(Ebook) Your Towns & Cities In World War Two - Isle Of Man At War 1939 – 45 by Matthew Richardson ISBN 9781526720740, 1526720744

(Ebook) Your Towns & Cities In World War Two - Isle Of Man At War 1939 – 45 by Matthew Richardson ISBN 9781526720740, 1526720744

Isle of Man at War 1939 - 45 presents the remarkable story of the 'Manx people', and their homeland, in the most destructive conflict of the twentieth century. Very few people are now aware of the extraordinary role that this small island played in assisting the allied war effort. Yet for six years, a place best known for motorcycle racing and as a holiday playground became a heavily armed fortress. Hundreds of airmen, soldiers and sailors were trained in readiness for combat from all over the Allied Nations. Thousands of enemy aliens were imprisoned behind the barbed wire of its interment camps, alongside those of British birth who were deemed to be a threat to national security in todays terms or well known prewar Nazi Sympathisers and supporters. Top secret modifications to radar equipment was developed and tested here, and the Island's merchant fleet played a vital role during major naval operations including 'Operation Dynamo' in 1940 (Dunkirk Evacuation) and in 'Operation Neptune' in 1944 (Naval part of Operation Overlord or as its now known D-Day). On battlefields all around the world, gallant 'Manxmen' and women fought bravely, whilst at home, in spite of the pressures which total war brought to society, there was a perhaps surprising tolerance for those with pacifist beliefs. Likewise, though there was increased government control in almost all areas of life, these were times of great advancement for Manx democracy. The story is told in the words of those who were there - some of these eyewitnesses speaking for the first time about their experiences, and among them the last survivors of that generation. Their accounts bring a freshness and immediacy to this remarkably vivid narrative.