Britain’s oldest surviving female WWII veteran, 103, told top brass ‘I haven’t come from Jamaica to be a typist’ before becoming first black woman radar operator defending UK’s coast Ena Collymore-Woodstock objected to being given a clerical job at War Office Volunteered for Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and was trained in military drill Many of the … Read more
The wreckage of a Spitfire belonging to World War II hero pilot who vanished without trace during a bombing mission in 1944 has been discovered on Dutch beach. Sydney Hatfield Cheeseman, 21, from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent disappeared 20 miles off the Dutch coast while escorting US bombers to a Nazi air base. … Read more
WWII pilot’s daughter takes to the skies in Hurricane he flew to defend Britain in WWII to honour his memory and his ‘mates who didn’t come back’ Eugenie Brooks, 55, flew her father John’s Hawker Hurricane over RAF Manston John flew the plane with the 174 (Mauritius) squadron during Second World War Fighter pilot also … Read more
How a church-going horticulturalist from Sheffield defied the Nazis during WWII: Woman’s relentlessly cheerful correspondence with her cousin in America during the Blitz helped derail Hitler’s propaganda campaign Winifred Graville penned letters about the Blitz to her American cousin Jane Horticulturalist wrote that the Nazis would not terrify Britain into submission She also documented Sheffield’s … Read more
US WWII bomber emerges from glacier in Iceland melting due to climate change – 76 years after it crashed on its way to England The B-17 Flying Fortress crashed into the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland Bomber’s 10 crew survived the accident during a re-fuelling on Sept. 16, 1944 The warplane was on its way to England … Read more
Divers off the coast of Thailand believe they have found the wreck of a US Navy submarine that was lost 77 years ago in World War II. The divers – including one of the team who rescued the Thai cave boys two years ago – have sent photos from their six dives to the US … Read more
The remarkable exploits of a hero Bomber Command navigator can be revealed after his medals and logbooks emerged for sale. Flight Lieutenant Alan Forsdike took part in 41 operations during the Second World War including raids all over Germany. He directed his Halifax bomber on missions over Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Essen, Dusseldorf, Monchengladbach, Leverkusen and … Read more
Rise of the childless generation: Number of women born in 1960s baby boom are as likely to have no offspring as those deprived of families by World War Two Women born in 1960s are twice as likely to be childless than those born in 1940s Concerns 1960s-born women will be able to access same care … Read more
WWII boat that sank off Kent carrying 1,400 tons of munitions needs urgent work carrying out on it to stop devastating explosion that could send a 4ft tidal wave surging down the Thames The SS Richard Montgomery ran aground in August 1944 off the coast of Kent The Liberty ship was carrying 7,000 tonnes of … Read more
Astonishing before-and-after pictures show how Budapest has been rebuilt 75 years after World War II devastation Soviet and Romanian troops laid siege to Budapest for 50 days from Boxing Day 1944 to February 13, 1945 The fighting was extremely heavy – and around 38,000 civilians in the city lost their lives These astonishing before-and-after photographs … Read more