This short film was brought to my attention via the...ahem... wwiireenactment forums. I am not a WW2 reeanactor, but part of me wishes I could be. Anyway, I joined the forum, possibly to live a little through them, and found this in a topic about Danger UXB! So, pursuant to my recent post about that wonderful TV show, here's a MoI Public Information Film about butterfly bomb disposal:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWINnAkrxRA
Also, a short film from 1940 about what to do should you encounter an incendiary bomb. I can't remember if I've already posted this, but here it is anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcBENESHMNI
Finally, part of episode two of Danger UXB! There may be full episodes floating around on YouTube, but as far as I can tell they're just bits and pieces.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVAZmF2d8es
Edit: I don't know why I suddenly can't embed videos!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Movie: Avro Lancaster 514 Squadron
This was posted at www.ww2f.com by E. Campbell. Here's what he had to say:
This 30 minute film was created by Doug Harvey as a tribute to his father, Sam Harvey and the crew of Lancaster A2-C. Flying from an airfield at Waterbeach, England this aircraft made its last flight on the night of July 28, 1944. Much of the narrative and technical advice was provided by the pilot, my father, Alex Campbell. Working with a tiny budget, Doug has created a wonderful tribute and an important historical document.
It unfortunately has rather a long load/buffer time, but just let it sit and sort itself out. It's worth watching!
This 30 minute film was created by Doug Harvey as a tribute to his father, Sam Harvey and the crew of Lancaster A2-C. Flying from an airfield at Waterbeach, England this aircraft made its last flight on the night of July 28, 1944. Much of the narrative and technical advice was provided by the pilot, my father, Alex Campbell. Working with a tiny budget, Doug has created a wonderful tribute and an important historical document.
It unfortunately has rather a long load/buffer time, but just let it sit and sort itself out. It's worth watching!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Air Show Videos
I've finally uploaded some (unfortunately short) videos from Flyfest 2009 at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (CWH). This annual event coincided with a celebration of Canada's 100th anniversary of powered aviation! Exciting stuff. Apologies for the brevity and poor quality of the videos. My memory card isn't too big.
Avro Lancaster Mk. X
With new blades courtesy of...uh, some people on the East Coast. Although it flew over my head in the parking lot as I arrived, its second flyby was cancelled; once the pilot got up there, there was some kind of problem and in the interest of safety, he returned to the ground. Booo.
P-51D Mustang
Flyby: North American B-25j Bomber / Fairey Firefly / Westland Lysander Mk. III
Note: This was the second (public) flight of the Lysander after a 22 year period of refurbishment!
Impromptu Flyby: B25j Bomber
As I was getting into my car, it flew over. I also saw it circling over the city when I got home--a very strange sight indeed. I'm used to traffic planes, emerg helicopters, etc... but a bomber?! That was definitely a surreal experience and a strange end to the day.
That's all for now. If you're in Ontario, I'd highly recommend exploring the CWH. Unlike many aviation museums, the CWH is a flying museum. Obviously there are lots of static displays as well, but many of the planes living there (i.e. Avro Lancaster) are flyable. The latter is one of only two flyable Lancasters in the world. Crazy!
Visit www.warplane.com for more info.
Avro Lancaster Mk. X
With new blades courtesy of...uh, some people on the East Coast. Although it flew over my head in the parking lot as I arrived, its second flyby was cancelled; once the pilot got up there, there was some kind of problem and in the interest of safety, he returned to the ground. Booo.
P-51D Mustang
Flyby: North American B-25j Bomber / Fairey Firefly / Westland Lysander Mk. III
Note: This was the second (public) flight of the Lysander after a 22 year period of refurbishment!
Impromptu Flyby: B25j Bomber
As I was getting into my car, it flew over. I also saw it circling over the city when I got home--a very strange sight indeed. I'm used to traffic planes, emerg helicopters, etc... but a bomber?! That was definitely a surreal experience and a strange end to the day.
That's all for now. If you're in Ontario, I'd highly recommend exploring the CWH. Unlike many aviation museums, the CWH is a flying museum. Obviously there are lots of static displays as well, but many of the planes living there (i.e. Avro Lancaster) are flyable. The latter is one of only two flyable Lancasters in the world. Crazy!
Visit www.warplane.com for more info.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Suggested Reading Pt. 3
Pursuant to 'Suggested Reading pt. 2' (re: need books on queers during ww2), here are some things I've finally come across.
The first is a good book, but it's been almost entirely unhelpful to the research I'm doing... so let's get that out of the way first:
Queer London: Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957 by Matt Houlbrook.
While, as I've said, it's a fantastic book on its own, it is entirely about men, which is interesting academically but not what I'm looking for, unless this thing I'm writing eventually encompasses more male characters. Nevertheless, I highly recommend reading it if you're interested in queer history, etc.--the depth of research and details is really astonishing. I can't imagine how exhausting it would be to write something like this.
Next up--and this is much more helpful to what I'm doing--is A Lesbian History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Women Since 1500 by Rebecca Jennings. She is also the author of Tomboys and Bachelor Girls, which focuses on post-war lesbian culture in Britain (as far as I can gather--I haven't read it yet).
Anyway, despite a truly alarming book jacket, A Lesbian History of Britain is a phenomenal read. Although I'm interested mainly in the interwar years and ww2 of course, I've found myself being sucked into the earlier chapters, too. Jennings' style is very readable--I find academic books to be largely pretentious and dry (I'm not known for having a long attention span), but was delighted to find A Lesbian History...to be neither pedantic nor condescending despite tackling some largely academic issues when it comes to lesbian history (i.e. essentialist vs constructionist theories of lesbian identification throughout history). Like many areas of history, queer studies seem also to be male-dominated; again, without any mind-numbing, abstract blither-blather, Jennings' narratives and analyses are straight-forward and easy to understand even to idiots like me. Um... I guess you can gather by now that aside from having little patience, I am far from an academic frame of mind. How many times have I said 'academic' in this post? This is getting silly and redundant. Point: Read this book! Right now!
Moving on, here are some more relevant authors/titles I haven't read yet (obviously I can't speak for these yet, but they seem topical!):
It's Not Unusual: A History of Lesbian and Gay Britain in the Twentieth Century
by Alkarim Jivani.
The Lesbian History Sourcebook: Love and Sex between Women in Britain from 1870 to 1970 by Alison Oram
Oram has also penned Her Husband was a Woman!: Women's gender-crossing and twentieth century British popular culture
Another suggested author, and one whose work I'm anxious to investigate, is Laura Doan, who is a prof at Manchester U. Here's a list of her work.
I guess that's all I can remember at the moment. Happy reading!
The first is a good book, but it's been almost entirely unhelpful to the research I'm doing... so let's get that out of the way first:
Queer London: Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957 by Matt Houlbrook.
While, as I've said, it's a fantastic book on its own, it is entirely about men, which is interesting academically but not what I'm looking for, unless this thing I'm writing eventually encompasses more male characters. Nevertheless, I highly recommend reading it if you're interested in queer history, etc.--the depth of research and details is really astonishing. I can't imagine how exhausting it would be to write something like this.
Next up--and this is much more helpful to what I'm doing--is A Lesbian History of Britain: Love and Sex Between Women Since 1500 by Rebecca Jennings. She is also the author of Tomboys and Bachelor Girls, which focuses on post-war lesbian culture in Britain (as far as I can gather--I haven't read it yet).
Anyway, despite a truly alarming book jacket, A Lesbian History of Britain is a phenomenal read. Although I'm interested mainly in the interwar years and ww2 of course, I've found myself being sucked into the earlier chapters, too. Jennings' style is very readable--I find academic books to be largely pretentious and dry (I'm not known for having a long attention span), but was delighted to find A Lesbian History...to be neither pedantic nor condescending despite tackling some largely academic issues when it comes to lesbian history (i.e. essentialist vs constructionist theories of lesbian identification throughout history). Like many areas of history, queer studies seem also to be male-dominated; again, without any mind-numbing, abstract blither-blather, Jennings' narratives and analyses are straight-forward and easy to understand even to idiots like me. Um... I guess you can gather by now that aside from having little patience, I am far from an academic frame of mind. How many times have I said 'academic' in this post? This is getting silly and redundant. Point: Read this book! Right now!
Moving on, here are some more relevant authors/titles I haven't read yet (obviously I can't speak for these yet, but they seem topical!):
It's Not Unusual: A History of Lesbian and Gay Britain in the Twentieth Century
by Alkarim Jivani.
The Lesbian History Sourcebook: Love and Sex between Women in Britain from 1870 to 1970 by Alison Oram
Oram has also penned Her Husband was a Woman!: Women's gender-crossing and twentieth century British popular culture
Another suggested author, and one whose work I'm anxious to investigate, is Laura Doan, who is a prof at Manchester U. Here's a list of her work.
I guess that's all I can remember at the moment. Happy reading!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Danger UXB
Does anyone remember Danger UXB? It was a British series from the '70s following bomb disposal units in Britain during WW2. Although I remember watching it as a kid, I can't remember any specific episodes or storylines. Anyway, I'm trying to find copies of Danger UXB to rent (it's awfully expensive to buy, although I'm sure it would be worth it. Or almost worth it), and in the process have come across some interesting links.
ContaminatedLand.co.uk has a page about where some UXBs are buried, or suspected buried:
http://www.contaminatedland.co.uk/sere-dip/estd-uxb.htm
Even more interesting is the LCC Bomb (incl. Flying V) Damage Map from '39-'45:
http://www.locallocalhistory.co.uk/studies/bombingmap/index.htm
There have been a few related snippets in newspapers (and because I'm prematurely turning into an old lady I cut these things out) over the years that I can't find online, but at any rate here are two news items: UXB removed from IMW at Duxford.
And from the other side, British bombs diffused in Germany.
Well, that's pretty much it. Nothing terribly interesting, but it'll have to satisfy my UXB craving until I can find this series at an affordable price...
ContaminatedLand.co.uk has a page about where some UXBs are buried, or suspected buried:
http://www.contaminatedland.co.uk/sere-dip/estd-uxb.htm
Even more interesting is the LCC Bomb (incl. Flying V) Damage Map from '39-'45:
http://www.locallocalhistory.co.uk/studies/bombingmap/index.htm
There have been a few related snippets in newspapers (and because I'm prematurely turning into an old lady I cut these things out) over the years that I can't find online, but at any rate here are two news items: UXB removed from IMW at Duxford.
And from the other side, British bombs diffused in Germany.
Well, that's pretty much it. Nothing terribly interesting, but it'll have to satisfy my UXB craving until I can find this series at an affordable price...
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Suggested Reading Pt. 2
Among other things, I'm currently reading London At War, 1939-1945 by Phillip Ziegler. It is without question the funniest WW2 book I've come across (Ziegler humorously draws attention to the initial disorganization of Civil Defence, the characteristic pluck of Londoners, the arrival of American GIs, etc.) while still remaining articulate, informative and well organized.
Of course, it's not all funny, but it's one thing that stood out to me after reading so many World War Two books. If we go by South Park's rule that we're allowed to laugh at something after 22.3 years (I'm citing the episode Jared has Aides), we should definitely be able to appreciate the humour of events without any guilt. Or whatever. It's 1 am and I'm not making much sense, but that's just fine.
Anyway. At nearly 400 pages there is little that Ziegler has left out. One thing that really interests me during this period is racial and ethnic discrimination, which he also addresses. That said, I need to find some books about gays and lesbians in Britain at that time (if you have any suggestions, let me know). I'm excited to read the rest of London at War. So far it's proving to be a fantastic read.
Mr Ziegler has written many other books, including one on the plague. If he manages to point out the more ridiculous points of Second World War, I can't wait to find out what he says about the plague in his aptly titled Black Death.
Happy reading!
Delirious P.S. Maybe I should have called this the Blitz Blog? Or is that less funny and more cutesy-poo? Whatever. Goodnight, wherever you are...
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