Kirjahaku

Zero to Hero is unique in that it tells the story of Victor Roe, one of the longest- serving RAF rear gunners with The Pathfinders and in so doing, plots the rise of an 'institutionalised' lad from a Boys' Home to a well-respected bomber aircrew member amongst peers, who were an elite group of top class airmen and who all of whom had a far better start in life than he did. In stories such as this, it is not uncommon to find the words 'humble beginning' describing the start in life that someone had. In Victor's case a humble beginning would have been a huge step up from where he started his short, but astonishingly praiseworthy life. One of nine children born to two impoverished alcoholics-all of whom were removed by the courts from their parent's custody by the age of two-is hardly the start that would be attributed to a hero of the RAF, but that was how Victor started. Victor was always determined that with the advent of war, he would do his bit for his country, no one can deny that he did that and more.

During the Second World War, thousands of American servicemen were uprooted from the US and deposited in rural England and immediately thrust unceremoniously into the frontline of the largest conflict the world has ever seen. Fortunately, many remembered to pack small cameras in kitbags and snapped photographs of their everyday lives as the war unfolded. Yank Bomber Boys in Norfolk: A Photographic Record of the USAAF in the Second World War features over 500 of these personal photographs to produce a unique flavour of life in and around these airbase plots of 'Little America' in Norfolk. None of the photos used in this fascinating book have been utilised from professional sources; the shots from the station's own Photographic Section were the top of the admissible list. Many of these photographs were taken on cheap box cameras and the single prints they produced have been kept for decades by the GIs and their families in the States. Others have been painstakingly collected, documented and restored by a group of British archivists who have kindly allowed the author access to their priceless collections. This is how the Second World War looked to those airmen who were there.

Pasco's Boatyard started in 1771. When it was sold to new owners Craig Brown and Chris De Glanville in 2013, one of their aims was to preserve the traditions of wooden boats in the St Just Creek, and to foster the shipwright skills required to build and maintain them. Under previous ownership, the thrust of the yard's activities had been towards mooring, wintering, and maintaining boats for their owners-it was now time to change. One of the first decisions of the new owners was to agree on a way of demonstrating those skills and traditions, so what better way than to design and build the first new Pasco's boat in over a decade? It would also demonstrate to the local community the yard's commitment to expanding maritime employment in the St Just area. There was no better man to lead the team than Bob Edwards, who was a well-established designer and builder of boats, as well as an enthusiastic owner of an earlier Pasco's P21 Motor Launch. A few discussions, and several nights of drawing plans and making calculations later, and the stage was set for the new P23 to become the next of the long line of Pasco's built boats. This book follows that build.