Forgotten Voices of the Victoria Cross

Description

Extraordinary accounts of heroism and the servicemen who earned the Victoria Cross 'It wasn't until after he was safely back in the aircraft again that I heard that he'd actually been out on the wing to try to put the fire out ... Remember that we were flying at about 90 miles an hour at a height of 13,000 feet' Squadron Leader RP Widdowson on Sergeant James Ward, who earned his VC in 1941 The Victoria Cross, awarded to the most courageous and determined servicemen, is the highest military decoration that can be bestowed. In Forgotten Voices- Victoria Cross, first-hand accounts of soldiers, sailors and airmen describe the incredible events that earned these extraordinary men the VC in the last century. Captivating and often humbling, these stories depict exceptional acts of bravery in unimaginable situations, of men who would say they were just doing their duty. Introduction by General Sir Richard Dannatt.

A graduate of Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities and a former Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford, Roderick Bailey is a historian attached to the Imperial War Museum. He is the author of Forgotten Voices of D-Day, Forgotten Voices of the Secret War, which was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, and the acclaimed The Wildest Province- SOE in the Land of the Eagle.

This profound study by Roderick Bailey goes a long way to identifying the common characteristics of the bravest of the brave ... Here is a testament to what is good about humankind against the backdrop of what can be the worst. The abiding thought with which the reader is left is one of hope; that adversity can indeed bring out the best in us. These "Forgotten Voices" are eloquent in proclaiming this enduring truth -- General Sir Richard Dannatt, from the Introduction A significant and important book ... Over the last 45 years I have read hundreds of VC books but this volume has a unique place because of the "voices" of the VCs themselves ... Highly recommended and should be read by anyone with an interest in the VC * Victoria Cross Society *