Tonie Holt

A novel, if good, you may read cover to cover never putting it down; when you do put it down you are unlikely to read it again. A history book such as ‘My Boy Jack?’, with such a powerful and intricate narrative, you put down because of its intellectual weight.

Till The Boys Come Home – Excellent Resource

Till The Boys Come Home is an excellent view of the First World War through the prism of Picture Postcards by Tonie and Valmai Holt. Not only is this an excellent resource for the student but also for collectors of postcards and postal history. For those who are collectors it gives some excellent information which will aid research, and it covers all sides in the war not just the British. Till The Boys Come Home is republished with its original show more 1977 forward that was written by a World War One Veteran Eric Hiscock.

To those brought up in the internet and social media age postcards may seem quaint and at times rather odd but it was one of the few ways to convey news in the early 20th Century, quick and efficient, the twitter of its age. During the early years of the century the picture postcard came in to its own and all sides in the war realised the potential for propaganda use and this book shows its uses.

The book is beautifully illustrated in full colour with many postcards and sensibly broken down in to relevant chapters to make them easier to understand. I am a collector of postal history and in the main the fieldpost the news from the front and some of this came in the form of picture postcards both to and from the front. These are now historical documents of the war and many are in private collections and one collection is shown in part in Chapter 7, that of the Queen’s.

From the beginning we are given a flavour of the men and the nations that went to war and depictions of going to war and the fight for freedom the smiles the beauty all of which would disappear by the end of the war. We also get excellent examples of the propaganda both the patriotism and hatred that these postcards generated, or were meant to stir up.

There is a chapter that is completely dedicated to the reality of war in all its forms on land, at sea and also in the air. The sepia pictures of the men and the weapons leave a very strange feeling wondering whether they survived or paid the ultimate price. Even the changes at home when women went to work in the support of the war effort the postcards preached the changes.

Till The Boys Come Home is an excellent book that you can look at time and time again enjoying every postcard in the knowledge that this is part of our history. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. show less

D-Day Normandy Landing Beaches

The D-Day commemorations of 2014 were to remember the battles of 70 years prior with the last of those young men who are now in their early 90s at their youngest in attendance. This was probably the last time the brave men would be able to attend and remember their contribution to the biggest invasion on to mainland Europe ever, while also remembering those who never able to go home.

As those who were there grow old and the memories begin to fade, my generation show more are probably the last to have Grandparents who fought in the World War 2 whose memories were fresh. Major & Mrs Holt first wrote their guidebook to the D-Day Normandy Landing Beaches for the 40th anniversary in 1984, this new book is updated and just as fresh as it was then.

As those who fought become fewer and their stories of what was happening to them and their mates begin to die with them, we need help in remembering what was happening and where. This book is the most definitive guide book to all the beaches even with GPS locations so even the stupid cannot get lost.

There are wonderful background stories so you can understand what you are looking at and why various things happened around the towns and villages. This book helps to bring to life the battles and the stories of those who were there at that time. Sometimes there are stories of the villagers and what they felt and what they saw.

From the approach the soldiers took from Portsmouth towards the beaches to what happened on the beaches as the allies moved towards their targets. It also covers those from the airborne divisions that landed and had to take various bridges and installations waiting to be relieved by their comrades. There are plenty of pictures and maps as well to aid your discovery of the beaches and the various towns.

This is a must have book for all students of history who wish to plan and go to Normandy and honour the memory of the sacrifices made. This is a great book with much need information that takes nothing for granted. show less

Covering all the major battlefields of the Western Front. At each site the authors cover the events leading up to the battle, the aims and tactics of the commanders, the action itself.
Detailed directions are given for manageable tours of each battlefield taking in significant landmarks, key fortifications and trench lines etc. Includes information on the many cemeteries to be found all across Flanders and Picardy, as well as national memorials at Neuve Chapelle, Meuse-Argonne, Vimy and the show more Menin Gate at Ypres, and many others. Illustrated with detailed maps. show less