Purnell's History of the Second World War was a hugely successful weekly anthology or 'partwork' publication covering all aspects of World War II that was distributed throughout the English-speaking world. Produced shortly after the similarly accomplished 8-volume series on WW1, it was first published in 1966, being reprinted several times during the 1970s.^[1]

The magazine was notable for its use of multiple writers – many of them well-known military figures – from all relevant nationalities in order to present a rounded view of the subject material. This was combined with high-quality original artwork of the military hardware used, maps and numerous previously unseen photographs, some of them quite gruesome.

World War II also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 70 to 85 million. Political Migrations On Polish Territories (1939-1950) (PDF).

Background[edit]

Despite the name, Purnell's History of the Second World War was published by Phoebus Publishing Ltd in co-operation with the Imperial War Museum, which provided its research facilities, expert advice, official statistics and photographs. The now defunct Purnell & Sons, later British Printing Corporation, based in Paulton, Avon (Now Bath & North East Somerset), were the printers of the magazine. At the time, Purnell's were one of the largest and most advanced printing plants in Europe, and had developed a reputation for high quality printing, producing well-known titles such as the Observer Magazine and the TV Times.^[2]

Editorial stance[edit]

The editor, Barrie Pitt, who had been involved in the production of the BBC Television series The Great War, together with the editor in chief, the renowned military theorist and historian Sir Basil Liddel Hart, wanted to create a definitive record of the conflict which would both hold up to academic scrutiny and be accessible to the general public. Each issue of the magazine contained several articles on differing topics but typically, important or contentious events were viewed from both sides (e.g. Stalingrad: The German View, followed by another article, Stalingrad: The Russian View) in order to allow the writers to counter long held myths and set the record straight rather than to merely recycle familiar themes. Numerous famous military figures and former senior staff officers contributed articles; because it was originally published just over twenty years after the end of the conflict, many of the surviving protagonists were still alive.

Former combatants who wrote for the magazine[edit]

General Walter Warlimont (survivor of the 20 July plot who received a long prison sentence at Nuremberg, but was later released) was commissioned to produce a piece on life in Hitler's inner circle, while Marshal G.K. Zhukov contributed an article on how he planned the Moscow counterattack. Marshal I.S. Konev also continued an article about the plan to invade Berlin Kodi plugin dev.

Other senior figures who contributed to the publication include;

Major General Eric Dorman O'Gowan, former Chief of Staff of General Auchinleck; Freiherr von der Heydte commander of Rommel's rearguard during the 2nd Battle of El Alemein; General Major Alfred Philippi who commanded an infantry division on the western front after D-Day; Lord Chalfont, former Minister for Disarmament writing on the morality of the atom bomb attacks on Japan; General Leutnant Walther Chales De Beaulieu, commander of a Panzer army at Leningrad; Major General JL Moulton; Brigadier Rt Hon Sir John Smith VC, MC former MP and minister under the Churchill and Eden governments; and Lieutenant-General Nikolay Kirillovick-Popel, who participated in the Stalingrad offensive.

Other contributors[edit]

Prominent historians such as John Keegan, Jerrard Tickell, W.H. Koch, Alvin D. Coox, Phyllis Auty, Martin Blumenson, Antony Brett-James, John Vader, Rudolf Bohmer, Raleigh Trevelyan produced articles, as well as AJP Taylor, who acted as editor in chief for later editions after the death of Sir Basil Liddel Hart.

Other well-known contributors to the publication included Alan Clark MP and the best-selling author Dudley Pope. Eyewitness accounts from otherwise anonymous individuals, such as a Japanese housewife telling of the horrors of life after the surrender and the testimony of a former Zero pilot, were also included.

John Batchelor contributed 1163 illustrations.^[3]

Cold war[edit]

Despite the efforts to tell the story from alternative viewpoints, many of the events being discussed remained controversial and sensitive subjects, and there was still scope for Cold Warpropaganda and government censorship to find its way into print.

In issue 45, which covered the Katyn Massacre, the discovery of the bodies of several thousand captured Polish officers in 1943, which was widely believed to have been carried out by the Soviets, and which remained an unmentionable subject between the Allies after the war, the historian Jerrard Tickell attempted to reconstruct the events around the atrocity which took place at the Hill of Goats site. While pointing to the evidence, he left his conclusion open ended, finishing with the comment that it was up to the reader to form their own opinion. His article was followed by a piece by a Soviet scientist purporting to be a forensic re-examination of all the available evidence such as the conditions of the bodies, their levels of decomposition and the remaining artefacts in order to 'prove' that the Polish officers could have only been murdered during the period of the German occupation of the region. Using eye witness accounts, selective testimonies and the findings of the official Russian investigation into the affair, Doctor of Juridical Sciences Arkady Poltorak finished with the paragraph;

Thus was unmasked the provocative act of the Nazis, thus was established with complete clarity the fact of the monstrous killing by the Nazi authorities of Polish prisoners of war at Katyn Wood

During the Perestroika period in the early 1990s, the Russian authorities finally admitted that the killings had been carried out by the NKVD, the secret police organization used to enforce Stalin's rule.

Later editions[edit]

The series was so successful that although it was initially scheduled to run to six volumes of 16 issues each, a further two volumes were added, covering later themes such as the Chinese Civil War, the Arab–Israeli Conflict, Suez, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the rise of nationalism which led to the breakup of the European empires in the years after World War II. There were also discussions on the spread of communism, tactics and battle strategy, the post war reconstruction, the use of propaganda, the work of war correspondents and artists, profiles of the leading politicians, generals and ambassadors, and features on uniforms and medals.

While the editorial comment justified this move as important for the reader to gain a rounded view of all the inter-connected events, it could also be considered a sound business move to extract as much financial reward for the publishers as possible.

As well as the magazine itself, a series of higher quality 'specials' were also later produced which were themselves hugely successful, selling over 8 million copies world wide.^[4] They centred on specific elements not only of World War II but also World War I, e.g., Battleships of the First World War, The Desert War, German Secret Weapons, D Day: Invasion of Hitler's Europe and German Tanks 1939–45. While popular, they included a great deal of material previously published in the main magazine.

Though the magazine is long out of print, it is remembered as largely achieving what it set out to do, and back issues remain sought after on internet auctions.

Titles[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Purnell's History of the Second World WarArchived 30 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine in 96 weekly issues, with 32 supplements, partworks.co.uk. Retrieved July 2011
2. ^Goodman, Terry, The History of Purnell & Sons Ltd and the British Printing Corporation, July 2004, ISBN978-0-9547241-0-8. Retrieved July 2011
3. ^'Out of work for 44 minutes'. Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine. July 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
4. ^Purnell's History of the Second World War issue 100 – Back Page

The History of the Second World War is the official history of the British contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication, United Kingdom Military Series, the United Kingdom Civil Series for the civilian war effort; the Foreign Policy series, the Intelligence series and the Medical series are eponymous. Other volumes not under the aegis of the series but published by HMSO may be read as adjuncts, covering matters not considered in great detail or at all, in one case, in the main series. Further volumes, published after the privatisation of HMSO or in the series about the Special Operations Executive, are also useful.

The volumes were intended to be read individually, rather than in series, which led to some overlapping but in their introductions to their parts of the series, Sir Keith Hancock and Sir James Butler wrote that this was to obviate a need to read more volumes than cover the part of the war effort being studied; Hancock edited the Civil Series and Butler the Military Series. The first volume appeared in 1949 and the last in 1993, with a revised edition of one volume appearing in 2004. Caiet de exercitii engleza pdf gratis. An unorthodox decision was to cover the conflict from a theatre of operations point of view rather than by service, to acknowledge that military operations were intimately linked.

The works published before 1970 lack references to unpublished sources until government archives were opened to an extent by the Public Records Act 1958 and the Public Records Act 1967. The works were published with only references to published sources because British constitutional conventions on the anonymity of government officials and ministers were followed, leading to a somewhat detached narrative style in some cases. A parallel series of volumes for official use were printed, which referenced the unpublished sources in manuscript, in red ink. A few official copies escaped into public libraries and these additions can be seen.

• 1Volumes

Volumes[edit]

United Kingdom Military Series[edit]

• Grand Strategy
  • Volume I, N. H. Gibbs, 1976
  • Volume II, Sir James Butler, 1957
  • Volume III, Part 1, J. R. M. Gwyer, 1964
  • Volume III, Part 2, Sir James Butler, 1964
  • Volume IV, Sir Michael Howard, 1970
  • Volume V, John Ehrman, 1956
  • Volume VI, John Ehrman, 1956
• The War at Sea
  • Volume I: The Defensive, Captain Stephen Roskill, 1954
  • Volume II: The Period of Balance, Captain Stephen Roskill, 1956
  • Volume III, Part 1: The Offensive, Captain Stephen Roskill, 1960
  • Volume III, Part 2: The Offensive, Captain Stephen Roskill, 1961
• The Strategic Air Offensive against Germany
  • Volume I: Preparation, Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland, 1961
  • Volume II: Endeavour, Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland, 1961
  • Volume III: Victory, Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland, 1961
  • Volume IV: Annexes and Appendices, Sir Charles Webster and Noble Frankland, 1961
• Defence of the United Kingdom, Basil Collier, 1957
• The Campaign in Norway, Thomas Derry, 1952
• The War in France and Flanders, 1939–40, Major Lionel Ellis, 1954
• Victory in the West
  • Volume I: Battle of Normandy, Major L. F. Ellis et al., 1962
  • Volume II: Defeat of Germany, Major L. F. Ellis et al., 1968
• War against Japan
  • Volume I: The Loss of Singapore, Major-General Stanley Woodburn Kirbyet al., 1957
  • Volume II: India's Most Dangerous Hour, Major-General Stanley Woodburn Kirby et al., 1958
  • Volume III: The Decisive Battles, Major-General Stanley Woodburn Kirby et al., 1961
  • Volume IV: The Reconquest of Burma, Major-General Stanley Woodburn Kirby et al., 1965
  • Volume V: The Surrender of Japan, Major-General Stanley Woodburn Kirby et al., 1969
• The Mediterranean and Middle East
  • Volume I: The Early Successes against Italy, to May 1941, Major-General I. S. O. Playfairet al., 1954
  • Volume II: The Germans Come to the Help of Their Ally, 1941, Major-General I. S. O. Playfair et al., 1956
  • Volume III: British Fortunes Reach Their Lowest Ebb, Major-General I. S. O. Playfair et al., 1960
  • Volume IV: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa, Major-General I. S. O. Playfair, Brigadier C. J. C. Molonyet al., 1966
  • Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily, 1943 and the Campaign in Italy, 3 September 1943 to 31 March 1944, Brigadier C. J. C. Molony et al., 1973
  • Volume VI, Part 1: Victory in the Mediterranean: 1 April to 4 June 1944, General Sir William Jacksonet al., 1984
  • Volume VI, Part 2: Victory in the Mediterranean: June to October 1944, General Sir William Jackson et al., 1987
  • Volume VI, Part 3: Victory in the Mediterranean: November 1944 to May 1945, General Sir William Jackson et al., 1988
• Civil Affairs and Military Government
  • Central Organisation and Planning, Frank Donnison, 1966
  • British Military Administration in the Far East, 1943–46, Frank Donnison, 1956
  • North-West Europe, 1944–46, Frank Donnison, 1961
  • Allied Administration of Italy, Charles Harris, 1957

United Kingdom Civil Series[edit]

• Introductory
  • British War Economy, Keith Hancock and Margaret Gowing, 1949
  • Statistical Digest of the War, Central Statistical Office, 1949
  • Problems of Social Policy, Richard Titmuss, 1950
  • British War Production, Michael Postan, 1952
• General Series
  • Coal, W. B. Court, 1951
  • Oil: A Study of Wartime Policy and Administration, D. J. Payton-Smith, 1971
  • Studies in the Social Services, Sheila Ferguson, 1978
  • Civil Defence, T. H. O'Brien, 1955
  • Works and Buildings, C. M. Kohan, 1952
  • Food
    • Volume I: The Growth of Policy, R. J. Hammond, 1951
    • Volume II: Studies in Administration and Control, R. J. Hammond, 1956
    • Volume III: Studies in Administration and Control, R. J. Hammond, 1962
  • Agriculture, K. A. H. Murray, 1955
  • The Economic Blockade
    • Volume I, William Medlicott, 1952
    • Volume II, William Medlicott, 1957
  • Inland Transport, Christopher Savage, 1957
  • Merchant Shipping and the Demands of War, C. B. A. Behrens, 1955
  • North American Supply, H. Duncan Hall, 1955
  • Manpower: Study of War-Time Policy and Administration, H. M. D. Parker, 1957
  • Civil Industry and Trade, Eric Hargreaves, 1952
  • Financial Policy, 1939–45, Richard Sayers, 1956
• War Production
  • Labour in the Munitions Industries, P. Inman, 1957
  • The Control of Raw Materials, Joel Hurstfield, 1953
  • The Administration of War Production, J. D. Scott, 1955
  • Design and Development of Weapons: Studies in Government and Industrial Organisation, M. M. Postan, 1964
  • Factories and Plant, William Hornby, 1958
  • Contracts and Finance, William Ashworth, 1953
  • Studies of Overseas Supply, H. Duncan Hall, 1956

Foreign Policy[edit]

• British Foreign Policy in the Second World War
  • Volume I, Sir Llewellyn Woodward, 1970
  • Volume II, Sir Llewellyn Woodward, 1971
  • Volume III, Sir Llewellyn Woodward, 1971
  • Volume IV, Sir Llewellyn Woodward, 1975
  • Volume V, Sir Llewellyn Woodward, 1976
  • Abridged Version, Sir Llewellyn Woodward, 1962

Intelligence[edit]

• British Intelligence in the Second World War
  • Volume I: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations, F. H. Hinsleyet al., 1979
  • Volume II: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations, F. H. Hinsley et al., 1981
  • Volume III, Part 1: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations, F. H. Hinsley et al., 1984
  • Volume III, Part 2: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations, F. H. Hinsley et al., 1988
  • Volume IV: Security and Counter-Intelligence, F. H. Hinsley et al., 1990
  • Volume V: Strategic Deception, Michael Howard, 1990
  • Abridged Version, F. H. Hinsley, 1993
• SOE in France, M. R. D. Foot, 1966 (repr. 2004)

Medical Volumes[edit]

• The Emergency Medical Services
  • Volume I: England and Wales, edited by Cuthbert Dunn, 1952
  • Volume II: Scotland, Northern Ireland and Principal Air Raids on Industrial Centres in Great Britain, edited by Cuthbert Dunn, 1953
• The Royal Air Force Medical Services
  • Volume I: Administration, edited by S. C. Rexford-Welch, 1954
  • Volume II: Command, edited by S. C. Rexford-Welch, 1955
  • Volume III: Campaigns, edited by S. C. Rexford-Welch, 1958
• The Royal Naval Medical Service
  • Volume I: Administration, Jack Coulter, 1953
  • Volume II: Operations, Jack Coulter, 1955
• The Army Medical Services
  • Administration
    • Volume I, Francis Crew, 1953
    • Volume II, Francis Crew, 1955
  • Campaigns
    • Volume I: France and Belgium, 1939–40, Norway, Battle of Britain, Libya, 1940–42, East Africa, Greece, 1941, Crete, Iraq, Syria, Persia, Madagascar, Malta, Francis Crew, 1956
    • Volume II: Hong Kong, Malaya, Iceland and the Faroes, Libya, 1942–43, North-West Africa, Francis Crew, 1957
    • Volume III: Sicily, Italy, Greece (1944–45), Francis Crew, 1959
    • Volume IV: North-West Europe, Francis Crew, 1962
    • Volume V: Burma, Francis Crew, 1966
• The Civilian Health and Medical Services
  • Volume I: The Civilian Health Services; Other Civilian Health and Medical Services: The Colonies, the Medical Services of the Ministry of Pensions, Arthur MacNalty, 1953
  • Volume II: Public Health in Scotland, Public Health in Northern Ireland, Arthur MacNalty, 1955
• Medical Services at War: The Principal Lessons of the Second World War, Arthur MacNalty, 1968
• Medicine and Pathology, Zachary Cope, 1952
• Surgery, Zachary Cope, 1953
• Medical Research, edited by F. H. K. Green and Major-General Sir Gordon Covell, 1953
• Casualties and Medical Statistics, edited by William Franklin, 1972

Supplementary HMSO works[edit]

• The Royal Air Force, 1939–45
  • Volume I: Fight at Odds, Denis Richards, 1953
  • Volume II: Fight Avails, Denis Richards and Hilary St George Saunders, 1953
  • Volume III: Fight is Won, Hilary St George Saunders, 1954
• British Military Administration of Occupied Territories in Africa during the Years 1941–1947, Major-General Francis Rodd, 1948

Other official departmental histories[edit]

A number of official histories were produced by government departments. The authors worked under the same conditions and had the same access to official files but their works did not appear in the History of the Second World War.

• Britain and Atomic Energy 1939–1945Margaret Gowing, 1964.

Supplementary works from other publishers[edit]

• SOE Histories
  • SOE in the Far East, Charles Cruikshank, 1983
  • SOE in Scandinavia, Charles Cruikshank, 1986
  • SOE in the Low Countries, M. R. D. Foot, 2001
• Secret Flotillas
  • Volume I: Clandestine Sea Operations to Brittany 1940–44, Sir Brooks Richards, 2004
  • Volume II: Clandestine Sea Operations in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Adriatic 1940–44, Sir Brooks Richards, 2004
• Army Series, printed by the War Office, 30 volumes
  • Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
    • Volume I Organisation and Operations, Rowcroft, E. Bertram (1951)
    • Volume II Technical, Bloor, F. R. (1951)
  • Supplies and Transport 2 volumes, Boileau, D. W. (1954)
  • Works service and Engineer stores, Buchanan, A. G. B. (1953)
  • Fighting, support and transport vehicles and the War Office provision for their provision
    • Part 1 Common Problems, Campagnac R. & Hayman P. E. G. (1951)
    • Part 2 Unarmoured Vehicles, Campagnac R. & Hayman P. E. G. (1951)
  • Maintenance in the field 2 volumes, Carter, J. A. H. (1952)
  • Maps and Survey, Clough, A. B. (1952)
  • The Auxiliary Territorial Service, Cowper, J. M. (1949)
  • Movements, Higham, J. B. & Knighton, E. A. (1955)
  • Signal Communications, Gravely, T. B. (1950)
  • Quartering, Magnay, A. D. (1949)
  • Miscellaneous Q services, Magnay, A. D. (1954)
  • Mobilization, McPherson, A. B. (1950)
  • Discipline, McPherson, A. B. (1950)
  • Transportation, Micklem, R. (1950)
  • Army welfare, Morgan, M. C. (1953)
  • Ordnance services, Officers of the directorate (1950)
  • Airborne Forces, Oatway, T. B. H. (1951)
  • The development of artillery, tactics and equipment, Pemberton, A. L. (1950)
  • Manpower problems, Pigott, A. J. K. (1949)
  • Army Radar, Sayer, A. P. (1950)
  • Morale, Sparrow, J. H. A. (1949)
  • Personnel selection, Ungerson, B. (1952)
  • Military Engineering (field), Pakenham-Walsh, R. P. (1952)
  • Administrative planning, Wilson, H. W. (1952)
  • Special Weapons and types of warfare 3 volumes, Wiseman, D. J. C. (1951–53)
    • Volume I Gas Warfare
    • Volume II Screening smoke, signal smoke, flame warfare insecticide & insect repellent & special common use equipment
    • Volume III Visual & Sonic warfare
• Royal Air Force Series, printed by the Air Ministry
  • Airborne Forces (1951)
  • Air/Sea Rescue (1952)
  • Air Support (1956)
  • Armament
    • Volume I Bombs & Bombing Equipment (1952)
    • Volume II Guns, Gunsights, Turrets, Ammunition and Pyrotechnics (1954)
  • Maintenance (1954)
  • Signals
    • Volume I Organisation and Development (1958)
    • Volume II Telecommunications (1958)
    • Volume III Aircraft Radio (1956)
    • Volume IV Radar in Raid Reporting (1950)
    • Volume V Fighter Control and Interception (1952)
    • Volume VI Radio in Maritime Warfare (1954)
    • Volume VII Radio Counter-Measures (1950)
  • Works (1956)

See also[edit]

• Christopher Buckley, a historian who contributed to the series, was killed in the Korean War
• Germany and the Second World War (Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg), official German history

External links[edit]