Scratching Shed Publishing

In the 1980s, military sport in the UK was run on traditional lines. Rugby league was not recognised, even if many within the services yearned to play it. One man changed all that. Damian Clayton, a young airman from West Yorkshire, did not (and still does not) take no for an answer. Battling against incredible odds, his passion for the game, ability on the pitch, organisation and persuasion skills were matched by grit, determination, a bit of cheek and the odd bit of low cunning. What’s more, he succeeded. Over one thousand servicemen and women now play rugby league in all three Services. Through Adversity highlights the highs and lows, the thrills and spills of the journey. The UK Armed Forces were Services World Cup Champions from 2008 to 2013; in the UK the relationship between military players and officials is exceptional. This unity of effort and purpose is exemplified by the force of nature that is Damian Clayton. I commend this book to anyone who is interested in success against the odds and a ripping good yarn! Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach KCB CBE ADC BA MPhil DTech DLitt FRAeS RAF, Vice Chief of The Defence Staff

Teeman also has a high profile in Europe, where his deep knowledge of EEC law enabled him to negotiate deals with Italian football clubs for the likes of Liam Brady and Joe Jordan. In the UK he was involved in famous court cases like the Billy Bremner libel suit against the Sunday People which resulted in record libel damages; a plot to kill President Nkrumah of Ghana; and the Leeds police trial surrounding the alleged killing of David Oluwale which, 30 years after the event, continues to haunt those involved. Teeman is also a former President of the Rugby Football League with a wealth of rugby league-related anecdotes to share. Do not miss this riveting read.

Although BBC rugby league commentator and former St. Helens and Widnes forward Ray French represented his country at both codes of rugby and has, for the past thirty years, written and broadcast extensively on the sport, his latest book is far more than a look back at his life in the game. In Ray French… and Rugby, he presents the story of a man who has for the past six decades straddled and enjoyed both oval ball codes as a spectator, player, coach, administrator and commentator. He calls upon his experiences on and off the pitch to consider the problems facing both sports, the relationship between them, the values and appeal of both games, and offers his strong, passionate and controversial opinions on their future. Naturally concentrating on rugby league, the passion in his life, he provides an abundance of humorous anecdotes and stories surrounding incidents and the characters within the game. Already the author of seven titles, Ray French looks upon this as being the definitive book on his career and everything associated with it.

This is the story of Iby Knill, whose inspirational and moving account of holocaust survival was featured recently on the BBC television series My Story. In her book, Iby tells of her early childhood in Czechoslovakia and of how her parents – alarmed at the persecution of Jews in Germany – smuggled her over the border to Hungary. The Woman Without A Number also reveals how she was caught by the security police and then imprisoned and tortured, not only as a result of her Jewish connections but for having entered Hungary illegally and for aiding the resistance movement. Eventually, Iby was sent to the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. In June 1944, Iby Knill left Auschwitz-Birkenau by volunteering to travel as a nurse with a slave labour transport of 500 women. Once transported to Lippstadt, she was put in charge of a hospital unit and risked her life protecting the weak and helpless from the gas chambers. Appearing for the first time in print, The Woman Without A Number is a truly remarkable tale that has waited sixty years to be told.