‘McKinstry’s biography will fascinate cricket lovers’ – THE TIMES

‘An eye-popping biography’ – DAILY MAIL

‘An exquisite read’ – THE SUN

‘[one] of the very best cricket books of the year’ – PAUL EDWARDS, THE CRICKETER

Bill Edrich’s story is one of cricket victories, explosive controversies, wartime glory and a life lived to the fullest.

571 first-class matches from 1934 to 1958. 36,965 runs. 29th on all-time lists. 86 centuries. 479 wickets. Bill Edrich was one of the biggest cricket stars of his time along with Denis Compton and Len Hutton. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1940 and played football for Norwich City and Tottenham Hotspur during the 1930s.

In the first biography for 30 years, award-winning writer Leo McKinstry recounts Edrich’s audacity both as a cricketer and an RAF pilot. Edrich’s flying prowess brought him a promotion to Squadron Leader and won him the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) after his part in a courageous daylight raid over Cologne in August 1941.

The same action-filled intensity applied to his turbulent private life. A man of keen amorous enthusiasms, he was married five times but rarely allowed his ardour to be inhibited by any wedding vows. Equally unrestrained was his fondness for alcohol and partying, though this trait brought him into conflict with both the cricket and the judicial authorities. After one particularly exuberant display of intoxication during a home Test match, he even lost his place in the England team, only to return for the famous Ashes triumph of 1953.

A history of cricket victories, explosive controversies, wartime glory and a life lived to the fullest, this compelling biography reveals the story of one of cricketing’s greatest characters.

The remarkable story of the unsung RAF wing who made Allied victory possible.

In 1943 Britain was engaged in an epic struggle for survival as deadly wolf packs of German U-boats roamed the Atlantic. In desperation, Churchill turned to an overlooked, underfunded force known as “The Cinderella Service”. Armed with long-range planes, depth charges, rocket projectiles and radar equipment, the Cinderella boys provided vital air defence. The German hunters became the hunted, and – in a stunning defeat – fully retreated by the summer.

The transformation of Coastal Command from a ramshackle outfit into a formidable organisation served as one of the turning points of the war. But they never received the credit they deserved. Based on a wealth of new sources, Leo McKinstry shines a light on the courageous pilots, ingenious scientists and political risktakers who defended the freezing Atlantic from Nazi rule.

‘Engrossing’ Brendan Simms

In early 1943 Britain was engaged in an epic struggle for survival. As the deadly wolf packs of German U-boats roamed the Atlantic, supply lines and shipping losses fell victim to the carnage.

In desperation, Churchill turned to the RAF’s maritime wing – an overlooked, underfunded force known as “The Cinderella Service”. But the ascendancy of the U-boat forced a change in attitude. Provided with the long-range planes, depth charges, rocket projectiles and radar equipment with which to challenge the enemy. The Cinderella boys provided vital air defence the whole way across the Atlantic. The German hunters were now the hunted, and – in a stunning defeat – had fully retreated by the summer of 1943.

The transformation of Coastal Command from a ramshackle outfit into a vast, formidable organisation provided one of the turning points of the war, keeping Britain in the war and opening the way to D-Day in 1944. But they never received the credit they deserved.

Based on a wealth of new sources, including from diaries, log books, official records, archives and interviews, Leo McKinstry shines a new light the courageous pilots, ingenious scientists and political risktakers – many of them outsiders – who defended the freezing Atlantic from Nazi rule.

The thrilling true account of Hitler’s first defeat.

In the summer of 1940, the Nazi war machine was at its zenith. France, Denmark, Norway and the Low Countries were all under occupation after a series of lightning military campaigns. Only Britain stood in the way of the complete triumph of Nazi tyranny. But for the first time in the war, Hitler did not prevail.

The traditional narrative of 1940 holds that Britain was only saved from German conquest by the pluck of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. The image of Dad’s Army recruits training with broomsticks is a classic symbol of the nation’s supposed desperation in the face of the threat from Operation Sealion, as the German plan for invasion was code-named.

Yet as Leo McKinstry details, the British were far more ruthless and proficient than is usually recognised. The brilliance of the RAF was not an exception but part of a pattern of magnificent organisation. In almost every sphere of action, such as the destruction of the French naval fleet or the capture of German spies, Britain’s approach reflected an uncompromising spirit of purpose and resolution. Using a wealth of primary materials from both British and German archives, Leo McKinstry provides a ground-breaking new assessment of the six fateful months in mid-1940, beginning with Winston Churchill’s accession to power in May and culminating in Germany’s abandonment of Operation Sealion.