Dr HARRY BENNETT: Dr G H Bennett taught history at the University of Plymouth for over 32 years and has written over 25 books dealing with maritime and military history, to foreign policy and political history in the mid-twentieth century.

TALK: The Battle of the Atlantic ran from 1939 to 1945, making it the longest campaign of the Second World War. What role did Devon and Cornwall play in that campaign and how did it impact the far South West? The sea off our shores became a maritime battle-ground, but why have we lost sight of that story, and the role of our two counties in Brit-ain's struggle to maintain its sea lines of communication?