I have three bookshelves in my library
related to writing and WW2 and picking just one book that helped me with my research proved difficult. You’ll just
have to humor me as I share my top four.
The Few: The American “Knights of the Air” Who Risked
Everything to Save Britain in the Summer of 1940 – This book shares the trials of
some of the American men who flew for the Royal Air Force before the
U.S. got involved in WW2. These men, who
defied U.S. neutrality laws, could have been fined $10,000, arrested by Federal
agents, and thrown in prison. This info
led to some great backstory for my main character Wren Buchanan and her
brothers and insight into their personalities and what they would do to help
England.
Keeping Watch: A WAAF in Bomber Command – Just one of the
many memoirs I have on people during WW2.
Although my characters belong in Fighter Command, Pip’s experiences lend
for some great possible story fodder, like convincing a pilot to let her fly with his
crew in a Lancaster bomber (VERY illegal for a WAAF to do). He made her wear a helmet to hide her
curls! Of course she threw up in the
navigator’s handkerchief. When she
returned it all boiled, washed, and ironed, he asked her out on a date.
FUBAR: Soldier Slang of World War II - As the title reveals, a great book on a language in itself, especially when reading the memoirs. The book, in dictionary format, lists military slang for the U.S., Britain and her commonwealth countries, Germany, and Japan. Some so naughty I can't share them on the blog and some quite common these days. I'll leave you with my personal favorites from the book which are SNAFU, army dick, ruptured duck, basher, jankers, khaki-whacky (ahem, Vivian) and bubble dancing.
9 comments:
Your passion for this time period will shine through in each of your chapters. The details you fill your manuscript with will make it a wonderful read for the readers. I can't wait to see it in print!
We are sisters under the skin. I love research and especially personal stories from the era I'm looking into. Great WWII info. Thanks.
Thanks, guys. Hopefully, my readers will be as obsessed with pilots as I am. ;0)
Great books you've shared with us Melissa. I'm hooked on research and have the same kind only related to the Regency instead of WW II. Memoirs and diaries are my favorite books to collect, especially ones written by those who served in the Peninsular War. It does become an obsession, doesn't it!
I thought I would share what the slang words mean that I posted.
SNAFU - The polite version is Situation Normal All Fouled Up, but you can imagine which one word would have been changed by a naughty soldier.
army dick - military police, from the word detective (Dick Tracy); I can picture one of my pilots calling Seamus an army dick for more than one reason.
ruptured duck - an honorable discharge emblem and honorable discharge pin worn over the right breast pocket signifying a serviceman had been discharged.
basher - an English word for man like bloke or chap. A rigger basher would work on Connor's Spitfire.
jankers - extra duties usually given as punishment
khaki-whacky - a woman overly enthusiastic for men in uniform
bubble dancing - washing dishes
Thanks for the slang definitions, Melissa! I do know about FUBAR. ;) The others, not so much. Some stuff today is totally beyond my realm of understand. LOL
FUBAR is another one of those naughty ones. Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition!
'Fouled' isn't the word I've heard used, but let's leave it as is. LOL
If I let myself, I can get mired in research. I have a fat 3-ring binder of notes for a book that barely has 2 scenes, and I've never figured out where it needs to go. Someday...
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