Reproductions of one hundred rare, full-color images from the archives of the Imperial War Museums bring new life to World War II Britain Britain at War in Colour showcases one hundred of the best rare and original color images from the Imperial War Museums' unparalleled collection. Bringing together the most striking photographs from Ian Carter's bestselling War in the Air and The Second World War in Colour, alongside new and never-before-published images, this powerful visual collection shows us a new--or at least long-forgotten--World War II.
Allied victory in the Second World War owed much to air power. The success of military and naval operations invariably hinged on control of the skies, and the rise to dominance of the Allied air forces meant that the Nazi war machine was effectively doomed. Following the success of 'The Second World War in Colour', this book presents a further selection of original colour photographs from the IWM collection, focusing on Allied aircraft and airmen. Alongside these striking images, 'War in the Air' examines how crucial aviation was to winning the war, from the defence of Britain's skies and maritime trade, to battlefield support in North Africa and Europe and the strategic bombing offensive over Germany. Shot from the ground and from the air, these powerful images bring a vital aspect of the Second World War to life.
"A stunning biography…[A] truly singular account of the American Revolution." —Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire Through an intimate narrative of the life of painter John Singleton Copley, award-winning historian Jane Kamensky reveals the world of the American Revolution, rife with divided loyalties and tangled sympathies. Famed today for his portraits of patriot leaders like Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, Copley is celebrated as one of America’s founding artists. But, married to the daughter of a tea merchant and seeking artistic approval from abroad, he could not sever his own ties with Great Britain. Rather, ambition took him to London just as the war began. His view from abroad as rich and fascinating as his harrowing experiences of patriotism in Boston, Copley’s refusal to choose sides cost him dearly. Yet to this day, his towering artistic legacy remains shared by America and Britain alike.
During the Second World War, people arrived in Britain from all over the world as troops, war-workers, nurses, refugees, exiles, and prisoners-of-war-chiefly from Europe, America, and the British Empire. Between 1939 and 1945, the population in Britain became more diverse than it had ever been before. Through diaries, letters, and interviews, Mixing It tells of ordinary lives pushed to extraordinary lengths. Among the stories featured are those of Zbigniew Siemaszko - deported by the Soviet Union, fleeing Kazakhstan on a horse-drawn sleigh, and eventually joining the Polish army in Scotland via Iran, Iraq, and South Africa - and 'Johnny' Pohe - the first Maori pilot to serve in the RAF, who was captured, and eventually murdered by the Gestapo for his part in the 'Great Escape'. This is the first book to look at the big picture of large-scale movements to Britain and the rich variety of relations between different groups. When the war ended, awareness of the diversity of Britain's wartime population was lost and has played little part in public memories of the war. Mixing It recovers this forgotten history. It illuminates the place of the Second World War in the making of multinational, multiethnic Britain and resonates with current debates on immigration.
For those of us who didn't live through World War II, it appears in our mind's eye in black and white. Images of the Blitz, of the D-Day landings at Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the fall of Berlin--all come to us in shadowy grays and blacks, the lack of color simultaneously heightening their drama and distancing them from us. Seen in black and white, World War II seems wholly of the past, a story that's being told much more than an experienced that men and women actually lived through. This book will help change that. Reproducing seventy-eight rare full-color images from the archives of the Imperial War Museums, it shows us a new--or at least long-forgotten--World War II. In these pages, we see the vivid hues of flames, the richly colored fabrics of flags and uniforms, intense blue skies high over battlefields, faces of suntanned soldiers on the march, and the dizzyingly complicated color of the new art of military camouflage. The result is a World War II that has been rescued from the past and restored to us, powerful and unforgettable, so we can see for the first time what our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents saw as they fought and sacrificed all those decades ago.
Color photography was still in its infancy in 1939. With the outbreak of war against Germany, the short supply of color film stock made color photographs even more rare. But some were taken and a few of them have survived. Most of these images have remained unseen for decades. But the producers of the ITV series Britain at War in Colour scoured the archives to unearth a remarkable collection of startling color images for this book. These photographs are presented with a brief outline of the events surrounding them and illuminate a unique selection of personal accounts of the war. Intimate letters and diaries of service men and women civilians and war-time leaders tell the story of the British experience of war. The personal memories tell the reality of war-time Britain: a time when Britain stood alone; a time of danger and hope. The powerful photographs show the reality of war-time Britain: a nation with a purpose; a people with a will to win. Britain at War in Colour is a unique account of Britain during the Second World War.
From Afua Hirsch - co-presenter of Samuel L. Jackson's major BBC TV series Enslaved - the Sunday Times bestseller that reveals the uncomfortable truth about race and identity in Britain today. You're British. Your parents are British. Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British. So why do people keep asking where you're from? We are a nation in denial about our imperial past and the racism that plagues our present. Brit(ish) is Afua Hirsch's personal and provocative exploration of how this came to be - and an urgent call for change. 'The book for our divided and dangerous times' David Olusoga
This book recounts a little-known history of an estimated 2,000 children born to black GIs and white British women in World War II. Stories from over 50 of these children, alongside many photographs, reveal the racism and stigma of growing up in what was then a very white country.
How did the coming of colour change the British film industry? Unlike sound, the arrival of colour did not revolutionise the industry overnight. For British film-makers and enthusiasts, colour was a controversial topic. While it was greeted by some as an exciting development – with scope for developing a uniquely British aesthetic – others were deeply concerned. How would audiences accustomed to seeing black-and-white films – which were commonly regarded as being superior to their garish colour counterparts – react? Yet despite this initial trepidation, colour captivated many British inventors and film-makers. Using different colour processes, these innovators produced films that demonstrated remarkable experimentation and quality. Sarah Street's illuminating study is the first to trace the history of colour in British cinema, and analyses the use of colour in a range of films, both fiction and non-fiction, including The Open Road, The Glorious Adventure, This is Colour, Blithe Spirit, This Happy Breed, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, The Tales of Hoffmann and Moulin Rouge. Beautifully illustrated with full colour film stills, this important study provides fascinating insights into the complex process whereby the challenges and opportunities of new technologies are negotiated within creative practice. The book also includes a Technical Appendix by Simon Brown (Kingston University, UK), which provides further details of the range of colour processes used by British film-makers.
