Cover image of Sergeant Hiram Prouty atop a tank dressed as Santa Claus handing candy out to children.

The Paradox of Christmas at War

“Always winter, but never Christmas”. For many observing Christmas in 1942, this fictional quote was the harrowing truth. This week’s blog is from New York Times bestselling author Peter Harmsen as he reflects on the events of that fateful wartime Christmas and what they tell us about cruelty, kindness, and the human condition in extraordinary times.

Continue reading …

The Real Sir William Orpen

All is fair in love and war — society portrait painter Sir William Orpen was entangled in the chaos of both. This week on the Casemate UK Blog, author Patricia O’Reilly explores the inspiration behind her new book, Orpen at War, and the artistic, eccentric, romantic, complicated life of Sir William Orpen.

Continue reading …

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

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.

Continue reading …