Featured battle : Edgecote

Part of War of the Roses

Date : 26 July 1469

A Yorkist force under the Earl of Pembroke and his brother were intercepted by a much larger Lancastrian force while on their way to link up with the king's army. They held a defensible position but were drawn out of it partly by the treachery of Sir Geoffery Gate and the king's vanguard, who switched allegiance to the Lancastrians. A great many Yorkists were killed, 4,000 is the figure usually given. Pembroke and his brother were executed and King Edward became Warwick's prisoner.

The Harwich Striking Force

Steve R Dunn
Having enjoyed three previous books by Steve Dunn I had high expectations of this one and I was not disappointed. The Harwich force was a special creation to meet a particular need and worked under a talented leader. It’s actions, successes, failures highs and lows are all here and indicate a massive amount of research. The breadth of its actions many of them experimental is down to the vision of its commander, Admiral Tyrwhitt. He thought deeply about the weapons, cruisers, destroyers, mine sweepers, mine layers, submarines and flying boats, and used them in novel aggressive ways. The accounts of various voyages show how the weather, especially fog, was as much of an enemy as were the Germans.
The easy flowing text includes a lot of personal accounts and observations, there are many photographs of the men and the vessels and one very good map. This is a well-focussed work and a jolly good read which we highly recommend.

Seaforth Publishing, 2022