BATTLE OF BRITAIN THEN AND NOW – REVISITED

Without question, the 1980 publication Battle of Britain Then and Now was not only an iconic book, but it was also ground-breaking. Now, more than forty years since it was first published, Pen & Sword/After the Battle can announce that a fully updated version has been commissioned and will be published in 2025 in four separate volumes.

This new work will update all sections of the book including the airfields, casualties, survivors, losses, wreck recoveries, Battle of Britain VC, Roll of Honour, and every other element of the book where corrections or updates are necessary.

In what will be a mammoth piece of work, Andy Saunders, one of the original contributing team, will edit the new updated version. He will be joined by another two of the original team members, Robin Brooks, and Gordon Riley, who will be updating the sections on airfields and surviving Battle of Britain aircraft respectively. Additionally, Peter Cornwell will be making available his updated loss records which he has maintained since the original version was published. Other subject specialists are also expected to contribute towards the finished publications.

With the original version now out of print, it was felt that reprinting a forty-year-old book, where much of the information is outdated, would not be the best way forward and it made very little sense. Instead, a new version which encapsulates the spirit of the first edition and reflects the content and ‘feel’ of the original, is now underway.

The editor of the new version, Andy Saunders, said:

“When it was first published, Battle of Britain Then and Now immediately became the standard work on the battle. Its very creation by a dedicated editor, Winston Ramsey, and an assembled team of specialist contributors was a landmark in the published history of the Battle of Britain. And it was a book which spawned more research and knowledge – such that it became almost the original fount of published knowledge on the battle and its minutiae. Now, it is time to bring that published knowledge, the standard reference work on the battle, bang up to date. As one of the original team, it is a privilege and an honour to be asked to help edit this new version.”

Look out for more details and announcements on this exciting project shortly!

Rob Green, Commissioning Editor at After the Battle.

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