This book begins with a detailed examination of the previously little understood observers, aerial gunners/gunlayers and kite balloon observers who flew with the RFC, RNAS and latterly the RAF between 1914 and 1919. It reveals that the RFC had, if not actively fostered, at least, condoned the development of a systemic bias in favour of pilots, a bias that was carried over into, and subsequently sustained by, the RAF for much of the rest of the century.
During the 1920s the RAF dispensed with its remaining observer officers and spent the next fifteen years attempting to make do by misemploying a variety of ground tradesmen as air gunners on a part-time basis. This wholly inadequate practice is contrasted with the Royal Navy's positive attitude towards its non-pilot aircrew. Observers were reinstated in 1934, now ranked as corporals, but still on a part-time basis. Wartime experience soon revealed that the omnipotence of pilots had been a myth. Non-pilot aircrew having become full-timers in 1939, by the summer of 1940 all observers and gunners were at least sergeants and many were being commissioned. The book goes on to examine the proliferation of non-pilot aircrew categories until 1942 when the observer was supplanted by the air bomber and a variety of specialised types of navigator.
Having provided an overview of wartime aircrew training, the story continues with a consideration of the ill-conceived '1946 Aircrew Scheme' which had to be abandoned in 1950 in favour of an all-officer policy for pilots and navigators. As early as 1948 it was announced that they were to have 'comparable career' prospects. The author examines the way in which this egalitarian policy has actually been implemented while continuing to trace the rises and falls in the fortunes of all non-pilot aircrew categories and the evolution of post-war aircrew training until the last navigators graduated in 2011. He concludes by posing several questions to which he suggests some answers.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 416

Dimensions: 210 x 286 mm

Publication Date: 13-04-2014

Pages: 416

Dimensions: 189 x 234 mm

Publication Date: 30-04-2010

Originally intended as a trainer, the Anglo-French Sepecat jet, equipped with the very latest in weapon-aiming and navigational equipment, eventually became the backbone of the RAF's tactical strike-attack and recce forces for a decade from the mid-1970s. In these pages, the Jaguar Boys - pilots, engineer and ground crew - tell of the aircraft's drawbacks and joys, their sadness at losses, and their pleasure at its development into a readily-deployable and outstandingly-capable fighter-bomber for the post-Cold War era. Then came the Gulf War which signalled the start of a hectic sequence of operational adventures and upgrades for the 'Boys' and seasoned veterans tell of action over Iraq and in the Balkans. One of the best-loved of RAF types, the Jaguar commanded a fierce loyalty and affection which shines through in these accounts of an aircraft that will live forever in the memory.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 208

Publication Date: 18-07-2014

According to the Government's nutritional standards, a child's lunch should contain at least one portion each of fruit and veg, protein (meat or alternative), dairy products and starchy food, such as bread or pasta. But a recent survey found that nine out of ten children still take packed lunches to school that contain too much saturated fat, sugar and salt. The Healthy Lunchbox is full of suggestions and ideas to help you provide your child with an appetizing and appealing meal each day. It will explain why many lunchboxes are unhealthy. What a healthy lunch should consist of. What children and adults of different ages should have (size of portions etc). Seasonality. Variety. Encouraging children to experiment. Personalising your lunchbox and making your lunchbox special. How to adapt your lunchbox for different age groups. How to get over children's fears of being different. Dealing with the reluctant/fussy eater and the overweight. Dealing with pester power. How to get kids involved in making their own. What children from other countries take to school. Lunchbox notes. Finally how to plan a week's meals on the basis of one or two shopping expeditions, and a table with a month's suggestions for lunch boxes, as well as food safety and food hygiene.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 64

Dimensions: 225 x 200 mm

Publication Date: 19-09-2014

During World War Two a great many Luftwaffe aircraft arrived on the ground in the UK or its coastal waters, but, as with Rudolf Hess, not all of them through 'conventional' combat circumstances. Some had got lost, others were brought by defectors; some were lured through electronic countermeasures by the RAF, others brought down in unusual combat circumstances. All manner of types appeared - He111, Go145, Me110, Ju88, Me109 F and G, FW 190, Do 217 - and all were of great interest to the RAF. In some cases aircraft were repaired and test flown, betraying vital and invaluable information. Distinguished author Andy Saunders examines a selection of such fascinating cases and draws upon his own research, interviews, official reports and eye-witness accounts to bring alive these truly unusual accounts, all richly illustrated with contemporary photographs.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 192

Publication Date: 18-07-2014

To date there has been a paucity of books on this remarkable aircraft. Among its claims to fame are the following: the only RAF bomber to serve in its original role from first day of war to last, and in every theatre; the first type to bomb Germany; the first type to bomb Berlin; the first type to drop the 4,000lb 'Cookie' bomb; and so on. A serious study is well overdue, drawing not just on official documentation but relying greatly on personal accounts and anecdotes from the veterans who were there, both air and ground crew. Operational detail will include, for example, the early bombing campaigns, the switch to main force activity, the use of OTU aircraft and crews on operations, the protection of Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys, and the continued use as bomber and transport aircraft. A worthy tribute, then, replete with original photographs throughout.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 189 x 246 mm

Publication Date: 19-09-2014

Pages: 160

Dimensions: 175 x 248 mm

Publication Date: 10-10-2002

This important book is a ground breaking work on the subject of British food. It has been thought that civilisation in Britain, which stems from farming, food and cookery all began with the Romans. But it has now been discovered that thriving communities possessing a long history with their own ritual, laws, culture and food, inhabited Britain long before that time. Food is the fundamental spur to action, innovation, exploration and creativity in humankind. This book explores the roots of our national existence through the cultivation of its land, the production and cooking of its food, revealing the moulding force of climate and the constant invention in technology that produced the food through the centuries. It will end in the present but will also consider the ominous, immediate future with the combined threat of global warming and Peak Oil. It is a breath-taking attempt to trace the changes to and influences on food in Britain from the earliest dawning of time when England became an island, through the Roman occupation, the Plague years, the Industrial Revolution, the rise of Capitalism to the present day. There has been a recent wave of interest in food culture and history and Colin Spencer's masterful, readable account of our culinary history is a celebrated contribution to the genre. There has never been such an exciting, broad-scoped history of the food of these islands. It should remind us all of our rich past and the gastronomic importance of British cuisine.

About the author:
Colin Spencer is one of the country's leading food historians but his prolific output has not been limited to this field alone. He has written nine novels, a dozen cookery books, as well as writing for television and film. For thirteen years he was food columnist for The Guardian. His previous book for Grub Street was the award-winning, British Food An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History. Colin Spencer lives in Seaford, East Sussex.

Pages: 234

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 01-06-2011

Pages: 456

Dimensions: 189 x 236 mm

Publication Date: 01-07-2011