Author Archives: secondbysecond

Vignette: The art of Jean-Pierre Gibrat—The Flight of the Raven

Posted on September 5, 2012 by secondbysecond

One day, if I write a spy story set in Nazi-occupied Paris, with a bright young heroine named… Maybe her name doesn’t matter, but I would definitely write a scene where she escapes over the rooftops exactly as Jean-Pierre Gibrat’s … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 2–8 September 1940: destroyers for bases

Posted on September 4, 2012 by secondbysecond

On 3 September 1940 (the anniversary of Britain’s entry into WWII), Britain signed an agreement to receive 50 WWI destroyers from the United States. Some American and British sailors are shown here inspecting depth charges, with destroyers in the background. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 26 Aug–1 Sept 1940: London on alert

Posted on September 1, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war saw the first all-night alert in London, 26 August 1940. The Luftwaffe launched a number of night attacks on the city that week. The picture to the left shows one of the platforms of the … Continue reading →

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In the news: The ship’s bell

Posted on August 25, 2012 by secondbysecond

The chips are down. If Microsoft co-founder, Paul G. Allen, gets his way, he and his ROV-equipped yacht will soon set sail to recover the ship’s bell from HMS Hood. [FYI: ROV = Remotely Operated Vehicle]. HMS Hood, one of … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 19–25 August 1940: Stalin settles a score

Posted on August 23, 2012 by secondbysecond

On the evening of 20 August 1940, the same day that Winston Churchill made his historic ‘Never in the field of human conflict…’ speech before the British House of Commons, a man armed with an ice pick entered a house … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 19–25 August 1940: Never in the field of human conflict…

Posted on August 20, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, Tuesday 20 August 1940, Winston Churchill rose in the House of Commons to give his most memorable speech of the war. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 12–18 August 1940: Eagle Day

Posted on August 13, 2012 by secondbysecond

Like every boy who grew up in England, not too long after the war, I loved to read the boys comics: Beano, Dandy, Hotspur. Particulary Lion. The latter featured the weekly adventures of make-believe World War II RAF pilot, Paddy … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 5–11 August 1940: Italians invade British Somaliland

Posted on August 7, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, 5 and 6 August 1940, the Italian army captured crucial positions in British Somaliland, Britain’s colony in the Horn of Africa. The invasion force was 24,000 strong and included artillery, air support, and light and … Continue reading →

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In the news: Curiosity and the ingredients for life

Posted on August 6, 2012 by secondbysecond

In the early hours of this morning, NASA’s Martian rover Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet to tackle a question that has fired the imagination of the public at least as far back as H.G. Wells’s War of the … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 29 July–4 August 1940: Invasion 1940

Posted on August 3, 2012 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 31 July 1940, Hitler called a meeting of senior naval officers. He decided that the success of his proposed cross-Channel invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion, would depend upon Germany winning the air war over England—what would … Continue reading →

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