The ruins of Norwich have given way to the scarred villages of rural Normandy this week as I chart the progress of ‘Doc’ Harden for my new book, Commando Medic. As a member of 45 Royal Marine Commando he had … Continue reading →

With the 70th anniversary of the opening salvo in the Baedeker blitz on Norwich almost upon us, the local media is mobilising its resources to mark this most sombre and sobering of milestones. Derek James, one of the most respected … Continue reading →

It’s been a dizzying week, juggling projects and switching time zones. One moment I was travelling in the slip-stream of ‘Darkie’ Hallows as he skimmed the roofs of Augsburg in a death-defying Lancaster sortie 70 years ago and the next … Continue reading →

I suppose it was you might call a bit of blitz serendipity. There I was in the leafy suburbs of London researching my next book about a Commando medic who won a posthumous Victoria Cross when suddenly I found myself … Continue reading →

There are few more contentious aspects of the Norwich Blitz than the issue of ‘trekking’. Even now, 70 years on, the very mention of it is sufficient to provoke heated debate in some quarters, as I discovered at a recent … Continue reading →

How does that hoary old saying go, “lies, damned lies and statistics!” Well, Mark Twain’s famous old line came to mind the other day, though not quite in the manner originally intended, namely to prop up a weak argument. In … Continue reading →

Strange how things happen. A call out of the blue opens up a whole new avenue of research. And then, lo and behold, it opens another door leading to fresh discoveries in a former avenue of research. Well, that’s what’s … Continue reading →

Stage fright temporarily mastered, it was great to see a ‘sold-out’ audience at the Norwich Arts Centre on Friday night for the talks that marked the beginning of a special exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Baedeker Blitz on … Continue reading →

Great to catch up with Nick Stone last night ahead of our event at Norwich Arts Centre on Friday evening. We met at the Whalebone pub at the bottom of St Clement’s Hill. It was an apt spot to meet … Continue reading →

In response to my appeal for Blitz memories, Ralph Gayton, of Norwich, has sent the following: “Although I was only rising six at the time the events of that day and night, Monday 27th April, 1942, remain vivid in my … Continue reading →