{"title":"Martin Wade","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"on-dragons-wings-book-martin-wade-9781800995994","title":"On Dragons' Wings","description":"Unlike American states or German L nder, the counties of the United Kingdom have not uniformly borne distinctive flags. A few, such as Kent and Essex, have been associated with specific emblems for centuries which in the modern era have also appeared as flags. Certain territories of the United Kingdom however, with differing historical, cultural and linguistic legacies, have raised flags to mark themselves out as distinct and different. A Cornish flag has existed since at least the nineteenth century, and is considered to be a 'national' flag reflecting the status of the territory and its people as an assimilated Celtic land, rather than just one amongst many English counties. Nottinghamshire's flag features Robin Hood - no surprise there - but why is he at the centre of England's St George's Cross? Because Nottinghamshire is located at the centre of England. Gloucestershire's flag was registered in March 2008 and was the winning entry in a competition held by the High Sheriff of the county to commemorate the county's millennium. The winner explains his design: 'The green is representative of our rural county, the blue, the River Severn, and the yellow, Cotswold Stone.' Today, more than fifty counties have their own flag. All of them are reproduced here. The stories behind the flag designs are a window into local history - and local pride.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49751775248657,"sku":"NGR9781800995994","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51521098416401,"sku":"GOR014313640","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52731657978129,"sku":"GOR014603359","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1800995997.jpg?v=1751184673"},{"product_id":"volunteer-aces-of-churchills-few-book-martin-wade-9781036121693","title":"Volunteer Aces of Churchill’s Few","description":"It has been many decades since the skies over southern Britain were filled with the sound and fury of the Battle of Britain. In that desperate fight, one band who had joined as part-time pilots before the war would play a vital role in eventual victory.         Formed in October 1924, the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF) provided fourteen of the sixty-two RAF fighter squadrons involved in the battle. The AAF pilots, alongside those of the RAF Volunteer Reserve who also trained in their spare time, provided some of the highest scoring RAF aces in the fighting in the summer of 1940. These former part-timers helped these squadrons achieve 30 per cent of the enemy ‘kills’ achieved in the battle. Indeed, the first Spitfire squadron to claim 100 enemy aircraft destroyed was No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron – an Auxiliary unit.        The book captures the sense of adventure these young weekend flyers showed. This was typified by an early achievement of the Auxiliary squadrons – the staging of the first flight over Mount Everest in 1933 by the CO of No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron. One their pilots, Flight Lieutenant Findlay Boy, joined in 1935 while working as a mining engineer and he would go on to score the fastest victory of the battle, downing a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka less than a minute after taking off.         Such were their endeavours in the Battle of Britain that the then Air Vice Marshal Keith Park, AOC 11 Group, summed up their vital contribution by stating that, ‘Without the Auxiliaries we would not have defeated the Luftwaffe in 1940’. Likewise, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding was to say at the height of the battle ‘Thank God for the RAFVR!’         Today, the Royal Auxiliary Air Force is the main reserve component for the regular RAF. It consists of paid volunteers who support RAF operations in the UK and around the world in their spare time.         With astonishing tales of bravery, skill and dedication, Volunteer Aces of Churchill’s Few tells the story of those pilots – both Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve who flew with the squadrons of the AAF – a most remarkable band within ‘The Few’.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51597834486033,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51597834780945,"sku":"NGR9781036121693","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1036121690.jpg?v=1766657104"},{"product_id":"auxiliary-air-force-squadrons-in-action-book-martin-wade-9781036127121","title":"Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons in Action","description":"From the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939, right through to VJ-Day in 1945, the Auxiliary Air Force was at the centre of the fight, accomplishing many notable firsts and achieving success in numerous and memorable actions. Formed in October 1924, the AAF was a primary reinforcement capability for the regular RAF. It consisted of paid volunteers who at weekends, evenings and holidays, trained to support the RAF, particularly in times of national emergency and conflict - which is exactly what happened when Britain declared war on Germany.In the days, weeks and months that followed the AAF's pilots soon found themselves in the thick of the fighting. Indeed, it was the Spitfires of Nos. 603 (City of Edinburgh) and 602 (City of Glasgow) squadrons that downed the first enemy aircraft over the UK. The firsts continued. In November 1941, for example, No.502 (Ulster) Squadron made the first successful attack on a U-boat using air-to-surface radar. A Mosquito of No.605 (County of Warwick) Squadron was the first to shoot down a V-1 flying bomb in June 1944. The following month, No.616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron, commanded by a former part-time Auxiliary pilot, became the first RAF unit to enter the jet age, flying Gloster Meteors.There are also stories of outstanding courage and achievement. In outdated Hawker Hector biplanes, No.613 (City of Manchester) Squadron dive-bombed German positions and dropped supplies to British troops besieged at Calais during the Dunkirk evacuation in late May 1940, earning their leader a DFC. Night-fighters of No.604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron were the first to operate airborne interception radar. Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons in Action tells of this remarkable band of part-time airmen who used experience gained as pre-war weekend flyers to be first to the fight, unleashing the power of new tactics, equipment, technology on the enemy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52606184685841,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52606184980753,"sku":"NGR9781036127121","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781036127121.jpg?v=1770890061"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-martin-wade.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}