William J Hood

The Dam Busters and The Möhne Catastrophe

By William J Hood on 21 Jul 2020

“M Mother” was past the dam, nose up, straining for height, so the crew could bale out, when the tanks blew up with an orange flare, a wing ripped away and the bomber spun to the ground in burning bouncing… Read More ›
Colditz: Where the imagination soars

By William J Hood on 10 Jul 2020

The town felt much like any other German suburb, and I had seen more imposing castles in the past than the one that we were approaching. It was dark. It was cold. I was hungry, but I didn’t mind. This… Read More ›
Home: Winston Churchill’s Place for Action

By William J Hood on 19 Feb 2019

“We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us,” said Winston Churchill of the House of Commons. The dictum surely applies to Chartwell Manor in Kent, his home for over forty years, where still today something of his spirit… Read More ›
Crossing Paths with the Past

By William J Hood on 19 Feb 2019

I had never met this man but I knew a great deal about him. He was an ordinary bloke, much like any other, yet I had travelled far to visit him.