No I'm Not A Pilot

The Royal Air Force is one of the most technologically advanced armed forces in the world, with a reputation for fighting well above its size and weight. To most people the first thought they have about the RAF is about pilots and aircrew – quite right too. But for every one of the pilots to take off and deliver a mission successfully there will be a team on the ground making that happen, actually around twenty people for each pilot (which makes the aircrew a vital, but relatively small percentage of the entire force). The daring exploits of our aviators are deservedly well documented, but what about the hundreds of people on the ground that never fly in combat missions and yet enable every single mission to actually happen?

This book is a very personal and sometimes emotional journey giving an insight into life in the RAF from the late 1970s to the end of the century, for just one of the support trades – Trade Group No 1: the aircraft armourer. After all, as the founder of the RAF – Lord Trenchard is reputed to have said “without armament, there is no Air Force”. What the armourers say (tongue firmly in cheek) is that without armament, the RAF would be a glorified flying club!

The Servant of the People

This book describes the 18 years during which Den Dover had the privilege to serve the people of Chorley, in Lancashire, as their Member of Parliament. He entered Parliament in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and left in 1997 when Tony Blair won a massive victory for New Labour.

Where the author has omitted to mention certain happenings, it has been in an effort to focus the minds of readers on the important matters – not to obscure what really happened. Indeed, Den’s main aim has been to allow readers to make up their own minds on the very important principles, procedures and proceedings described.

Underpinning everything else is the overwhelming requirement for elected representatives of the people to act in the best interests of all their constituents. They should never seek to benefit, financially or otherwise, from being granted the greatest honour in life, namely to work on behalf of their constituents.

At all times, elected representatives must listen to the needs of the people they represent and deal with their problems to the best of their abilities.

East to West across Russia: The Long Journey Home

Embark on a captivating journey across the vast Russian steppe aboard the iconic Trans-Siberian Railway in this modern tale of self-discovery and introspection. The narrator, known only as D, begins his westward voyage in Vladivostok, traversing the ever-changing landscapes that unfold before him. As time moves inexorably onward, the everyday lives of the passengers intertwine with the rhythmic churning of the train’s propellers, contrasting sharply with the raw silence of the natural world beyond the windows.

As the journey progresses, D’s physical expedition takes an unexpected turn, delving into the depths of his own psyche. A haunting presence, N, permeates the narrative, her essence imbued in the natural world, particularly at the breathtaking Lake Baikal in Siberia. N represents the one who got away, leaving a void and a profound fragility within D’s soul, scattering her ghostly influence across the many places his footsteps tread.

Immersed in the tranquil vistas of the external world, D finds himself enamoured by the everyday characters he encounters along the way. As he navigates the complexities of his inner turmoil and the beauty of his surroundings, the narrator embarks on a transformative odyssey. The D who began his journey in Vladivostok will inevitably be different from the one who arrives in Moscow at journey’s end, but what will this transformation entail? Join D on this introspective voyage as he unravels the mysteries of his past, present, and future on the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Mum’s Secret Diaries

A strong and moving memoir which offers a captivating and extremely rare insight into the life of an ordinary girl growing up in a British working class family in the 1950s.

Mary’s secret diaries discovered by her children, chronicle her early personal life experiences, successes, challenges and hardships in an amusing and delightfully innocent way. Mary’s first diary begins in 1952 when she is an impressionable fourteen-year-old, living in Berkshire, England and continues to 1956 when she turns eighteen. Through her eyes and subsequent diary entries, she recounts the fascinating dramas of a lively, sensitive young woman navigating her way through family life, finishing grammar school, entering the workplace at fifteen, all intertwined with juggling romantic interests and aspirational dreams.

Witness her day-to-day trials, happiness, and emotional struggles in a world of boys and married men, as she juggles a string of admirers, her sister’s favouritism and independence leading to a shock elopement, being forbidden to sing with a band, taking her first holiday abroad with friends where she reveals all the details of what went on, along with many other of life’s firsts.

Will she ever find ‘The One,’ or manage to resist buying those beautiful high heels?

The charm and honesty in which Mary regales her private life and the pickles she gets herself into, is so engaging and powerful that you can’t help but be drawn into her remarkable and totally relatable world, which additionally enlightens the reader of a bygone era of innocence, simplicity, and glamour.

A Shower of Shite

A Shower of Shite offers a gripping biographical narrative that charts the tumultuous journey of two parents as they navigate through a relentless storm of trials brought upon by their children. Their story, akin to the dramatic arcs of a British soap opera, unfolds with tragic twists and turns, an unceasing cascade of events that would seem overdrawn if not for their stark reality. These challenges, though uninvited and not of their own making, are met with a resilience that speaks to the profound sense of duty and unwavering compassion inherent in parental love. It’s a testament to the silent oath etched in the very fabric of biological bonds, a commitment to defend, sometimes even the indefensible, against the odds, all told with a humourous look back at life events faced by the family.

A Strange Fish Swimming in a Foreign Sea

Sierra Leone prior to and post-Independence in the early 1960s, seemed a place of tranquillity to Tim May, just twenty-one years old. He and his companions worked and played hard but Tim was labelled a failure in Freetown, in work and in health and as his manager Mr Enk said, ‘I’m sending you to manage Port Loko branch, you will bloody well sink or swim.’ It was the time-honoured treatment of a failure in the old Empire.

Management was a daunting prospect, especially without a knowledge of Bank accounting, but Tim faces the future with fatalistic hope. Immature and wracked by personal problems the prospect is bleak, particularly dealing with the wily, cunning mostly Lebanese customers who grubbed a living thousands of miles from their nation’s internecine wars. It is not only the customers Tim has to combat, but the climate, diseases and general ill health and his mental state, a strange fish in a foreign sea. It seemed the bugs and creatures, the customers, his fellow expatriates and most of all his real persona all combined to defeat him.

Tim though is a strong fish swimming amongst predators and escapes to fight other.

In the Steps of Alan Turing: Working in the Digital Age

Computing has developed at an astonishing pace over the last 40 years and Professor Alty has been involved in most aspects from working at the bits/bytes level to higher level management. As a member of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils between 1976 and 1981, he chaired a very influential working party on microtechnology which had a major impact both in universities and in industry. One commentator wrote, “This report should be tattooed on the DTI’s backside”! In 1976, he and his team were the first to recognise that the postcode was much more important than assisting the posting of letters, and they pioneered its commercial use. He spent a great deal of effort making computers easier to use for the average person. Between 1984 and 1990, he was Executive Director of the Turing Institute for Artificial Intelligence and became very involved with artificial intelligence research around the world. Between 1990 and 2000, his research team made significant improvements to critical computer interfaces in power stations and aircraft. In the 1990s, Professor Alty examined the techniques of musical composition and showed that they could be used in computer interfaces. In 1996, he pioneered the commercial use of digital radio, producing with Roberts Radio the first successful DAB radio, one of which is on display in the British Science Museum. Finally, in 2000 he and his team performed some important research into dyslexia, which is still highly quoted even today. This book provides an interesting insight into working in the digital age.

American Stories

Embark on a captivating journey through the eyes of a foreign student as he navigates the rapidly evolving cultural landscape of the United States in the 1960s. These deeply personal memoirs offer a unique perspective on a nation in the midst of a profound transformation, as experienced by someone who finds himself immersed in a world vastly different from his own.

From the bustling streets of Long Island, New York, to the hallowed halls of Princeton, the free-spirited atmosphere of Berkeley, the expansive plains of Texas, and the rugged beauty of New Mexico, the author’s academic pursuits take him on a cross-country adventure. As he diligently studies and works, he finds himself swept up in the powerful currents of the anti-war movement, the rise of black power, and the exhilarating spirit of Woodstock.

Far from being a mere observer, the author is an active participant in the unfolding cultural revolution, sharing his own hopes, joys, despairs, and moments of alienation. Through his interactions with the people he encounters, even in the face of adversity, he discovers uplifting experiences that shape his personal growth and understanding of the world around him.

The Tramcar will Return

Electric tramways formed the backbone of most towns and cities in the first half of the twentieth century. But when they got in the way of cars, they had to go. People loved their trams, they took them to school, to work, to go shopping, to the cinema and to football matches. When the last Glasgow tram ran in 1962, a quarter of a million Glaswegians braved the pouring rain to say goodbye.

Thirty years later, trams were re-invented to help combat congestion and environmental impacts of the car. Both eras are covered in this book by an engineer who witnessed the demise of the tram and its revival, playing a major role in getting trams onto the streets of Manchester in 1992. Now trams are running again in London, Edinburgh and cities in between.

This is a personal story about the last tramways in Britain and the new generation of light rail systems, a term invented to avoid any confusion with old double deckers clanking down the middle of the road. It is interlaced with stories of tramways in the UK, Europe and beyond, gained when working as an international light rail consultant.

Archaeology at Two Australian Universities 1971 to 2023

This book is about the author’s time as an academic archaeologist attached to the University of New England, Armidale NSW, and the Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia. It continues the autobiographical account in Prelude, published in 2011 and From Cambridge to Lake Chad published in 2019. It discusses his experiences as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Professor and Emeritus Professor. This memoir also considers the role of many other people with whom he was associated.

Covering the period of 1971 to 2023, it charts the development of the field of archaeology in the Australian context.

Goodbye Mr Krupps

A vivid and entertaining account of one man’s extraordinary life, guided by a love of steam trains and an unerring vision to be an engine driver in the days when steam ruled the rails. See through the eyes of a small boy the first stirrings of this enduring passion as, in rapt fascination, he watches trains on the Hull & Barnsley main line in the 1940s, and witness the bucolic beauty of rural life, allied with the poverty and shear hard graft of farm work during the war years, when it seems his dream will be crushed by the daily grind and drudgery.

Share the author’s exuberance as, having hazarded all, he succeeds in joining the London & North Eastern Railway as a lad porter, before being introduced to the hallowed world of the Locomotive Department, progressing through the ranks to finally fulfil his dream. On this journey share his exhilaration as he thunders down the main line on a locomotive pushed to its limits, spewing fire and brimstone; and witness a host of steam train escapades, adventures, and mishaps, from the farcical to tragic.

Finally, travel with him to exotic Tanganyika/Tanzania in the 1960s where, during 12 years with East African Railways, he experiences the challenges of epic journeys through the heart of the sun-baked bush, breakdowns, derailments, flooded tracks, and violent mutiny, as well as the joy of driving the mighty and exemplary 30 Class, ending with the pinnacle of his career: that of becoming Locomotive Inspector.

The River Never Left Her

In present-day Zürich, an American expat, Emily Benz, buys a set of personal archives at an online auction, setting off an investigation into the life of a British woman raised in the early part of the twentieth century in China. What seemed like an innocuous tin of bonbons sold by a grandson soon turns into a can of worms that can’t be closed again, revealing family dysfunction that stretches back generations, a fairy-tale childhood, four marriages and a liaison. Emily must reconcile the woman’s adult biography with the vivid memoir of China seen through the eyes of a child. This most unexpected memoir moves between China at the turn of the last century, scandal in the high society of 1920s England, and a tenacious widow living in the Switzerland of today.