Books and Resources
Here are the details of our 3 books and how to get them.
Please see below for our free downloads.
Printed Books
Books can be purchased either through Amazon (Click button below), or directly from the Secretary of the CDA.
For direct purchases, please send cheques payable to the ‘Civil Defence Association’ – address: The Secretary of the CDA, 24 Paxton Close, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3TD.
The prices including UK P&P from the CDA are given with each book.
'A Brief History of Civil Defence'
'Come if ye Dare'
'GC on the Rock'
Price, including UK P&P: £5.00.
This book outlines the history the British Civil Defence from its inception through to its stan-down in 1968. It is a tribute from today’s Civil Defenders to 1,900,000 Civil Defenders of WWII, and to the near 7,000 who died as a result of enemy action. It is hoped that it will help to perpetuate their memory and their volunteer spirit.
Tim Essex-Lopresti, Editor. 2005.
Price, including UK P&P: £12.50.
This book features the stories of the bravery of 11 Civil Defenders who were awarded the George Cross. It has been written by CDA member Terry Hissey and is based on his research at The National Archives at Kew, museums, libraries and archives in several parts of the country, as well as receiving support from relatives of many of the recipients.
Price, including UK P&P: £5.75.
This book commemorates the story behind the heroism of a quiet Aberdonian man who fought an horrific blaze aboard the naval armament carrier, the FRA Bedenham in the port of Gibraltar. George Henderson GC, an ex-soldier of the Gordon Highlander Regiment was amongst 13 lives lost during the fires and explosions aboard FRA Bedenham, and this book describes his courage and tenacity in the face of imminent death.
Downloadable Resources
Please feel free to download any of the items shown on this page. They are free of charge for personal, educational, or other non-commercial use, but please give full acknowledgement to the source.
By downloading you are considered to have accepted these limitations.
Please also note that they are all © 2005 Civil Defence Association
‘A Brief History of Civil Defence’
(ISBN 0-9550153-0-8)
The book outlines the history the British Civil Defence from its inception through to its stan-down in 1968. It is a tribute from today’s Civil Defenders to 1,900,000 Civil Defenders of WWII, and to the near 7,000 who died as a result of enemy action. It is hoped that it will help to perpetuate their memory and their volunteer spirit.
Tim Essex-Lopresti, Editor. 2005.
Please feel free to download the book:
A4 PDF version for duplex printing:
A5 PDF version for easy on screen reading:
'Come if Ye Dare' - The March of the Civil Defence Services.
Played by the Band of the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall and conducted by Lt.Col David McBain.
Early in 2005, a CDA member, Terry Hissey, came across one of the instrumental parts from this march, aptly subtitled ‘Come if ye Dare’. A copy of the military band set was obtained from the Boosey archive and of the piano version from another member’s archive.
The March was written by Anthony J Richards FTCL, LRAM, LGSM, ARCM, psm, in the late 1955 or early 1956 after graduating as a Bandmaster on 6th October 1955. At the time he was in an administrative post waiting for his first Bandmaster appointment, which came on the 2nd May 1956. The march was entered into the competition to find a March for the Civil Defence Services and won.
He retired in 1984 as a Major as the Director of Music of the Life Guards. After leaving the British Army, he then went on to serve as Lieutenant Colonel, Director of Music of the Oman Police Force Band until 1994. He died in 2002. The only other march known to have been composed by him is ‘Recce Flight’, the Regimental March of the Army Air Corps.
Please feel free to download the march:
This is an MP3 version and will open and play automatically:
Originally issued 1957 – Copyright unknown
Re-mastered 2005 by John Thorpe of Matlock
Produced by Tim Essex-Lopresti
Limited number of copies issued by the Civil Defence Association.
©2005 Civil Defence Association
‘King Arthur’ by John Dryden
It is understood that the March is based on the following text from Scene II, Act 1 of King Arthur, written by John Dryden.
‘Come, if ye dare, out trumpets sound
Come, if ye dare, the foes rebound
We come, we come, we come, we come,
Says the double, double, double beat of the thundering drum.
Now they charge on amain,
Now they rally again
The Gods from above the mad labour behold
And pity mankind, that will perish for gold.
The fainting Saxons quit their ground
Their trumpets languishing in the sound,
They fly, they fly, they fly, they fly,
Victoria, Victoria the bold Britons cry.
Now the victory is won,
To the Plunder we run;
We return to our lasses like fortunate traders
Triumphant with spoils of the vanquished invaders.’
Other Downloads (PDF format)
