Buccaneer Boys 2
Buccaneer Boys 2

Author: Graham Pitchfork

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1911667645

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Following the critically acclaimed publication eight years ago of Buccaneer Boys, long-serving Buccaneer navigator Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork has now followed up the great success of the book with more true tales from those who flew the last all-British bomber. Thirty Buccaneer ‘Boys’, drawn from the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force, outline their experiences in the maritime role, operations overland, including the first Gulf War, and operations by the South Africans in the Border Wars. In addition to the aircrew, air engineer officers and ground crew have also contributed. The reader is left in no doubt that the ‘Buccaneer Boys’ knew how to work hard and to play hard. The skill, professionalism and excitement of operating and servicing this iconic British aircraft shines throughout every page. This book is lavishly illustrated with 100 black and white photographs and two-color plate sections of 40 photographs, many never previously published.

Cold War Boys Overseas
Cold War Boys Overseas

Author: Graham Pitchfork

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Published: 2024-09-26

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1911714643

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Until the end of the Cold War in 1990, the RAF had several major bases worldwide – largely in those areas where the service had been based during the inter-war years. In Cold War Boys Overseas contributors recall their time at these foreign destinations. With almost half of RAF personnel serving abroad in the 1960s situated throughout Germany, the book starts its focus there with tales of monitoring the Soviet threat. The stories then advance to the warmer climates of the Near East and Far East where different challenges awaited those serving there. As the period progressed RAF squadrons saw changes to their equipment with Hunters, Javelins and Canberras being replaced by a new generation of combat aircraft such as the Buccaneer, Harrier, Jaguar, Phantom and Vulcan. Innovation of missile defense and the expansion of the role of helicopters were also critical at this time. How this affected the RAF is told by the aircrew and ground crew who served then. The stories that feature in the book reveal just how serving overseas was a different way of life and the chapters illustrate the many facets of the RAF’s capabilities across the globe. They also highlight a lifestyle that no longer exists in today’s RAF. Buckle up and allow the Cold War Boys to take you on a thrilling adventure across the globe.

Forever Vigilant
Forever Vigilant

Author: Graham Pitchfork

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Published: 2016-05-05

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1910690783

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208 Squadron based at RAF Valley in Anglesey will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in October 2016, making it one of the few RAF squadrons to achieve this unique distinction whilst still part of the RAF’s current order of battle. To celebrate this achievement, Air Commodore Pitchfork has compiled a chronological history of the squadron’s main activities and personnel with the aim of illustrating the spirit, comradeship, and professionalism of the squadron. Taking its title from the squadron’s motto, ‘Vigilant’, the book starts with the formation of Naval 8 as a scout squadron on the Western Front during the First World War. It then continues through the various conflicts that Naval 8/208 Squadron has played a key role in, including the Second World War and Gulf War. The squadron’s move to Egypt in the inter-war years as an army cooperation squadron, which inspired the Gizah Sphinx motif for 208 Squadron, is also covered. Its modern-day role as an advanced flying training squadron concludes the squadron’s story. This history has been written with the use of important sources from the squadron’s archives, along with interviews from veterans and current members of the squadron. It also has the support of the squadron’s Old Comrade’s Association, which was pioneered and fostered by its first CO, Air Vice-Marshal Sir Geoffrey Bromet. The association is very active and one of the longest serving and strongest associations within the RAF.

Beaufighter Boys
Beaufighter Boys

Author: Graham Pitchfork

Publisher: Grub Street

Published: 2019-08-29

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1911621823

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The author of Shot Down in the Drink shares photos and anecdotes detailing the history of the World War II fighter plane and its crews across the globe. Researched many years ago by Graham Patrick for a project that did not come to fruition, Beaufighter air and ground crew gave freely of their stories, which ranged from complete memoirs to brief anecdotes. And there were a plethora of original photographs for him to choose from. He has built on these tales to trace the roles of Beaufighter squadrons spread across all the theatres of World War II operations. From home bases, through northwest Europe, North Africa, Malta and the Mediterranean, to the Far East and southwest Pacific, the Beaufighter served far and wide, as did the crews of the RAF, RAAF, SAAF, and New Zealand and Canadian squadrons. All are covered in this quite unique book to be savored by all those interested in the war in the air from 1939–1945.

Swim Pretty
Swim Pretty

Author: Jennifer A. Kokai

Publisher: SIU Press

Published: 2017-06-15

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0809336006

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In Swim Pretty, Jennifer A. Kokai reveals the influential role of aquatic spectacles in shaping cultural perceptions of aquatic ecosystems in the United States over the past century.

And This Is My Friend Sandy
And This Is My Friend Sandy

Author: Deborah Philips

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-03-25

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 135017422X

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This book situates the production of The Boy Friend and the Players' Theatre in the context of a post-war London and reads The Boy Friend, and Wilson's later work, as exercises in contemporary camp. It argues for Wilson as a significant and transitional figure both for musical theatre and for modes of homosexuality in the context of the pre-Wolfenden 1950s. Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend is one of the most successful British musicals ever written. First produced at the Players' Theatre Club in London in 1953 it transferred to the West End and Broadway, making a star out of Julie Andrews and gave Twiggy a leading role in Ken Russell's 1971 film adaptation. Despite this success, little is known about Wilson, a gay writer working in Britain in the 1950s at a time when homosexuality was illegal. Drawing on original research assembled from the Wilson archives at the Harry Ransom Center, this is the first critical study of Wilson as a key figure of 1950s British theatre. Beginning with the often overlooked context of the Players' Theatre Club through to Wilson's relationship to industry figures such as Binkie Beaumont, Noël Coward and Ivor Novello, this study explores the work in the broader history of Soho gay culture. As well as a critical perspective on The Boy Friend, later works such as Divorce Me, Darling!, The Buccaneer and Valmouth are examined as well as uncompleted musical versions of Pygmalion and Goodbye to Berlin to give a comprehensive and original perspective on one of British theatre's most celebrated yet overlooked talents.