Valour Road Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of Valour Road book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
The First World War lasted for four years and three months. And when it ended on November 11, 1918, the people of Pine Street, a sleepy avenue on the outskirts of Winnipeg, came to a startling realization. During the course of the conflict, young Leo Clarke, Robert Shankland, and Fred Hall, all from their street, had each received the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery at that time. Such a phenomenon has never been repeated anywhere in the former British empire. Accessing original documents in his research—such as the wartime diary of Leo’s brother, Charlie, official war records, and general history—author John Nadler constructs a story of the three heroic soldiers, their families, and the enormous impact of WWI on a young Canada. This historic concurrence was so meaningful that a statue was erected in Winnipeg in tribute to these three ordinary soldiers, and their street was renamed Valour Road in their honour.
Road to Valour by Aili McConnon,Andres McConnon Pdf
Road to Valour is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and, between his Tour victories, secretly aided the Italian resistance during World War II. Gino Bartali is best known as an Italian cycling legend: the man who not only won the Tour de France twice, but also holds the record for the longest time span between victories. During the ten years that separated his hard-won triumphs, his actions, both on and off the racecourse, ensured him a permanent place in Italian hearts and minds. In Road to Valour, Aili and Andres McConnon chronicle Bartali’s journey, starting in impoverished rural Tuscany where a scrawny, mischievous boy painstakingly saves his money to buy a bicycle and before long, is racking up wins throughout the country. At the age of 24, he stuns the world by winning the Tour de France and becomes an international sports icon. But Mussolini’s Fascists try to hijack his victory for propaganda purposes, derailing Bartali’s career, and as the Nazis occupy Italy, Bartali undertakes secret and dangerous activities to help those being targeted. He shelters a family of Jews in an apartment he financed with his cycling winnings and smuggles counterfeit identity documents hidden in his bicycle past Fascist and Nazi checkpoints because the soldiers recognize him as a national hero in training. After the grueling wartime years, Bartali fights to rebuild his career as Italy emerges from the rubble. In 1948, the stakes are raised when midway through the Tour de France, an assassination attempt in Rome sparks nationwide political protests and riots. Despite numerous setbacks and a legendary snowstorm in the Alps, the chain-smoking, Chianti-loving, 34-year-old underdog comes back and wins the most difficult endurance competition on earth. Bartali’s inspiring performance helps unite his fractured homeland and restore pride and spirit to a country still reeling from war and despair. Set in Italy and France against the turbulent backdrop of an unforgiving sport and threatening politics, Road to Valour is the breathtaking account of one man’s unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity. Based on nearly ten years of research in Italy, France, and Israel, including interviews with Bartali’s family, former teammates, a Holocaust survivor Bartali saved, and many others, Road to Valour is the first book ever written about Bartali in English and the only book written in any language to fully explore the scope of Bartali’s wartime work. An epic tale of courage, comeback, and redemption, it is the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.
The collected stories of the Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration. As Canada came into its own as a nation during the First World War, proving itself capable of standing alongside Britain on the world stage, scores of Canadians were awarded the Commonwealth’s highest award for pre-eminent acts of valour, self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty, the Victoria Cross. For Valour details every Canadian VC recipient from the First World War. These men, ordinary servicemen from widely differing social backgrounds, acted with valour above and beyond the call of duty. Their stories and experiences offer a fresh perspective on the “war to end all wars.” Series editor Gerald Gliddon and contributors Stephen Snelling, and Peter F. Batchelor, examine the men and the dramatic events that led to the granting of this most prized of medals. Each of the men’s stories is different, but they all have one thing in common — acts of extraordinary bravery under fire.
Road to Valour by Aili McConnon,Andres McConnon Pdf
An Italian SCHINDLER'S LIST, this is the inspirational story of Gino Bartali, who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and secretly aided the Italian Resistance during the Second World War. ROAD TO VALOUR is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and still holds the record for the longest gap between victories. Yet it was his actions during the Second World War, when he secretly aided the Resistance, rather than his remarkable exploits on a bike, that truly cemented his place in the hearts and minds of the Italian people. Based on nearly ten years of research, and including fascinating new interviews, this is the only book written that fully explores the scope of Bartali's wartime work. A breathtaking account of one man's unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity, this is an epic tale of courage, comeback and redemption, and the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.
It was the era of the Cold War, shiny new cars, rock 'n roll, and the magic allure of television. Entertainment was literally turning from black-and-white to colour, and its audiences were likewise bursting into adulthood in living technicolour. Canadian Boomers: Growing Up in Manitoba in the Fifties and Sixties invites readers to turn back the analogue clock to a different age when life was simpler. These relatable baby boomer memories provide insights into city and rural life during the age of post-war stability and consumerism. The co-authors tell their stories with humour, warmth, and nostalgia. They present personal and authentic reflections of the period, offering astute commentary on various elements of life as a whole generation knew it. This is a lively collection of fifty-five short stories and vignettes that paint a picture of Manitoba during the fifties and sixties: growing up on the farm; fun in the city; the bands that changed popular music; the high school experience; and surviving the fifties and sixties. Covering childhood diseases, Christmas holidays, sports, technology, and family traditions, readers are invited to look back and see themselves in these snapshots from a shared past. The stories in Canadian Boomers show innocent similarities and infinite differences across the unfurling of time.
The Streetcars of Winnipeg - Our Forgotten Heritage by Brian K. Darragh Pdf
On the 19th of September, 2015 it will be 60 years since the last streetcar made it’s final run through Winnipeg’s well known Portage and Main. Even our oldest daughter in her mid fifties never had a chance to see a Winnipeg streetcar operating, and naturally her children and grandchildren haven’t either. What an experience they have missed! I operated the streetcars for the final 17 months of existence here, April 1954 to September 1955. I was the third youngest streetcar operator at that time. I turned 86 years old in November 2014 so the remaining half dozen operators will be in their mid nineties now. I have tried to capture the experience that the 73 years of streetcar service provided to Winnipeg and the surrounding towns. From the start of the horse cars in 1882 where the drivers were paid 12 cents an hour, to the beginning of electric streetcars in January 1891, this book describes with the aid of numerous pictures the essence of the transportation experience of those times. The streetcars ran for approximately 35 years before the first four buses came in 1918. In that time the streetcars supported the growth of the city to 150,000 people by 1912 becoming the third largest city in Canada. Writing this book has brought back many fond memories of those days. The last Winnipeg streetcar book was written by the late John Baker 32 years ago. It’s about time for another.
Author : Peter F. Batchelor,Christopher Matson Publisher : The History Press Page : 360 pages File Size : 55,7 Mb Release : 2012-05-30 Category : History ISBN : 9780752487489
VCs of the First World War: Western Front 1915 by Peter F. Batchelor,Christopher Matson Pdf
The predictions of the war 'being over by Christmas' turned out to be far from the truth. By January 1915 the British Expeditionary Force found themselves trapped in the murderous stalemate of trench warfare. British troops had suffered badly in the early campaigns and by January 1915 were holding some 30 miles of trench. The year 1915 was to witness some of the bloodiest and bitter battles of the Great War, including the first blooding at Neuve Chapelle, the Second Battle of Ypres and the appalling failure of Loos. By the end of the summer almost 50,000 men of Kitchener's Army had been killed. This book tells the story of the 67 VC winners from this period on the Western Front. Each of their stories are different and 20 medals were awarded posthumously. However, they all have one thing in common - acts of extraordinary bravery under fire.
J. Bowyer Bell's Beseiged is built on the premise that as long as men have constructed walls, other men have tried to scale them. From ancient Jericho and Joshua's trumpet to London and the onslaught of the Luftwaffe, people have always devised cunning weapons, with all the skills at their command, to breach such barriers and invade the camps and fortified places of their enemies. Beseiged is the story of seven great modern sieges: Madrid in the Spanish Civil War; London, Warsaw, Singapore and Stalingrad in World War II; Berlin during the Post World War II Airlift; and Jerusalem under Arab attack from four sides in 1947. Bell, a veteran historian, describes in detail the actual battles involved, clearly demonstrating the universality of sieges and siegecraft and showing that all these beleaguered places have things in common and obey certain basic laws or principles. Bell points out commonalities showing, for example, though no bullets were fired during the Berlin Airlift, the city itself was as much under siege as was Warsaw, where the Polish Underground fought a fierce but hopeless battle against Hitler's Wehrmacht. By the same token, Bell shows though no German infantry ever came close to London, it was nonetheless besieged by aerial squadrons just as surely as Stalingrad was by both German and Russian ground forces. The histories of these sieges are ones of heroism and cowardice, meticulous planning and incredible blunders, all of which can be studied and used even currently in similar situations in either defending, or piercing the defenses of, a location in times of unrest or war. Beseiged is a must-read for those interested in modern conflict pondering the enigma of human endeavor in wall building and breaking involved in siegecraft. A must-read for everyone from military strategist aficionados and historians to science and technology buffs. If it is to be believed the danger of not knowing history is the possibility of unknowingly repeating it, then Beseiged should appear on all required reading lists.
The Enduring Crown Commonwealth by Michael J. Smith,Stephen Klimczuk-Massion Pdf
The controversial Netflix series The Crown covers the tumultuous period from the Queen’s accession in 1952 to the present day, and so does this book, which explores the rise, decline and—to some—unexpected rebound of the historic UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand alliance. While a post-Brexit and post-Elizabethan Britain seeks a new role in today’s volatile world, its traditional partner countries also recognise the logic of reinvigorating their relationship, based on a multitude of still-strong cultural, economic, political, and military ties, including the monarchy as a uniquely shared global, and not merely British, institution. But this wasn’t always the case. Although in the 1950s commentators spoke of a new "Elizabethan Age" with much postwar hope across the Commonwealth, that optimism quickly faded. By the 1970s, many thought Britain washed up and that Crown and Commonwealth ties and allegiance were becoming obsolete. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the four countries increasingly went their separate ways. So, a groggy time-traveller from that period appearing in London, Toronto, Sydney, or Auckland today would be taken by surprise by the durability of the Crown, even as it has passed to King Charles, and the growing reconvergence of the four "CANZUK" realms in terms of trade, defence, foreign policy coordination, freedom of movement, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and other new or revived links. This book evocatively tells the whole story of where we are, what’s possible for the future, and not least how we got here. In today’s age of global instability and raw power politics, this renewed Anglosphere Crown Commonwealth alliance is more important and relevant than ever.