{"title":"Ken Porter","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"grays-thurrock-in-the-great-war-book-ken-porter-9781473823105","title":"Grays (Thurrock) in the Great War","description":"Grays (Thurrock) in the Great War tells the story of Grays and the wider Thurrock area from the outbreak of the Great War until the peace of 1918. The Docks at nearby Tilbury were the source of much employment in the area for both fathers and sons alike. They also played their part in the war, but not as a hub of military deployments.  In May 1915 the German spy Augusto Alfredo Roggen, a Uruguayan born in Montevideo, arrived at Tilbury on board the SS Batavia, which had sailed from Rotterdam in Holland. On his arrival in England he made his way to Scotland to carry out his spying activities at the Loch Long torpedo range. He was captured, found guilty and executed by firing squad at the Tower of London on 17 November 1915.  In July 1915 the German Naval officer and pilot, Gunther Pluschow, made good his escape from Donington Hall POW camp in Leicestershire and made his way safely back to Germany by hiding himself on board one of the many ships that sailed from Tilbury. He became the only German POW to escape from Britain and make it back to Germany during the First World War.The Kynochs munitions factory was situated near Fobbing on the site of what had previously been Borleys Farm. The site, which made shell cases, detonators, cordite and acetone for the British war effort, was so vast that it included its own housing estate for its workers, a hospital and a railway line. It became so big that it actually became known as Kynochtown and was a major source of employment in the area, particularly for women. There were Prisoner of War camps at Horndon House Farm, Puddledock Farm and Woodhams Quarry in West Thurrock which housed over 150 German prisoners. The Thurrock area also played an important part of protecting London from seaborne invasion up the River Thames with the help of Tilbury Fort and Coalhouse Fort at East Tilbury.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49525500051729,"sku":"GOR007642995","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473823102.jpg?v=1750795770"},{"product_id":"german-p-o-w-camp-266-langdon-hills-book-ken-porter-9781849441735","title":"German P.O.W Camp 266 Langdon Hills","description":"This book isn't a story it's an historical account of what life was like for the German POW's who spent time incarcerated in Camp 266 at Langdon Hills in Essex. The camp opened just before the end of the Second World War and saw the arrival of its first inhabitants in April 1945 before finally closing its doors in June 1948. The camp could hold up to 800 prisoners at a time and also had satellite camps at nearby places such as Tillingham and Purfleet. It includes accounts from some of the prisoners themselves, looking at what they did before the outbreak of the war. It then looks at how and where they were captured, their time spent at the camp and what they did after the war on their release. Some met local girls, fell in love, married and began new lives living in England. Their personal stories along with newspaper articles of the day, prisoners letters as well as other documents, help bring the book to life giving it a truly unique feeling. There are stories from some of the local residents who lived through it all and got to know some of the POW's quite closely. In some cases this included inviting them in to their homes and befriending them. Some of these friendships lasted for years after the war. Only the passage of time causing some of them to finally succumb. Read their stories and find yourself transported back in time to a bygone era that was the start of a new begining for all of us.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49533360931089,"sku":"GOR006588736","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51054692827409,"sku":"NIN9781849441735","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51188826931473,"sku":"GOR006744988","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52656805445905,"sku":"NLS9781849441735","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52840247492881,"sku":"GOR014636239","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1849441731.jpg?v=1751092059"},{"product_id":"castle-point-in-the-great-war-book-ken-porter-9781473823112","title":"Castle Point in the Great War","description":"Brief history on the various parishes that make up the Borough of Castle Point and what life was like prior to 1915. It includes stories of suspected aliens, conscientious objectors (The peculiar People), those who claimed exemption for business reasons and British overseas internees.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49725016441105,"sku":"GOR007337046","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1473823110.jpg?v=1750988944"},{"product_id":"laindon-in-the-great-war-book-ken-porter-9781783463657","title":"Laindon in the Great War","description":"Laindon in the Great War is a detailed account of how the war impacted on Laindon and the surrounding district, known today as Basildon, from the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, to the long-awaited peace of 1918. Throughout the country, initially, there was enthusiasm and excitement for the war, but this soon changed as vivid reports of the war effort began to reach the populous. Fears of invasion and spies around every corner increased, which resulted in a number of locals being reported, in some cases, for very trivial incidents.  While local men fought heroically overseas, two nearby explosives factories provided employment for the town's women folk. The book charts the stories of these women, revealing the dangerous conditions of the factories and the accidents that entailed. As Laindon was a prominent farming area, despite being located only 20 miles away from London, a number of local women, and some from further afield, also joined the Women's Land Army and worked laboriously for long hours on the farms.  Included throughout the book are stories of the heroic men who fought on our behalf. The authors present us with individual's memories, passed down through families, that bring to life what our men went through and what life was like for those on the home front. The book is a powerful eyewitness account that allows Laindon's wartime citizens, who lived through these momentous and catastrophic events, to tell their own stories in their own words.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49972621869329,"sku":"GOR010512856","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1783463651.jpg?v=1750962502"},{"product_id":"basildon-famous-people-book-ken-porter-9781910427026","title":"Basildon Famous People","description":"Every borough has its own story and Basildon in Essex is no different. This book follows the lives of 50 people from the sixteen hundreds to present time from the area, who have become Nationally or Internationally famous. From Christopher Martin a pilgrim from the sixteen hundreds to Stuart Bingham the world famous snooker player.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52615865532689,"sku":"NLS9781910427026","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53187503849745,"sku":"NIN9781910427026","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781910427026.jpg?v=1761525414"},{"product_id":"joan-rosaire-lady-of-the-circus-book-ken-porter-9781912412204","title":"Joan Rosaire Lady of the Circus","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53508466311441,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53508469555473,"sku":"GOR014951884","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781912412204.jpg?v=1778147578"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-ken-porter.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}