Peter & Shirley Beale

This was taken on Anzac Day 2009 at East Maitland war memorial a very nice  day

Catalina Flying Boat

THE CATALINA FLYING MEMORIAL LTD

The goal of relocating a WWII Catalina at Rathmines is a lot closer. A plane has been bought in Portugal and flown to Australia. It is now at Bankstown airport, where it will be restored to military condition.

The Catalina VH will be on display in conjunction with the Australian Air League and Aircraft Model Show in the Bankstown Airport passenger terminal over the weekend of the 9th & 10th May 2009

In exchange for a (tax deductible) donation of $20, visitors will be invited to climb aboard and sit in the pilot's seat. The Catalina Flying Memorial Ltd will also be selling copies of the excellent books by Bob Cleworth, "Cats at War" and "The Fabulous Catalina", as well as DVDs.

All donations received will help fund the work required to obtain an Australian Certificate of Airworthiness for VH-CAT. The achievement of this key milestone will mark a significant contribution to the return of the Catalina to Australian skies and seas.

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The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

 I can’t believe I did not read this book sooner. I loved it and could not put it down.

An honest and unbiased reflection on a country and its struggles,

which has played a massive part in the media for countless years now. Don’t get me wrong, I am no expert in Afghanistan

and it’s society, but I found all the underlying tones and hints of a long established culture really fascinating

 and quite different to what I had heard or was led to believe. I love books that leave me feeling as though my life is more enriched

from the moment I pick them up and turn the first page. I also love a journey. This was no exception.

Khaled Hosseini is a real story teller and I had to go out straight after finishing The Kite Runner to buy his other book, A Thousand

Splendid Suns. I’m really looking forward to it and will keep you posted.  

Thank you Laura M

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The Colour Purple by Alice walker

The Colour Purple, 

by Alice walker

Wow! Months after reading this book and I am still blown away...

Not only is this story an incredibly realistic take of life for African Americans years ago in the deep South,

It is surprisingly,(for me anyway) a really good story. I honestly walked away smiling to myself over

The main character Celie and her life. Her struggles were, at times, mortifying and the most unfortunate of circumstances.

She became an unlikely heroine, turning everything on it’s head,( and left me feeling liberated as though I had shared this journey of self discovery too),

through the most simplest of means available to her. I have passed on this book to so many and would recommend it to any.

One of this stories hidden gems is the style in which its written.

Thanks Laura M 

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Death by Design By Peter Beale

When Britain went to war in 1939, its tank crews were ill-equipped and under-trained, despite the fact that, at the end of World War I, Britain's tank forces were more advanced than any in the world. This text reviews British tank development to 1945 to identify the causes of this ill-preparedness.

More details

Death by Design: The Fate of British Tank Crews in the Second World War

By Peter Beale

Edition: illustrated

Published by Sutton Pub Ltd, 1998

ISBN 0750910593, 9780750910590

214 pages

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The Great Mistake By Peter Beale

Inefficient command structures, conflicts between Allied commanders and differing American and British military cultures all contributed to a huge missed opportunity, described by many historians as 'The Great Mistake'. On September 4, 1944, the British 11th Armoured Division entered Antwerp, capturing the docks intact with Belgian assistance. It was 85 days, however, before the first Allied cargo ship reached the docks on November 29. Some 80,000 soldiers of the German Fifteenth Army slipped across the Scheldt Estuary and escaped towards Germany along the Beveland peninsula. Had 11th Armoured Division immediately sealed off the peninsula where it joined the mainland, the Allies could have eliminated the Fifteenth Army and opened Antwerp's port much earlier, potentially allowing them to cross the Rhine and defeat Nazi Germany in 1944.

More details

The Great Mistake: The Battle For Antwerp And The Beveland Peninsula, September 1944

By Peter Beale

Edition: illustrated

Published by Sutton, 2004

ISBN 0750932864, 9780750932868

227 pages

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Tank Tracks: 9th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment at War, 1940-45 by Peter Beale

Now in paperback and fully illustrated -- a graphic picture of what it was like to live and fight as a member of a British heavy tank battalion in World War II.From shortly after D-Day on June 6,1944 until the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, the men and Churchill tanks of the 9th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment saw plenty of combat. Tank Tracks makes extensive use of the 9th Battalion's War Diary, interwoven with letters, personal diaries and the author's own narrative to provide a vivid picture of life in a fighting unit. 

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