Torpedoes, Tea and Medals: how Captain Chris O’Flaherty discovered a wartime naval hero

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To mark the publication of Torpedoes, Tea and Medals this month, we asked author, Captain Chris O’Flaherty about his passion for boats, where the idea for the book came from, and what initially appealed to him about capturing the story of Derek ‘Jake’ Wright DSC** RNVR. Read on for the first installment of Chris’s journey in discovering this little-known naval hero – a tea-trade trainee whose bravery and skill saw him become one of only 44 officers in the Second World War to receive a DSC with two Bars.

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Casemate WWII Short Stories: The Letter

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This Remembrance Day, we’ve collected a series of WWII stories from the (grand)parents of our team here at Casemate. Our Production Manager shares an exclusive, previously unpublished letter from her great-grandparents on the day Denmark was freed from German occupation. Photo and translation included! The letter was sent from my great-grandparents to their daughter and… Read More »Casemate WWII Short Stories: The Letter

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Casemate WWII Short Stories: The Man Who Built A Tank

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This Remembrance Day, we’ve collected a series of WWII stories from the (grand)parents of our team here at Casemate. Our Publisher Ruth derives from a long lineage of military MacGyvers. Here, she tells the tale of her grandfather, who, whilst serving in the RAF, built his own tank using an old Japanese car. Our publisher… Read More »Casemate WWII Short Stories: The Man Who Built A Tank

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Science Fiction and Leadership

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What can we learn about leadership from the world of science fiction? A lot, according to Jonathan Klug and Steven Leonard, editors of To Boldly Go. Here, they turn to Star Trek to understand why decisiveness is key to military leadership. On September 8, 1966, a young William Shatner promised to boldly go, to take… Read More »Science Fiction and Leadership

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The Formation of the Volkssturm

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Simon Forty, author of ‘Red Army Into The Reich’, provides a visual explanation of the formation of the Volksstrum in WWII, with direct quotes from history’s most reviled figure. As the Russian and Western forces got closer to Germany itself and attrition led to infantry shortages, the German high command realised that it would need… Read More »The Formation of the Volkssturm

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