Exeter in the Great War

The second of my books about the First World War, for Pen and Sword, has now been completed and will be published later this year. This one features the city of Exeter and, using old newspaper reports and stories from the time, tells that tale of Exeter's part in the Great War. This will form part of a series covering towns and cities across Great Britain. I'm currently working on a similar book all about Bath. Meanwhile, here's a sneak preview of the Exeter cover which I think is very eye catching!

More giants!

By now everyone will have seen the news about Gog and Magog in the local papers. I'm pleased that the Herald picked up on the story from my blog and then 'exclusively' released the details on Wednesday. It's a very exciting project and let's hope it all goes ahead as I'm sure it will bring tourists flocking to the area, from worldwide, which will hopefully also increase trade in the many shops, cafes and pubs and other businesses in the city. Duttons Cafe will have the perfect vantage point and the Gog and Magog Inn will no longer have customers coming in asking what their strange name means! I think it's a very impressive proposal and seems to have the support of the people of Plymouth. Some people are already talking about the cost but I personally think that many people would happily volunteer to help out on such an iconic project and it probably wouldn't cost as much as perhaps imagined.

By Thursday, the Herald had featured people's reactions to the project, which on the whole, seemed favourable. I took the photo of Charles, which featured in the paper, on Mount Batten Pier when he attended the council meeting at the beginning of December. It will be interesting to see how it all develops and I know that Charles has had a lot of support already. Incidentally, he was interviewed on Radio Plymouth about the project and clips from the interview can be heard this Sunday (12th January) between 8am and 11am, either online at ww.radioplymouth.com or on 106.7fm (on one of those old-fashioned radio things).
I'll try to keep you up to date with any progress on this blog, so please check back.

Gog and Magog to return to Plymouth Hoe!

The huge chalk giants that last stood on Plymouth Hoe in the 1600s are about to make a comeback and should be in place by September this year.
Back in July 2013, the artist Charles Newington contacted me after reading my blog post about Gog and Magog. Charles was behind the Folkestone White Horse which stands above the entrance to the Channel Tunnel in Kent. Charles told me of his idea to put the huge chalk drawings back on the Hoe and asked if I could help.  After taking photos and measurements (the land in front of the Citadel is 67 feet!), Charles prepared some preliminary drawings, which can be seen here. I suggested that Charles contacted Chris Robinson and that set the ball rolling. The idea was approved at a meeting of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership in September 2013 and then Chris arranged a meeting with the council on 6th December which was attended by Tudor Evans, David Draffan, Charles Newington, Malcolm Beskin (Charles' associate) and Chris Robinson. The whole idea was welcomed and agreed to and is going ahead and should be in place, if all goes well, by September 2014.
I'm confused by the council's secrecy about what is a fantastic project which should become famous worldwide. The press, or other media, haven't been told and it's all been kept hush-hush. However, I think that the people of Plymouth will want to get behind the idea so I'm publishing it here for the first time. Now all I've got to rely on is that people actually read my blog...

Photo archive

I'm trying to put together an online archive of old photos of Plymouth, many rare and unseen. By putting them on Flickr, they will be easily viewable to everyone. I've made a start at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/derektaitoldphotos and hopefully, over the next few months (or years), the archive will grow to contain many thousands of photos. I hope to include many views and events that haven't been seen before on the net and I hope they will be of great interest to many people.

Merry Christmas!

A merry Christmas to everyone who reads my blog and buys my books (and to everyone else!).
It's been an interesting year; new book contracts, artists, chalk giants (oops) and newspaper columns. I've also been sent lots of interesting photos and stories for which I'm always very grateful.
There's lots in store next year with several books on the First World War and one all about the 1960s.
Thanks to everyone who has written to me over the year. Hope you continue to enjoy my books and blog and I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy 2014!

A Sunderland flying boat in Plymouth Sound

This latest rare photo features a Sunderland flying-boat touching down in Plymouth Sound. It comes from a scrapbook of cuttings which once belonged to the historian Marshall Ware which all seem to date from 1959 to 1960.
The accompanying text says:
'A Sunderland flying-boat touched down in Plymouth Sound today for the first time for over two years.
Belonging to the French Navy, the Sunderland brought two French officers paying an official Plymouth call after taking up NATO appointments last month. They were Capitaine de vaisseaux Kervella, Air Commander at Brest, and the chief of staff there, Capitaine de vaisseaux de Lachadenede.
First they called on the A.O.C. No.19 Group, Costal Command, R.A.F., Air Vice-Marshal G.I.L. Saye, at Mount Batten, and later on the Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth Command, Admiral Sir Richard Onslow, at Mount Wise.
The Sunderland's visit brought back nostalgic memories for officers at R.A.F. Mount Batten, who had served with these flying-boats during the war. France still uses the Sunderland for reconnaissance, although no flying-boats are at present in service by Britain.'

Artist Charles Newington and Plymouth Hoe

Here's a photo of the artist, Charles Newington, with Plymouth Hoe in the background, on 6th December 2013. But why is he in Plymouth? The clues are there and all will be revealed...eventually!
Meanwhile, here's an interesting read:
http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/gog-and-magog.html