Book Review - Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Giles Milton 2016

Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare follows the main players and big events connected with the SOE and adjoining agencies throughout the second world war. This book is an absolute page-turner! Daring raids, weird weapons, ridiculous politics and stone cold killers make up the riveting tale of guerillas and commandos during the second world war.

I picked this book up due to my interest in W E Fairbairn. There are some interesting tidbits on Fairbairn and Sykes, however, they are not the focus here - the book does however give real context to the need for their brand of training.

It is probably fair to say the central character in the book is Sir Colin McVean Gubbins, who was the 'prime mover' of the SOE during the war. At the outset of the war, Gubbins wrote two manuals on guerilla warfare, and like many believed the invasion of Britain was coming and they would be reduced to fighting this style of war. One of his first jobs was setting up cells inside Britain in preparedness for an invasion.

I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the second world war, SOE, Fairbairn & Sykes, combatives, the resistance, daring raids or ripping yarns. The only slight criticism I have is I would have preferred clearer timelines, however, this may have been a writing choice as the book flows extremely well.

Spear (Yari) in Owari Kan Ryu 尾張貫流 (Kudayari & others)

Owari Kan ryū is known for its use of the kuda-yari (tube spear). The e (shaft) is run through a kuda (metal pipe) that’s in the front hand of the practitioner. Interestingly the school’s students start training by doing shiai (competition) and only after considerable training they learn the school's kata (forms). Most classical schools that practice shiai do so after learning kata. Thrusting using the kuda. Cross-stepping. Thrusting attack with kuda. Wide stance. Shiai. Shiai using a spear with a cross piece. The original demonstration from which these stills were taken is here:

The Structure of the Tenshinshoden Katori Shinto Ryu Syllabus

It should be noted that the current head, Otake Risuke, has commented that not all of the parts of Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto Ryu survive. I recall his comments in various documentaries that Archery was once a component, and only some of the spear survives. Through various sources, mostly Otake's book, I have put together this brief outline of their syllabus, however I have little idea of the exact stage each is taught except that I believe the students start with Omote no Tachi. I will use this as the basis for further posts and may add to it over time. I believe their are important implications when Otake says that one of the main reasons for training all the weapons is to train the swordsman against them. Note in this section in brackets are my own comments and should therefore not be relied upon, those from the written work of Otake are clearly marked. Tenshinsho-den Katori Shinto Ryu -Kenjutsu (Otake lists Tachi, Ryuto and Kodachi under Kenjustsu) --Tachi (Use of the singl

Australia’s Turning Point – Signals Intelligence leading to the Battle of the Coral Sea

Australian/American Signals cooperation was not only important in stopping the Japanese advance to Australian shores but marked the beginning of Australia embedding its forces with the United States rather than simply furnishing troops for the British. Whilst the British, in my opinion , had a long history of using Commonwealth troops to either protect their colonial interests or to take on deployments with high expected rates of attrition, when Australia faced the real possibility of invasion with the vast majority of its troops and equipment deployed overseas, it was the Americans, whose interests in the Pacific aligned with our own, that were on hand to push the Japanese back from our shores. The Battle of the Coral Sea saw the beginnings of the deployment of Australian sea power under direct American command, a joint approach that would continue to the present time – it was, however, Signals Intelligence that led the way to the embedding of US/Australian forces and played a major

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