But as we know, due to a severe storm in the Channel, the landings were delayed by 24 hours. It was only because the weather forecasters were hopeful of a break in the storm the next day that General Eisenhower was able to announce his de- cision, 'Let's go!' Of course Stella knew nothing of this delay, and she was excitedly waiting for news to come through on the wireless. She be- came increasingly worried by the lack of any news, and had to take sick leave because she found she could not work, fearing the whole thing had been a complete disaster. But she was reassured the following night by the constant roar of our own aircraft, while the rest of us realised that something exciting was happening. In her engaging style in the first part of the book she describes her upbringing and life in Havant before the war. She left school early to go to art college where, among other things, she learnt the basics of engineering drawing. It was this skill that enabled her to take up the work that involved the Official Secrets Act. The event on the night before the landings was a party for the senior officers, and she would be acting as the hostess. When the Nazi regime had conquered Europe, life in Havant and other towns on the south coast became rather different. Enemy aircraft would fly low over the Channel and
machine-gun anything that moved, which made life extremely fraught at times. Finally she goes on to tell how the party proved to be a stressful time for some of the officers, and particularly for herself as the hostess. At the end of the book one is left with a nagging doubt about whether the party was such a good idea after all.
John Simonson Aston Martin T 23
by Richard Loveys, published by Shire Publications, ISBN 978 0 74781 505 1, £7.99
he author of this book will be known to Bulletin readers as the contributor of our
'Model review' series. Richard Loveys is a great enthusiast for Aston Martin so he was a logical choice to write this volume in the well established Shire Library series, with the support of the Aston Martin Heritage Trust. With its modest price, like all Shire Library books, this title is very good value for money. Its 64 pages include numerous photos plus
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