Woodslane | Book - 9781781558317

Quick Search Category Search Publisher Search Bulk Search Clear Search

Popular Subjects

Woodslane Online Catalogues

Add to Cart

Defending Bedfordshire

The Military Landscape from Prehistory to the Present

ISBN-13: 9781781558317
Publisher: FONTHILL
Imprint: FONTHILL
By Mike Osborne
Price: AUD $53.99
Stock: 0 in stock
Availability: This book is temporarily out of stock, order will be despatched as soon as fresh stock is received.
Local release date: 23/08/2021
Format: Paperback (234.00mm X 156.00mm) 264 pages Weight: 755g
Categories: Military history [HBW]Bedfordshire [1DBKESD]

Description
Author Biography
Google Preview: Over the centuries, proximity to major routes---the Great North Road, the Icknield Way, and Watling Street---has made Bedfordshire strategically important. Iron Age hillforts occupied significant locations, and castles consolidated Norman control after 1066. In later medieval times, two major events occurred: in 1224, the siege of Bedford Castle marked Henry III's attempt to reimpose royal authority after the chaos of John's reign; and the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461 was a major defeat for the Yorkists. During the wars of the twentieth century, the county's industrial base supported the armies fighting overseas. In the First World War, the county contributed significantly to the birth of the RAF as well as provided the base for the Home Defence armies. In the Second World War, its airfields despatched RAF and USAAF bombers over the continent, but the major activity was the secret war largely associated with the Bedford Triangle. After 1945, aeronautical research continued at RAF Thurleigh/Twinwood Farm and electronic intelligence-gathering was developed at Chicksands. 'Defending Bedfordshire' seeks to explain the significance of this dense concentration of military sites to be found in a relatively small county.; Dr Mike Osborne's interest in fortification began with childhood visits to castles. It has developed over the years to include all aspects of the topic from Iron-Age forts to Cold War bunkers. He was a volunteer-coordinator for the Defence of Britain Project recording the military structures of the twentieth-century. After a thirty-year-career in education he took early retirement and since then has produced nearly twenty books. Topics include: Civil War sieges and fortifications, drill halls, twentieth-century military structures, a series of county surveys of defences and the best-selling 'Defending Britain'.; Google Preview content