Tag: history
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‘Blood, toil, tears and sweat’ – words that steeled a nation
Eighty six years on from Churchill’s “blood, toil, tears and sweat” speech, David Clensy has been looking back at Churchill’s first speech as Prime Minister On 13 May 1940, Winston Churchill stood before the House of Commons for the first time as Prime Minister. Britain was at war, but it was a war already slipping…
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Ten things you may not know about Operation Husky
Ahead of the publication of The Restless Wave, David Clensy takes a closer look at Operation Husky – the Allied invasion of Sicily In the summer of 1943, as Allied planners searched for a way to prise open Fortress Europe, a sun‑drenched Mediterranean island became the focus of one of the most ambitious amphibious assaults of the Second…
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Naval drama: Amateur theatricals in the Royal Navy during WWII
Ahead of the publication of The Restless Wave, David Clensy takes a closer look at the tradition of amateur theatricals aboard Royal Navy ships Life aboard a Royal Navy vessel during the Second World War was a study in contrasts. Sailors faced long stretches of monotony punctuated by moments of intense danger. In this environment, morale was as…
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A Miracle of Deliverance – short story anthology
David Clensy tells of the real life encounters that inspired his short story in A Miracle of Deliverance This week (Friday, April 17, 2026) will see the publication of A Miracle of Deliverance – bringing together work by seven authors to commemorate the Dunkirk evacuation in a series of linked short stories. I was lucky…
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The WWII bombing of Upper Stanhope Street and its connection to Adolf Hitler’s own family
During the Liverpool Blitz, Upper Stanhope Street in Toxteth faced devastation in the final Luftwaffe raid on the city on 10 January 1942. This raid marked the end of sustained bombing in Liverpool, but not before several homes on the street were levelled. In a curious twist of fate, among these was No 102, a property…
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Operation Demon: The Royal Navy’s Daring Evacuation from Greece
In the spring of 1941, the British and Commonwealth forces in Greece faced a grim reality. The German invasion, launched under Operation Marita, had swept through the Balkans with alarming speed. By mid-April, it was clear that the Allied position on the Greek mainland was untenable. What followed was Operation Demon, a hastily organised and…
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What’s in a name? How the British named military operations in World War 2
November 2025 sees the release of In Danger’s Hour (preorder for Kindle now), the second part of the Romulus Hutchinson Naval Adventure Series. Following their earlier adventures in For Those In Peril, in this second instalment, we follow the twins’ service throughout 1941, from the Mediterranean to the coast of west Africa. It covers a series of key…
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The May Blitz: Liverpool’s week of devastation
November 2025 sees the release of In Danger’s Hour (preorder for Kindle now), the second part of the Romulus Hutchinson Naval Adventure Series. Following their earlier adventures in For Those In Peril, in this second instalment, we follow the twins’ service throughout 1941, from the Mediterranean to the coast of west Africa. But back home, Liverpool is devastated…
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The Battle of Cape Matapan: A Turning Point in the Mediterranean
November 2025 sees the release of In Danger’s Hour (preorder for Kindle now), the second part of the Romulus Hutchinson Naval Adventure Series. Following their earlier adventures in For Those In Peril, in this second instalment, we follow the twins’ service throughout 1941, from the Mediterranean to the coast of west Africa. For our central…
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Otto Kretschmer: The silent U-boat ace of the Atlantic
November 2025 sees the release of In Danger’s Hour (preorder for Kindle now), the second part of the Romulus Hutchinson Naval Adventure Series. Following their earlier adventures in For Those In Peril, in this second instalment, we follow the twins’ service throughout 1941, from the Mediterranean to the coast of west Africa. But as Rom…
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