over 500 years, between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Justices of the Peace were the embodiment of government for most of our ancestors. The records they and oth ...

The author was shot down in his Wellington bomber on his third operational mission. Captured shortly after, he was interrogated in Dulag Luft before being sent to Stalag Luft 1 on ...

We Also Served is a social history of women’s involvement in the First World War. Dr. Vivien Newman disturbs myths and preconceptions surrounding women's war work and seeks to info ...

Using original material and letters from the First World War, this captivating and eye-opening account uncovers the unnerving realities of the First World War and the impact it had ...

The emigrant ship William and Mary departed from Liverpool with 208 British, Irish, and Dutch emigrants in early 1853. Captained by young American Timothy Stinson, the vessel was ...

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., written while he was living in Birmingham, ...

Martello towers were built in the early part of the nineteenth century to defend the coast of England against Napoleonic invasion. Almost 200 years later forty-one of these handsom ...

Hidden away in the back of an old desk drawer was a dusty pile of school-style exercise books. In them were the recollections of a young officer who had fought with the Essex Regim ...

For most British people the weekend of 27/28 October 1962 could so very easily have been their last weekend on earth, yet astonishingly the fact that Britain's nuclear deterrent f ...

Horses of the Great War explains the contribution of countless innocent houses using superb contemporary painting by artists such as Sir John Lavery, Sir Alfred Munnings and Stanle ...

The origins of what became officially known as No 1 Aerial Route lay in the newly formed Royal Air Force’s desire to move several squadrons of the then recently designed first heav ...

The Native Soil is a science fiction short story by American author Alan E. Nourse, first published in 1957.  A drug company troubleshooter is sent to Venus to increase production ...