Coastal Dawn by Andrew Bird
In 1940, the defence of Great Britain rested with a handful of volunteer aircrew, Churchills few. Overshadowed in later folklore by the more famous Spitfire and Hurricane pilots, there were other pilots, observers and air gunners just as courageous flying the Bristol Blenheim MKIV-F. The future of the country and arguably that of the free world depended also on their skill, morale and sacrifice. Remarkably little has been chronicled of these men and their aircraft the trade protection squadrons formed by Hugh Dowding allotted to 11 Group in October 1939. The aircrafts range and endurance made it suitable for defence of coastal shipping against attack on the southern and eastern shores of Britain, and for operations further afield. Indeed during bitter fighting casualties among 235, 236, 248 and 254 Squadron Blenheims were high on operations over Norway, Holland, France, Dunkirk and then the Battle of Britain where the Blenheims were completely outclassed by Messerschmitt 109 and 110 fighters and fell easy victims, scythed from the sky. But the record of the aircraft and their crew was an immensely proud one. Drawing on contemporary diaries, periodicals, letters, logbooks, memoirs and interviews with survivors, lauded historian Andy Bird reassesses the vital role they played and repositions it in history. In doing so, he justifiably embraces the heroes we have left behind.
Bird, Andrew: - Andrew Bird is a historian of the Second World War, as well as a writer and broadcaster. He has written two military aviation history books on RAF Coastal Command: A Separate Little War (Grub Street) HB 2003, 2005, PB 2008 Kindle 2012, and Coastal Dawn (Grub Street) HB 2012. Andrew's new style of writing for Coastal Dawn was a hit with readers going straight into the No 3 Spot of the Amazon top ten-bestseller list for the Battle of Britain. Andrew has also taken part in historical documentaries: 2012 he was a consultant and contributor for War Heroes In My Family (Series 1) on Channel 5, made by 360 Productions. Acting as a consultant on BBC Who Do You Think You Are (Series 10) for Wall-to-Wall Media, which was transmitted in July 2013. He is a full-time creative graphic designer, and has worked for an eclectic mix of people: Sir Julian Rose - Harwick Estates Organic's, George Harrison, Robert Hardy, Vince Hill and Rachel Goswell (of Slowdive, Mojave 3) to Reading Outreach Programme, HHR, Leander Club, The Guardian Media Group and Waitrose (part of the John Lewis Partnership). Andrew was drawn by internationally acclaimed artist Dryden Goodwin for his 'Open' exhibition. He is a member of the Society of Authors, and lives in Berkshire - in Elizabeth Taylors (the writer) former house.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781906502690 |
| ISBN 10 | 1906502692 |
| Title | Coastal Dawn |
| Author | Andrew D Bird |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Grub Street Publishing |
| Year published | 2012-08-01 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |