Gives an insight into a side of wartime that's not often remembered, but we should be reminded that without the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers the machinery of war would have ground to a halt. This book presents memoirs that remind us that true friendship, spirit and a sense of humour can survive the greatest atrocities of war.
The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) provides the Army's integral repair and recovery capability. Its soldiers are deployed at the front line and have to be capable of switching instantly from a technical role to fighting alongside those they support, as their many awards for gallantry demonstrate. This, the third volume of REME's distinguished history covers the period from post-Cold War drawdown to the end of UK combat operations in Afghanistan, during which time REME was continuously involved in operations. The narrative knits together personal accounts of front line experiences with an explanation the political and military background, with a particular focus on equipment support issues. It explains how REME operates and deals with broader issues related to the procurement and support of equipment, and the changing organizations delivering these vital services, within which members of REME have frequently played key enabling roles.
This book tells the story of the Royal Electrical and mechanical Engineers from 1969 to 1992. During this period the army underwent extensive re-organisation and the REME had to adapt and innovate in order to provide the engineering support needed.
Kolar Gold Fields is a small mining town in the erstwhile Mysore State (now known as Karnataka) in India. It was owned by the John Taylor and Sons Company, a British Mining Firm for more than a century. It was well known for its Colonial ambience and was called Little England due to its British and Anglo-Indian population. It was one of Indias earliest industrialized towns and was unique for its secular and egalitarian society. Aptly named Kolar Gold Fields Down Memory Lane the book undertakes a nostalgic journey right from the days of the origins of the Kolar Gold Mines, its historical and mythological connections, its golden progress through the years under the John Taylor and Sons Company, its gradual decline, and the final closure of the once prosperous Kolar Gold Mining Company in 2003. Thus ending a golden chapter in History, which now lies buried in the annals of time. It then moves on to the Anglo-Indian Community (a living legacy of the British Raj) in the early days of KGF. It brings out vividly the glorious and cosmopolitan life led by that tiny vibrant community in KGF who lived in sprawling bungalows with beautiful gardens and domestic helpers at their beck and call. It recalls the grand Christmas Balls and Dances held at the Skating Rink and the Jam Sessions and Pound Parties in Buffalo Lodge. It finally focuses on the author's childhood memories of growing up in KGF in the 1950s and 60s. It reminds one of lifes many simple pleasures home, family, school, playmates, entertainments, games, etc. It recalls memories of old familiar haunts and landmarks of KGF and the people who were an indispensable part of life in those days. It succeeds in preserving the nuances of a bygone era.
Gipsy MOTH Gipsy MOTH is the tale of a young girl growing up, a privileged life in the north of England, during extraordinary times, an era of extremes and pioneers. The Wright brothers first flight, the breakout of war across Europe, and the burgeoning sadness of two parents, both absent for different reasons. Miss Boswell, the family’s Nanny is the single point of continuity and a profound influence on the lives of Nikki and her two brothers. Nikki meets Amy, another Yorkshire Lass at school and through their own loneliness at home they establish a unique and lasting friendship that takes them from Yorkshire to London and beyond to places that they only once ever dreamed of, and the tragic twists and turns they encounter along the way. Willy Mitchell tells the story his great Aunt shared with him after his own father’s funeral unearthing even more secrets in the Mitchell family history. Of happiness, times long gone, of sadness, and of tragedy. The lives of Nikki Beattie and Amy Johnson collide as they meet through their fathers, successful men in the own fields of business. Two pathways intertwined through friendship, school, university and together their discovery of the pioneering days of early aviation. Together they get the bug and join the ranks of probably the most influential group of women in the history of British avionics. Two extraordinary women, aviatrix, true pioneers in the golden age of aviation. Both born just five months earlier than the Wright brothers pioneering flight in 1903, Nikki’s best friend Amy becomes not just a celebrity in the evolution of flight but also a shining light for women’s rights, a national and international hero. Amy read of her rival from across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart who in 1937 went missing during a flight in the Pacific, her body was never found. In 1940, Amy and Nikki both joined the Air Transport Auxiliary, and in 1941 Amy mysteriously crashed and disappeared above the Thames Estuary, her body never recovered. Just like many have their own and family skeletons, Nikki shares her story with Mitchell including secrets that had been long buried.
