Landmark Collector's Library
2 total works
David Needham has written a comprehensive description of air raids in Nottinghamshire during the Second World War (1939-45). He has carefully researched the material and gathered first hand accounts and painstakingly used them to describe how civil defense workers were trained and prepared for air raids. The biggest air raid on Nottingham was in May 1941, which is comprehensively covered along with details of the aftermath. Fortunately, with dangerously low levels of water for fire fighting, there was no raid the following night. The author has included a considerable number of photographs to support his text and illustrate incendiary devices and some of the methods used to fight incendiary fires. There are also many action photographs of fire fighters on duty along with images taken following a night raid to illustrate the extent of the damage caused by fire and bombing. To bring the message home the author has included a selection of recently taken photographs which may well help explain why there are strange looking houses in parts of Nottingham and why there are rows of modern houses amongst Victorian terraces.
This book provides detailed accounts of some 100 aircraft crashes in 65 locations around the county. Each chapter begins with the name of the area in which the crash occurred in order to allow the reader to make the connection with the appropriate part of the county and brings them into closer touch with the history of the everyday people described in the manuscript. An OS map number is given including a six figure grid reference. The type of aircraft involved is listed along with an exact date and time of the crash where this is can be ascertained with certainty.Details of the circumstances of the crash are then given and where possible, the cause is stated. In some cases, there is sufficient detail still available for a more in-depth examination of the cause and other events surrounding the crash and its aftermath. Military burials are listed where these are known and any civilian casualties are also named.Where ever possible, eye witness accounts have been quoted and extracts from official reports or coroner's inquests are also quoted from to give a better understanding of how matters were dealt with at the time as distinct from how we view them now.
Any wreckage or other visible signs at the site are commented upon.
Any wreckage or other visible signs at the site are commented upon.