Frederick J. Stephens
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Frederick John Stephens is an English author of several militaria books. They are used as reference books by Third Reich collectors all over the world.
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[edit] Family background
On the maternal side, the family is of Irish and Scottish ancestry; and on the paternal side the background is that of English and Flemish origin. It is most probable that the "Stephens" side came to England during the time of the campaign against the Hugenots (circa 1580). Many people from the Low Countries escaped persecution by fleeing to England in this period, and the majority settled in Lancashire, where they established the cotton industry.
In World War II, the Stephens family was engaged in essential war work, and this continued into the post-war years, mostly in the construction of furnaces and other industrial complexes essential to the development of post-war Britain. Much of this work was undertaken in the redevelopment of the Clydebank area of Glasgow - a location which had been seriously affected by intensive German bombing; and for which rebuilding was a priority.
[edit] Education and work
By the early 1950s, the Stephens family had moved back from Glasgow (home of the mother) to the Manchester area (home of the father) and settled there. Frederick, the only child, was enlisted at the Lord Derby Grammar School in the late 1950s, and from there was awarded an Apprenticeship in Printing at the concern of F. Collins and Co., Printers, in Bury, a small township just north of Manchester. Originally working as a compositor (a setter of type, by hand), his entire working career was spent in and around printing and publishing, in every capacity within the industry, and at all levels.
Having pursued many areas of collecting since childhood (when war souvenirs from the Third Reich were relatively commonplace in post-war Britain), the concept of producing a book about Third Reich edged weapons became a viable possibility through a first-hand understanding of the printing trade, and how to get a book self-published. It was this opportunity that opened the way for many other future publications.
[edit] Bibliography
- 1965: A guide to Nazi daggers, swords and bayonets, F. J. Stephens. Privately published by the author
- 1968: Bayonets : an illustrated history and reference guide, Arms & Armour Press, London
- 1970-71 Militaria Magazine, journal devoted to militaria collectors, edited and published by the author under the imprint of Militaria Publications Ltd.
- 1971: Collector's Pictorial Book of Bayonets, Arms & Armour Press, London, and also subsidiary edition published by Stackpole Books, USA
- 1972: Italian Fascist daggers, Militaria Publications Ltd.
- 1972: Edged Weapons of the Third Reich 1933-1945, Almark Publications Company Limited
- 1973: Hitler Youth History, Organisation, Uniforms, and Insignia, Almark Pub. Co.
- 1975: Uniforms and Organisations of the Imperial German Army, 1900-1918, co-authored with Graham J. Maddocks, Almark Publications Ltd.
- 1975: Weapons and Uniforms of the USSR, co-authored with Ian V. Hogg and John Batchelor, published by Purnell and Sons Ltd., London. Also translated and published as Waffen und Uniformen der Sowjetarmee, pub. Heyne Bildpaperback, Munchen, 1975
- 1976: Edged Weapons: A Collectors' Guide, Spurbooks, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
- 1976: REPRODUCTION RECOGNITION, Privately published by the author, Milton Keynes; Revised and expanded edition, published 1981 by Militaria Collector Inc., Sepulveda, California
- 1978: German Army Uniforms 1935-45 Insignia, Arms & Equipment, Almark Publications Ltd.
- 1980: Fighting Knives: Illustrated Guide to Fighting Knives and Military Survival Weapons of the World, Arms & Armour Press, London. Subsidiary editions published in Canada, USA, and Australia. Translated editions, published as Kampfmesser, Motorbuch Verlag, Munchen; and an Italian language edition, by Tuttostoria, Milan
- 1985: The Bayonet: An Evolution and History, co-authored with Roger D. C. Evans, and privately published by Militaria Publications, Milton Keynes
- 1989: Daggers Swords and Bayonets of the Third Reich, Patrick Stephens, Ltd.
- 1990: The ALCOSO Sales Catalogue (1937). Introductory text article to a reprint edition of this catalogue
