AS THE SOUNDS OF WAR subside and the smoke settles over the battlegrounds, the debates amongst the scholars and historians commence, to assess the successes and failures of the warring parties.

When the tally is completed and the scores on life and death have been recorded, one thing is for certain: no war is won by the latest in technology alone. Tanks, guns and mortars alone do not win wars. No, wars are won by the brains and the brawn, the blood and the sweat of the men and women involved in fighting them. The sacrifice of lives lost can never be redeemed. Effects of combat resonate past the present generation and continue to permeate the future generations of grieving families. In this story of HMCS Athabaskan, there are no less than one hundred and twenty-eight grieving families, who have been scarred by the ultimate sacrifice, making this Canada’s largest naval disaster as a result of surface action.

Although the HMCS Athabaskan’s loss is a tragic story, the accounts derived from the individuals involved have offered great insight into their plight. Light has been shed on their rescue and the events many experienced as prisoners of war. Some of their tales are not only of survival but also of lighter moments when a chuckle could be found lurking in the darkness of their days.

For the most part, the individual tales recorded on these pages are firsthand accounts, as they have been remembered by the surviving Athabaskans, or gleaned from the pages of their war diaries. Other tales have been retold to the author by family members. Only two personal tales were derived from such references as Canada’s War Museum, or other such documentation.

There are no earth-shattering new theories uncovered on the following pages. As the most important element in war is the people who fought it, such is the case of the personal accounts of the men and women telling their stories on the following pages. Guns and tanks don’t enter into the equation here, only the sacrifices made by two hundred and sixty-one men onboard a ship in enemy waters.

ISBN 978-1-55068-988-4 ● b/w photos ● 128pp ● 6 x 9” ● $24.95 ● Softcover

Vanwell Publishing is pleased to announce that we will be attending the following events:

February 5 & 6 – The 5th Military History Speakers Series, Major F. A. Tilston VC Armoury, 4007 Sandwich Street, Windsor, Ontario
March 7 -WELL*CO*M*E, Guelph Plastic Modellers Group, Guelph, Ontario
March 27 – The Toronto Military Show, Etobicoke, Ontario
April 2 & 3 – The Alberta Arms & Cartridge Collection Show, Calgary, Alberta
April 30-May 1 – The 21st Military History Colloquium, Wilfrid Laurier University
May 29 – TORCAN Plastic Model Show, Toronto, Ontario
June 26 –  The Toronto Military Show, Etobicoke, Ontario
September 18 – The Toronto Military Show, Etobicoke, Ontario
October 2 – The London Scale Model Show, London, Ontario

Look forward to seeing you in 2010 and most likely more events will be added to this list.

A great resource for the modeller as most of the books come with decals, foldouts, plans or posters.

Our initial airmail order has just arrived, with the rest of our bulk order arriving later this month. For a complete title listing, please visit their website Kagero.

Details the incredible story of a young German Jew, who grew up to fight the Nazis and became one of the most ardent POW escapers of the Second World War.

Georg Hein was sent to safety in England by his widowed mother in 1934, when he was 14 years old. He learned English and completed his high school education in London, only to graduate into trouble with the law for petty theft. Branded an undesirable alien, Hein was sentenced to three months in prison, but was released after serving only half that time. Once released, on Sept 3, 1939 (two days after the declaration of war), Hein committed identity theft and enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an Englishman ― joining a combat squadron in April 1941, he went on to fly 22 bombing missions, all the while being the object of a British Police manhunt as an enemy alien. Unfortunately, he was taken as a POW by the Nazis ― Hein became one of the most ardent (and infamous) escapers of the war.

Stevens’ book details a hitherto unknown story of the only German Jew to fight the Nazis as a bomber pilot, and who was a POW under their noses for three years and eight months, the whole time without protection from the Geneva Convention.

‘Escape, Evasion and Revenge’ is the story of a heavily conflicted young man, alone in a world that is in the midst of self-destruction. He is afforded an opportunity to help his persecuted people obtain some small measure of revenge, even if the cost is more than most would be willing to bear. Here is the tale of a selfish boy, who reaches an epiphany in his life and chooses the moral high ground. It is at once a sad yet uplifting tale of thankless and unheralded heroism. It is the truth.

Author Marc H. Stevens is a senior executive at a Canadian food processing company. He began research for the book in the late 1980’s, and was successful in obtaining access to a British government file that was sealed until the year 2051. He is the son of Georg Hein, and only discovered in 1996 that his father was Jewish.

$41.95 Hardcover 224pp 6 x 9″ illustrated
ISBN: 9781848841062

Details: Friday, November 6th – 7:30pm and Saturday, November 7th from 8:30am to 3:15pm

Otherwise check out www.canadianmilitaryhistory.ca Look forward to seeing you there.

Our new hours are 11am to 5pm. We will be closed on Holiday Weekends.

Designed by de Havilland Canada at the end of WWII to replace the DH82 Tiger Moth, the DHC-1 Chipmunk had a modest start. First flown on May 22, 1946 it was hoped that this new trainer would be adopted by military and civil training schools throughout the British Commonwealth. Faced with strong headwinds including post war foreign currency restrictions, a massive supply of ‘cheap’ surplus wartime trainers and an undeserved reputation regarding spinning, this sprightly trainer “based on full fighter characteristics” had a slow birth, but over the fullness of time has grown to become an iconic aviation legend affectionately known as the ‘Chippie’ or ‘Poor Man’s Spitfire’ due to its superb handling.

For the first time, the rich history of the Chipmunk has been told by those well equipped to tell the story. Authors Hugh Shields, Rod Brown, Jose Munkelt Goncalves and Rod Blievers, all Chipmunk owners or pilots, have joined to produce an authoritative work on the type which recognizes its place as one of the preeminent primary trainers in aviation history. Hailing from countries where the ‘Chippie’ served in large numbers including Canada, Great Britain, Portugal and Australia, each author offers a unique perspective on the types experienced around the world.

Starting from it’s genesis in the minds of the DHC design team at Downsview in Toronto, the book offers insight into the personnel involved, early development, certification, modification and production.

From here the book moves to De Havilland England where after extensive evaluation the type was adopted by the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, resulting in the decision to start production at Hatfield. This section includes detailed excerpts from the test flying program at Hatfield, cockpit development, allocation of aircraft serving with the Reserve Flying Schools, University Air Squadrons and much more.

Additional sections cover production and service of the type in Portugal and the Chipmunks sizeable contribution to civil aviation in far off Australia.

Readers will be captivated by the immense volume of information; including rare, never before published photos and manuals from the extensive personal collections and logs of DHC pre production test pilots Russ Bannock and George Neal, photos gleaned from the library of DH/Bombardier and archives throughout Canada, the UK, Portugal and Australia. Exploded view drawings, paint and markings, production lists, bibliography, glossary and index round out this fact filled book. With over 500 b/w and 125 colour photos and a foreword to the Canadian section by DHC test pilot George Neal, this definitive work on what many describe as ‘the finest handling propeller driven aircraft ever produced’ will be a welcome addition to any aviation enthusiast’s collection.

“Wow! Clearly the definitive treatise on the Chipmunk, chock full of photos never published before and with prose engagingly novel-like. A treasure for ‘Chipmunkers’ like me, and surely for any ‘true-blue’ aviation enthusiast. The authors captured a wealth of fascinating facts, and in the telling, the endearing but mischievous personality of this remarkable aircraft!”

-Bob Fassold, Major General, Canadian Forces (Ret’d), President and Chief Pilot of the Classic Aircraft Company providing pilot training and passenger flights in an ex-RCAF Chipmunk.

$69.95 Hardcover 432pp 8.5 x 11” 500+ b/w illustrations & artwork; 125 colour photos
ISBN 978-0-98125-440-1

With records numbers of Florida homes for sale and prices continuing to drop, how easily can Canadians buy their own place in the sun?Florida is near the top of the list when it comes to foreclosures and declining home prices in the U.S.. Prices have retreated to levels not seen since 2001. Even Governor Charlie Crist is promoting real estate. In a January 27^th town hall meeting he told residents to urge their friends in the chilly north to buy Florida real estate. Governor Crist said that now is the best time in years to buy Florida property, with real estate, taxes, and insurance all declining.

More and more Canadians are taking this new opportunity to purchase suddenly affordable Florida property.

While many Canadians have experience buying a home in Canada, buying a home in another country is a skill that few Canadians have. A new book out this spring is the answer to guide Canadian buyers through the process of finding, buying, and financing a second home in Florida. Buy Florida is an easy-to-use guide specifically written to help Canadians understand the differences they will encounter when looking to buy a place in Florida.

Buy Florida includes chapters on: where to look for homes in Florida, the purchase process, how to get a mortgage and finance the property in another country, and how to look after the home once it is purchased. Topics of interest to many Canadians include: foreclosures, short sales, and auctions; the mortgage market in the U.S.; differences in the purchase and closing process; and explanations of the ongoing costs and taxes associated with home ownership in Florida.

The author of Buy Florida, Cameron Roach, is a former educator and mortgage broker, who has worked in the real estate field in both Canada and the U.S. He says, “This is the book I wish I had when purchasing a place in Florida.”

Published by Rosseau Publishing
$19.95 Softcover 110pp 6 x 9″
ISBN 978-0-9810953-0-1

We don’t have lists available of which books we have, but we will be working on it.

Please contact us for more information or even better, come visit us between 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday and Saturdays from 11am to 5pm.

When dawn arrived on September 26th 1944, Lieutenant Russ Kennedy of the 23rd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, found himself on the wrong side of the Rhine River in a storm boat with an engine that wouldn’t start. With him were thirty-six battle weary members of the British 1st Airborne Division, crammed into a boat meant to carry only sixteen men. They had two choices; to either sit around waiting to be captured or risk crossing the strong and wide river that was well within the sights of German machine gunners and artillery fire.

They had just witnessed the fate of the previous boat. Without an engine, twenty-five men had tried to paddle across without success. They were a slow moving target on a river in full illumination. Only four of them lived to make it to safety.

If the Lieutenant and his boatload of men could get across, it would mark the end to a long and difficult night. They were the last boat and the engineers had done a terrific job despite the odds. All night, the engineering units had ferried over 2,300 troops across the river. What was left of the besieged British 1st Airborne Division had been rescued.

THE EPIC BATTLE of the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem in 1944, has been told many times, but so far the story of how they were evacuated across the River Rhine has only been merely touched upon. This is the story of how the Royal Canadian Engineers not only supported the Royal Engineers, but ferried the lion’s share of the Airborne troops across the flooded river under less than ideal conditions.

One unit in particular, the 23rd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers would find fame because of their expert handling of the Storm Boats and for their bravery. Unfortunately, glory came at a high cost to a unit that would soon earn the nickname, ‘The Storm Boat Kings’.

$24.95 Softcover 128pp 6 x 9” b/w photos, maps, diagrams
ISBN 978-1-55068-935-8