Saul David
@sauldavid66
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Historian and podcaster. Author of SBS, DEVIL DOGS and SKY WARRIORS. Founder of Co-host …
Bath, UK
Joined July 2010
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Delighted to reveal the cover for my new book SKY WARRIORS, the story of British airborne in WW2, published on 25 April 2024 in time for 80th anniversaries of Ops Tonga (Pegasus Bridge) and Market Garden (Arnhem).
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At the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge with the SBS paddle team
@james1940
@benwillbond
Mike Beddowes and Rob Gallimore. Weather not looking good for tomorrow’s start!
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Prepping for the SBS paddle with
@james1940
@benwillbond
@michaelbeddowes
and Rob Gallimore at Ardrossan. There’s no turning back.
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Selfie near Oban as we reluctantly pulled the plug on the last day of the SBS paddle with
@james1940
@benwillbond
@michaelbeddoes
and Rob Gallimore due to severe weather and 30 knot winds. But great experience and we’ll be back! In the meantime £15k raised for
@SSAFA
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First reveal of the cover for my authorised wartime history of the SBS.
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Tough first day for the SBS paddle, with very choppy seas. But great insight into what the WW2 guys went through. Great effort by
@james1940
@benwillbond
@michaelbeddoes
and Rob Gallimore but bad weather stopped play today. Force 6/7 wind. Brutal
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Lovely to hear I've been elected a Fellow of the
@RoyalHistSoc
- finally! - and can use 'FRHistS' after my name. Will do so shamelessly
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6 months and 145k words later, and 'SBS: Silent Warriors', the authorized WW2 history, is finished! Phew. It needs a good edit, but great to cross the finish line.
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One month to the release of my new book SKY WARRIORS, the first time the full WW2 history of British airborne forces has been told. Here's the final, tweaked cover with Sten-wielding British para.
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The final cover reveal for my forthcoming SBS: SILENT WARRIORS. A happy compromise between the two previous versions, but retaining strong nautical undertones! I love it. Not long now: the book is about to go to print and is published on 2 September.
#SilentWarriors
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Nice of the SBS Association to give me this after I spoke about my new book Silent Warriors to former members at the annual reunion in Poole. Great privilege to meet 96-year-old Jack Mann and others
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Stop the press. I've joined
@almurray
and
@James1940
's star-studded line up at the
@WeHaveWaysPod
festival, talking about SBS: SILENT WARRIORS on the main stage at 6pm, Saturday 18 September. Can't wait.
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The training is over, thank God, and now the team - me,
@James1940
@benwillbond
Rob Gallimore and Mike Beddoes - look forward (with faint hearts) to the real thing: 63 nautical miles in 2-man kleppers (military folbots) in Scotland over 3 days. All proceeds to
@SSAFA
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Ok. It's official. I'm delighted to announce that I'm writing the authorised WW2 history of the SBS for
@HarperCollinsUK
Will be published in 2021 to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the SBS's first mission in Rhodes
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Do watch the fabulous
@hrcastor
in England's Forgotten Queen, a 3-part BBC4 series about Lady Jane Grey, next Tues-Thursday at 9pm. Oh, and I make a cameo appearance, banging on about Tudor warfare (clearly a specialist subject of mine).
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Utterly shocking to read
@guardian
's shameful defence of Corbyn. You HAD to call it out. Picked up on the
@BBCr4today
programme, so already having an effect
I hate writing letters about anti-Jewish racism in Britain.I thought that time was over. But
@guardian
's editorial in defence of Corbyn was too appalling to leave unchallenged. Heres my letter
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Latest from UK MoD is that Wagner is on the move towards Moscow and HQ of Russian armies in Ukr. And regular Russian army is not yet intervening. Incredible.
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Look what’s just arrived at Chez David! Looks fantastic. Many thanks to
@ArabellaPike
and her wonderful team
@WmCollinsBooks
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At this hour, 8.20am, 75 years ago, the first US troops landed on Okinawa, the most southerly of Japan's 47 prefectures. It was the start of the final great battle of WW2.
#CrucibleofHell
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And the greatest irony of all? The academic 'whistleblower' discovered Hume's incriminating comments in a footnote while studying at Edinburgh on, yes you've guessed it, a Hume Fellowship. Maybe he wants to repudiate that too and pay back his stipend?
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Wonderful to talk to 98-year-old Jim Booth who spent more than 60 hours submerged in a tiny X-Craft sub before guiding the first landing craft onto Sword Beach on 6 June 1944. Incredible courage.
#SilentWarriors
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The utterly brilliant
@hoyer_kat
has done it again. My 5-star review of Beyond the Wall, her new warts and all history of East Germany, is in this weekend's
@TelegraphBooks
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It’s paperback publication day for SBS: SILENT WARRIORS! Available online and in stores everywhere (I hope)
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Minor tweak to the SBS cover - a change in lettering from red to navy blue (to better reflect the maritime element) - and a great improvement, I think!
#SilentWarriors
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No. 4! Omg!! Where's the emoji for 'died and gone to heaven'?
Congratulations are in order for
@sauldavid66
as his book SBS: SILENT WARRIORS climbs up the Sunday Times bestsellers list this week to
#4
! Hooray! 🎉
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I started writing in early June 2020 and, 190k words and 11 months later, Devil Dogs, the story of a company of US Marines fighting its way through the Pacific War (from Guadalcanal to Okinawa) is complete! What next?
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Nine months, one day and 159k words later and it’s written. Phew!
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Unedifying stories in the press today as the blame game continues. How about a little praise for the vital role played by Britain’s 16 Air Assault Brigade in helping to rescue up to 15,000 Brits and Afghans from Kabul airport in fiendishly difficult and dangerous circumstances?
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Just signed the contract for my latest book: Project X. I couldn't be more delighted to continue writing books for the brilliant
@ArabellaPike
@WmCollinsBooks
More details anon. What I will say is that it's all thanks to
@James1940
and a late night glass of brandy!
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It won't be for long, but nice to see
@PodBattleground
top the UK history podcast charts. Big thanks to our interviewees, producer James Hodgson and everyone at
@GoalhangerPods
(who, btw, have four in the top 5)
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Great insight into the war in Ukraine from the ever incisive
@PhillipsPOBrien
on today’s
@PodBattleground
Big Interview. If anyone is still unsure who blew up the Nordstream pipelines, listen to Phil. And no - spoiler alert - it wasn’t the Ukrainians/Americans/Brits
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Not quite how I’d imagined publication day, but still very proud of this book, my first for
@WmCollinsBooks
and my wonderful publisher
@ArabellaPike
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Researching my new book Red Devils: British airborne forces in World War II. So many great stories: Ops Colossus, Freshman, Biting (the Bruneval Raid), Pegasus Bridge, Arnhem, Crossing the Rhine and Dracula (Rangoon). Do get in touch if you know of letters, diaries, memoirs...
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Fabulous cover for the first UK edition of THE FORCE, the incredible story of the Churchill-inspired US/Canadian special ops unit, out in paperback on 15 August 2024. It's a busy year!
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Wow!
Some incredible news just in...
@sauldavid66
's SBS: SILENT WARRIORS is an instant Sunday Times bestseller! 🎉
Many congratulations to you, Saul! A fantastic achievement.
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Look what’s just arrived in the post. The gorgeous paperback of SBS with raised lettering (out on 26 May). I love it! Thank you
@ArabellaPike
@JoFThompson
and
@WmCollinsBooks
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Spineless, shameful and utterly predictable attempt by
@FIFAWorldCup
to allow the Russian national team to continue playing. Is there any enormity they won’t condemn? Time to clean the Augean stables
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Extraordinary events in Russia with Prigozhin and Wagner in armed revolt in Rostov and Ukraine massing troops for a big push. Is this the beginning of the end? Keep eyes peeled for an emergency
@PodBattleground
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Look what’s just arrived! Thank you
@ArabellaPike
and the team
@WmCollinsBooks
it looks fabulous
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Lovely, moving email from grandson of a veteran in his 90s in poor spirits and health. He read to him from SBS: Silent Warriors. 'I can honestly say that I can't remember him being so interested and engaged like this for a number of years. It was so nice to see him invigorated.'
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Well knock me down with a feather! Just heard that there's going to be a Japanese edition of Crucible of Hell. I always suspected the subject was a little too uncomfortable for Japanese readers. Obviously - and gloriously - not.
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Superb review of DEVIL DOGS by
@groovydegroovy
in
@TheTimesBooks
. 'Exquisite detail...subtly textured. It's war unplugged: cruelty, destruction, pain, but also love, kindness and camaraderie. I cried for these men and then thanked God that I will never have to send my son to war'
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Bowled over by wonderful ***** lead review of SKY WARRIORS in today’s
@TelegraphBooks
by
@James1940
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Incredible! We're approaching our one year anniversary and numbers have gone/are going through the roof. I think our first ep (on the Falklands) got about 3,000 listeners. Not bad, but look where we are now!
🎉 Some fantastic listening figures for Battleground recently! In the past week we’ve had over 100,000 downloads!!
Thank you to all those listening and to our guests.
Patrick &
@sauldavid66
and the Battleground team really appreciate it!
So keep listening and spread the word!
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Delighted to hear that Antony Beevor has given my new book CRUCIBLE OF HELL the thumbs up: 'Excellent. Saul David's gripping narrative is admirably clear.' Hurrah!
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The DEVIL DOGS paperback has just arrived! Looks fantastic and is out on 25 May. Thanks to
@ArabellaPike
and her wonderful team
@WmCollinsBooks
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Wagner closing in on Moscow as the Ukrainians cross the river Dnipro. We'll be discussing all the incredible events of the last 24 hours on tomorrow's emergency
@PodBattleground
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Excited to announce that ep 1 of the new Battleground: The Falklands War podcast, with me and fellow historian (and former war correspondent) Patrick Bishop, is available. Apple: Spotify:
And all other platforms
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Just got the Astrozenica jab and feeling great. Greece here I come (in a month or three)
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Brilliant, hilarious discussion of my new book SBS: Silent Warriors by
@James1940
and
@almurray
on their
@WeHaveWaysPod
today. So many wonderful quotes, I'll just give one: 'sizzling, guilt-free stories...suffused with incredibly colourful characters'
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The paddle is in honour of a training exercise by SBS members in the summer of 1942. According to a recent CO of the SBS, that's as bad as anything they do in SF Selection. I hope not! All proceeds to
@SSAFA
Do donate if you can:
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Thank you! Here at last. V exciting.
Happy publication day to
@SaulDavid66
- SKY WARRIORS: BRITISH AIRBORNE FORCES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR is out today! 🛩
The first book that tells the complete wartime story of the British airborne forces in a single volume.
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Brilliant 5 star review of
@James1940
‘s brilliant new Brothers-inArms in today’s
@TelegraphBooks
Will become the tankers’ Band of Brothers. Many congrats!
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Appalled and ashamed to hear that
@EdinburghUni
, my alma mater, has renamed the David Hume Tower - where I used to attend lectures - 40 George Square. Why? Because racist comments written by the philosopher and Enlightenment giant more than 250 years ago might cause 'distress'
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A sad day for all of us who have made original documentaries for BBC4, as the channel is downgraded to a repeats-led network. Badly done
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Excellent (& v early) 1st review of SKY WARRIORS, out on 25 April. 'A must-read for anyone interested in military history, providing a comprehensive and human account of these extraordinary troops and their unforgettable impact on the war.'
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Sad to hear news of the death of 101-year-old Jim Booth who, as a young naval sub-lieutenant, guided the landing craft and tanks into Sword Beach on D-Day. An extraordinary man who I interviewed in 2019 for SBS: Silent Warriors. Rest in Peace, Jim.
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Just back with Patrick and our producer James from an eventful and very moving trip to Ukraine with
@PodBattleground
Listen to our first night in Lviv with
@JPLindsley
and
@AskoldCrucial
(in team photo below)
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Loving
@FXMC1957
‘s The Hitler Years (correct title this time). Gripping and beautifully produced. Well done
@HoZ_Books
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Six days to publication of SKY WARRIORS. Here's something to whet the appetite
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Just got home to find this brilliant tribute to our
@SSAFA
paddle from
@AdmiralKel
waiting for me. I have to say we look better in this than in real life. Thank you!
@James1940
@benwillbond
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This, so we're told by our guide Lee (ex-RM Mountain Leader and now Sea Leader), is the approved drill. That's as may be, but not easy at our age and bloody freezing!
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@AndyAitcheson
@WeHaveWaysPod
Update on this. I sent the footage to Henry Sledge, son of Eugene, who thinks it might well be his dad (loading) and SNAFU (aiming). He remembers his Dad telling him that they were filmed on Ngesubus, and that he always loaded with his left hand. Incredible!
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I asked
@holland_tom
the secret of his and
@dcsandbrook
's success with the runaway train that is
@TheRestHistory
. Simple, he said: 'Preparation, preparation, preparation.' Mmmm. Sounds like a lot of hard work. I will suggest to Patrick for
@PodBattleground
. But now you know!
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Heading home with my booty after two excellent launches in 2 days. Thank you
@GilesMilton1
and
@James1940
good to catch up with Antony Beevor,
@aroberts_andrew
@churchill_alex
@Roger_Moorhouse
@AnnabelVenning
@Tonisenior
@Tessadunlop
@DalrympleWill
@RForemanAuthor
@anthonysattin
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I'm giving the first public talk on my new book SKY WARRIORS at the
@NAM_London
at 7pm on Thursday 2 May. Do join me.
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Meanwhile on Okinawa - one month in to the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War - every Allied gun on land and sea fired a single round victory salute, and a soldier wrote to his parents: 'Now that Japan can be concentrated on, we hope to be home in a year or a year and a half.'
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Thank you
@James1940
and
@almurray
for a fabulous day at
#Warfest
@WeHaveWaysPod
Huge audience and lots of laughs. Great to bump into
@hoyer_kat
@guywalters
@robert_lyman
Roll on 2022!
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Talking of DEVIL DOGS, I love the new red cover for the paperback out on 25 May! Great job
@WmCollinsBooks
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I'm delighted to announce that the website for my new MILITARY HISTORY CLUB has gone live today! Member benefits include lectures, podcasts, newsletters, history tours, 'Great Battles in 10 Minutes', free eBooks, book launches and much more.
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From Wednesday, you can watch me,
@simonmontefiore
@aroberts_andrew
@GeoffWawro
and many other historians on the new Netflix series 'The Road to Victory in Color'
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Just heard that the motion picture Entebbe, based on my book, will debut at the Berlin International Film Festival in Feb 2018
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Finally, with the sanctioning of Roman Abramovic and others, we have justice for
@CatherineBelton
and
@tomburgis
whose books were subjected to multiple oligarch lawsuits. A great day for Catherine's editor (and mine)
@ArabellaPike
of
@WmCollinsBooks
who stood by her author.
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Felt very privileged to attend the official opening of the SBSA's new Courtney Building at RM Poole today with former and serving operators. The pièce de resistance: Blondie Hasler's dogtags and silk escape map from Op Frankton, kept since 1942 on a French farm. Incredible!🐸
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Many congrats to
@NigelBiggar
for his richly deserved CBE and daring to say that Britain’s imperial history is a nuanced story that includes good and bad
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Yes! Can’t wait.
The list doesn't end! Our good friend Professor
@SaulDavid66
is a historian, author and broadcaster who lectures regularly at the University of Buckingham - and he's in fine company on both Friday and Sunday at
#WHWF
.
@almurray
@James1940
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Whisper it quietly but DEVIL DOGS is selling for £11 on Amazon!! That's cheaper than my author discount, ffs. Suspect it won't last so take advantage while you can (I have).
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Great to see that
@PodBattleground
has made the Times Top 25 podcasts of 2022, along with our stablemates
@RestIsPolitics
and
@TheRestHistory
. Big thanks to our producer James Hodgson, and everyone at
@GoalhangerPods
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Almost to the hour, 80 years ago, General Fortune reluctantly surrendered the 51st Highland Division to Erwin Rommel at the small Norman seaport of St Valery. 10k men went into captivity, sacrificed in a desperate an ill-judged attempt to keep France in the war.
#StValery
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Here is the Wall of Heroes, also in Kyiv, and growing daily.
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Yep. Not to be missed. Ike, Leningrad, Aerial bombing of Berlin, and Monte Cassino coming soon.
Keep an eye out on your podcast feeds tomorrow for the first instalment of our new series: Battleground 44
In our first episode
@sauldavid66
and Patrick will set the scene at the start of 1944 and lay out the drama which they’ll be covering 80 years on.
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Stone the crows! Popped in to my local Sainsbury’s and saw this. A steal at £11.
#SBSSilentWarriors
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One week to publication of SBS: SILENT WARRIORS and time for an extended video trailer with a brief glimpse of my visit to Poole earlier this year to meet today's operators.
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Just received this video from Lt Col
@PavloKhazan
, head of unmanned drones for the Ukrainian Army's Territorial Defence Force, driving somewhere in eastern Ukraine. As he put it, 'on the battleground listening to
@PodBattleground
' Great to hear!
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The day just got brighter with a great review of SBS: SILENT WARRIORS in
@TheTimesBooks
by
@rogerboyes
‘Heroic history telling… A book that often gladdens the heart, but also makes you think about the nature of sacrifice’
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Delighted to make such a talented shortlist!
Congratulations to
@sauldavid66
who has been shortlisted for the Mountbatten Award for Best
#Book
!
Find out who made the
#MaritimeMediaAwards2022
shortlist:
Book tickets for the Awards on May 22:
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My piece on the sinking of the Atlantic Conveyor 40 years ago and the controversy of the Exocet 'kill switch'. We'll be discussing these issues in next week's Battleground: The Falklands War podcast
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Today
@PodBattleground
got its one millionth download! Not bad for 40 or so pods in under a year, and growth to around 40k per week. Big thanks from Patrick and I to James Hodgson our producer, Jack and Tony
@GoalhangerPods
and all our wonderful guests and listeners. Onwards!
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