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259th out of 615 books
—
317 voters
The Machine-Gunners
With Nazi planes raining bombs on England night after night, every boy in Garmouth has a collection of shrapnel and other war souvenirs. But nothing comes close to the working machine gun Chas McGill pulls out of a downed bomber. While the police search frantically for the missing gun, Chas and his friends build a secret fortress to fight the Germans themselves.
Paperback, 185 pages
Published
October 12th 1995
by Macmillan Children's Books
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My response after reading chapters 1 to 5.
So far in this book it has been rather interesting, and it makes me want to read more. It has been the first novel that has contained World War II. Has it is also set in the town Garmouth which is in England. In chapter 1 it started in the morning after an air-raid had been. Before school starts, Chas McGill, goes off to collect war souvenirs.
In chapter 5, Cem goes into the forest but unfortunately gets caught by fatty hardy,Boddser gets busted/caught by...more
So far in this book it has been rather interesting, and it makes me want to read more. It has been the first novel that has contained World War II. Has it is also set in the town Garmouth which is in England. In chapter 1 it started in the morning after an air-raid had been. Before school starts, Chas McGill, goes off to collect war souvenirs.
In chapter 5, Cem goes into the forest but unfortunately gets caught by fatty hardy,Boddser gets busted/caught by...more
2 likes · like · see review
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May 08, 2013
Jonathan Imre
added it
My response after reading chapters 1 - 5 is, this book so far is going great, im enjoying it very much and i want to keep reading. But I can't as we are reading it as a class. The reason I like Chas because, he really wants to beat Boddser in his Collection of war wreackage, he is really keen on beating him, he even put his life endanger to saw of a machine gun of and take it home. The most suprising thing iv'e learned from this book is that, Chas has a hard life, hiding in the shelters at night...more
1 like · like · see review
I have just finished reading "The Machine Gunners." I would give this book a 3 out of 5. My reason for this is because most of the story was interesting and kept you hooked in but, one thing that I didn’t really like was story I’m not really into war type of books but this book changed my mind set!
The Machine Gunners is about a English boy from Garmouth. His name is Chas McGill, he is 12. And he found a machine gun off a crashed German airplane and cut the gun off the plane. He didn’t know at t...more
The Machine Gunners is about a English boy from Garmouth. His name is Chas McGill, he is 12. And he found a machine gun off a crashed German airplane and cut the gun off the plane. He didn’t know at t...more
May 05, 2013
♊★kodi★♊ ۩۞۩๑Botica۩۞۩๑™
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Kids,Easy readers,people intriged by the WW,people looking for a Goodread
Recommended to ♊★kodi★♊ by:
English teacher
I think the book Machine Gunners by Robert Westall is a very interesting book and has some unexpected twists.
My Favorite character is Chas because he is makes smart decisions but sometimes wild which at times gets him into trouble for example when he saw the polish men talking he opened fire because he thought they where Germans because they were speaking a foreign language but then the Polish men soon overpowered Chas and the gang.
The way the text is written is interesting because it used a...more
My Favorite character is Chas because he is makes smart decisions but sometimes wild which at times gets him into trouble for example when he saw the polish men talking he opened fire because he thought they where Germans because they were speaking a foreign language but then the Polish men soon overpowered Chas and the gang.
The way the text is written is interesting because it used a...more
Apr 10, 2013
Charlie Hirst
added it
CHAPTER 1-5
So far the book is going really good, i think its really interesting and i want to read more.
So far it has introduced some main characters.
We know that Chas is keen on collecting some of the pieces from broken bombs and planes that have been shot down during raids. He has the second best collection but the person who has the best is Boddser. Chas and Boddser dont like each other, Boddser is a bully.
An interesting part was when Chas went searching for some good parts to collect.
While...more
The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall is set during the blitz of WWII in a northern British city. It follows the adventures of 14-year-old Chas McGill and his friends as they discover a downed German machine gun and secretly build their own bunker to house it, the better to defend Britain’s shores from the upcoming German invasion. Because authorities are keen to recover the missing gun, their movements are being tracked by a bumbling policeman, a suspicious teacher, and the neighborhood bully.
C...more
C...more
The Machine Gunners is Robert Westall’s first novel about World War II. It is set in the town of Garmouth, a seaside town in northern England. Though fictional, it is modeled on Tynemouth, the town where Westall grew up during the war.
The novel begins the morning after an air-raid. Before school starts, Chas (Charles) McGill, 14, goes off to collect souvenirs, things like bits of shrapnel or incendiary bomb fins from the raid. Chas has the second best collection in school, so when he stumbles u...more
The novel begins the morning after an air-raid. Before school starts, Chas (Charles) McGill, 14, goes off to collect souvenirs, things like bits of shrapnel or incendiary bomb fins from the raid. Chas has the second best collection in school, so when he stumbles u...more
My grandfather prompted me to read this book when I was about 11 and I thought that it was absolutely brilliant. On all the times I've read it since, it has lost none of it's original lustre and, if possible, has got even better now that I understand everything better.
What makes this book even better and more vivid for me is that I found out recently that one of my grandfather's friends actually found a crashed German bomber, "borrowed" the machine gun and took it home. He showed it to his frien...more
What makes this book even better and more vivid for me is that I found out recently that one of my grandfather's friends actually found a crashed German bomber, "borrowed" the machine gun and took it home. He showed it to his frien...more
First published in 1975, I read this in the late seventies, aged 9 or 10. I've since read it twice more as an adult and am always gripped by the excitement, the suspense, the build-up and the action. As an adult I can see new aspects to the book, tales of friendship and evolving relationships, heartwarming and heartwrenching at the same time.
Contrary to other reviews, this book is not set in London, but in the north east of England, north of Newcastle - honestly, this is an important point, as...more
Contrary to other reviews, this book is not set in London, but in the north east of England, north of Newcastle - honestly, this is an important point, as...more
An incredible book, and quite a disturbing one. It’s an amazing evocation of life under siege – not a traditional walled city siege, but the airborne bombing siege of WWII which meant that families in an English harbour town feared death from the skies every night, but had to get on with their ordinary lives during the day. And it’s a story about how that constant tension and destruction affects the children of the town. The story starts with Chas, a boy who collects war souvenirs. Then he and a...more
I got this book from the book shelves in my class. I chose this book because it had an appealing title and I like war-time stories.
My favourite part of the book is when Chas McGill, the main character is being chased by Chas' enemy, Boddser Brown, through the makeshift marshes in Garmouth. I found this passage very thrilling and it encouraged me to read on.
This book was unpredictable. I had no idea what was going happen next. people who were going about there every day lives were thrown in to a...more
My favourite part of the book is when Chas McGill, the main character is being chased by Chas' enemy, Boddser Brown, through the makeshift marshes in Garmouth. I found this passage very thrilling and it encouraged me to read on.
This book was unpredictable. I had no idea what was going happen next. people who were going about there every day lives were thrown in to a...more
My Response after reading chapter 1-2
i think that the story The Machine Gunners by Robert Westwall , this book so far has been going great , i have'nt read that much but i am trying to get there . the book is a really good story , i am enjoying it very well , especially the most intense parts where it gets so serious and more lively to the story. how he really wants to beat Boddser brown in the collection of the souvenirs in Garmouth and how he finds the landing aircraft of the crash. an example...more
i think that the story The Machine Gunners by Robert Westwall , this book so far has been going great , i have'nt read that much but i am trying to get there . the book is a really good story , i am enjoying it very well , especially the most intense parts where it gets so serious and more lively to the story. how he really wants to beat Boddser brown in the collection of the souvenirs in Garmouth and how he finds the landing aircraft of the crash. an example...more
May 08, 2013
Lucca Jeanne
added it
I have just finished reading this book and it was really entertaining, it helped me understand what it was like to have been alive in world war 2 and what activities children did instead of Xbox 360 or ps3. I really think that would have been scary and definitely wouldn't switch spaces with any of the children in this novel. I like how the kids made games out of the resources they had and didn't have to rely on buying games from a shop.
My favourite character was easily Chas McGill because I foun...more
My favourite character was easily Chas McGill because I foun...more
Aug 18, 2011
Gus
added it
"The Machine-Gunners" is a fictional book based in World War Two in the town of Garmouth. the main character is a twelve yea old boy called Chas McGill, Chas is a fairly short boy with short orange hair and freckles. he is very Smart and cunning, yet mischievous how ever respect full.
In This story him and his friends had to constantly avoid police his schoolteachers and even his parents, to complete his quest to kill the Nazis after he finds a German machine gun on the tail of a crashed German...more
In This story him and his friends had to constantly avoid police his schoolteachers and even his parents, to complete his quest to kill the Nazis after he finds a German machine gun on the tail of a crashed German...more
My response after reading chapters 1-5
This book is very interesting showing how they lived in ww2 , Chas who is an ordinary kid in the town of Garmouth . So far this shows how the children are having fun during WW2, by collecting broken parts from the plane that has crashed during the war. Chas has found a more interesting thing than Boddser Brown has ever had but Chas doesn't want any body to find out.
What i think will happen next is that the police will find that Chas has taken the machine g...more
This book is very interesting showing how they lived in ww2 , Chas who is an ordinary kid in the town of Garmouth . So far this shows how the children are having fun during WW2, by collecting broken parts from the plane that has crashed during the war. Chas has found a more interesting thing than Boddser Brown has ever had but Chas doesn't want any body to find out.
What i think will happen next is that the police will find that Chas has taken the machine g...more
My response after reading Chapter 1-5
The machine Gunners is interesting as it show a bit of how people lived in WW2 it focuses on a child named Chas who is an ordinary kid in the town of Garmouth. The story show how the children have fun while in the war by collecting broken plane parts from plane that have crashed during the war, but Chas find something more exiting than the usual bomb Fin, bullet shells and shrapnel, He finds a whole plane with a Machine gun and Evey thing Including the pilot....more
The machine Gunners is interesting as it show a bit of how people lived in WW2 it focuses on a child named Chas who is an ordinary kid in the town of Garmouth. The story show how the children have fun while in the war by collecting broken plane parts from plane that have crashed during the war, but Chas find something more exiting than the usual bomb Fin, bullet shells and shrapnel, He finds a whole plane with a Machine gun and Evey thing Including the pilot....more
May 04, 2013
Vickul Bhana
added it
I have finally finished reading "The Machine Gunners."Overall I would rate this book a well deserved 4 out of 5.The reason for this is because most of the story was very interesting and kept you hooked in but, other parts seemed like it was prolonging the plot.So I am now going to write a short summary of the book. This book is about a English boy in North East of England in the town of Garmouth. The main character is called Chas McGill, he is a 12 year-old boy. He which then finds a machine gun...more
what happened between chapter 1 to 5
so far in the book this boy name Chas has found a German bomber crashed in the woods then he finds a shiny black machine gun still intact to the bomber so he friend Cem. Chas and Cem get the machine gun and they find about 2000 spear bullets so then they get Cem cart and there guy folks dressed up person and cut the machine gun free with Chas dads hacksaw and hide it in the guy folks dressed up person there take out the wooden leg and and put the machine gun u...more
so far in the book this boy name Chas has found a German bomber crashed in the woods then he finds a shiny black machine gun still intact to the bomber so he friend Cem. Chas and Cem get the machine gun and they find about 2000 spear bullets so then they get Cem cart and there guy folks dressed up person and cut the machine gun free with Chas dads hacksaw and hide it in the guy folks dressed up person there take out the wooden leg and and put the machine gun u...more
The Machine Gunners
by Robert Westall
The Machine Gunners is a book how bout a boy named Chas and a group of his friends that bulid a fortrass in one of his friends what used to be back yard in World War 2. During the story there are countlass air raids over his town and by the end of the bookthe Germans are thought to be invaidng. So it all starts off when Chas go's to explore one of the German fighter planes that crashed somewhere in hi town that night so that he can take some stuff from it and...more
by Robert Westall
The Machine Gunners is a book how bout a boy named Chas and a group of his friends that bulid a fortrass in one of his friends what used to be back yard in World War 2. During the story there are countlass air raids over his town and by the end of the bookthe Germans are thought to be invaidng. So it all starts off when Chas go's to explore one of the German fighter planes that crashed somewhere in hi town that night so that he can take some stuff from it and...more
This story takes place in Garmouth during the Second World War. The kids collect war souvenirs such as incendiary bombs, plane fins, smashed bullets and other stuffs. Boddser Brown has the best war souvenir because he found the nose-cone of a 3.7 inch anti-aircraft shell. But when Chas McGill stumbles on a machine gun from a shot-down German plane, he and his friends built a fortress for the machine-gun. They brilliantly outwitted the police, parents and school members. Then Rudi, a German survi...more
Like much of Westall's work, this book is set in WW2 England, where boys' idea of fun is to collect assorted debris from the carnage of the Blitz (bits of planes and bombs, with the nose-cone of a Messerschmitt the ultimate prize). But when some boys find something rather larger, and more dangerous, they decide that they can play a real role in the war effort.
This is the perfect book for reluctant boy readers who are competent at the technical aspects of reading, but simply don't think there's a...more
This is the perfect book for reluctant boy readers who are competent at the technical aspects of reading, but simply don't think there's a...more
May 01, 2013
Sione
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone
Recommended to Sione by:
english teacher
This book is about a boy who finds a machine from a crashed nazi fighter aircraft heinkel 111 bomber and this boy named Chas took this fully operational machine gun with over two thousand rounds of ammunition and together Chas his friends to hid the machine gun and formed a fortress. One day Chas and his friends shot a M.E 110 missed but caused the plane to swerve directly to a shooting AA gun and was shot down by three spitfires from nearby airfield RAF Acklington the pilot died but the rear gu...more
"My Response after reading chapters 1 to 5"
The machine gunners is a very interesting book so far.
The book is based in england garmouth during ww2 and its mostly based on a boy chas who comes across a heinekel HE-111 and finds a machine gun on it and so he takes it and then the next day a bunch of police men come to investigate about the missing gun.
So far the book is very interesting and i think that chas is going to get caught with the machine gun because either the police may find him with it...more
The machine gunners is a very interesting book so far.
The book is based in england garmouth during ww2 and its mostly based on a boy chas who comes across a heinekel HE-111 and finds a machine gun on it and so he takes it and then the next day a bunch of police men come to investigate about the missing gun.
So far the book is very interesting and i think that chas is going to get caught with the machine gun because either the police may find him with it...more
I decided to read this book because I like history and this book is set in world war 2.
It completes the category "teaches you about another time in history" for the same reason.
I liked this category because I like history.
My fave quote from this book is "Some kid's got a gun and 2000 rounds of live ammo." Because it sums up what the book is about.
Something new I learned from this book is a whole lot of stuff about world war 2 and a lot of german language as well.
A setting that is interesting to...more
It completes the category "teaches you about another time in history" for the same reason.
I liked this category because I like history.
My fave quote from this book is "Some kid's got a gun and 2000 rounds of live ammo." Because it sums up what the book is about.
Something new I learned from this book is a whole lot of stuff about world war 2 and a lot of german language as well.
A setting that is interesting to...more
The story itself is enticing: kids stumble across a machine gun from the tail end of a crashed German bomber plane. They then decide to use it against the Germans and create elaborate "forts" and tunnels to elude their parents, the police, and the class bully. They even stumble across Rudi, the German pilot, who becomes a father-figure to the boys and adds a bit of confusion to the whole thing. But, honestly---"confusing" is probably the best word to describe this book and Westall's writing. The...more
My response after reading chapters 1 to 5 which is interesting because this boy Chas finds something in a plane wreckage and i am looking forward reading the rest of the book to see if Chas is caught red-handed with the missing item people have been looking for and when he gets up to mischief with finding things which is why i have managed to carry on reading this book to see if he finds anything else interesting in some wreckage's and if they catch Chas with the missing gun in the pipe where he...more
As a kid, this was perhaps my favourite book of all time. Westall is / was one of those writers who didn't ever allow his detailed and in-depth knowledge of his subject matter to drive or interfere with the requirements of the narrative. The result of this is that his books, and particularly this one, were both beautifully crafted and detailled, but with rip-roaring plots.
This one, in which Chas and his little gang locate the remains of a fallen German aircraft, including an (alive) fallen Germa...more
This one, in which Chas and his little gang locate the remains of a fallen German aircraft, including an (alive) fallen Germa...more
The machine gunner by Robert Westall is about a boy called Chas McGill who lives in a northern British city of Garmouth during ww11. Chas and his friends discover a machine gun with 2000 rounds. They secretly built their own fortress called caperetto he named it from the place his grandfather fought in Italy and they defend britians shores from the german invasion. Although the police are busting to find the missing gun that chas has, what they don’t know is that they were being followed by a po...more
A friend who was obsessed with all things WW2 recommended this to me when we were in primary school. At first I thought it was about a bunch of robotic killing machines or something - I should've known better - it was just about a boy and his friends during WW2 finding a Spitfire machine gun amongst the rubble and wreckage around their town. Boring? No way! This was a very touching and affectionate piece f writing about the pains of growing up during a time of distress, and the lengths that chil...more
My response after reading chapters 1-5, this is based on a real town Tynemouth.
it is about a boy called Chas McGill who is a school boy growing up
in the Battle of Britain. he wants to a boy named Bodser Brown who has the beast collection until
Chas finds a crash site of a Heinkel HE111 with a Machine gun with 2000 rounds in woods and he hid it in the leg of his Guy to get out of the wood, but he could not tell everyone
this reminds me of the stories from my granddad's
time during the blitz.
it is about a boy called Chas McGill who is a school boy growing up
in the Battle of Britain. he wants to a boy named Bodser Brown who has the beast collection until
Chas finds a crash site of a Heinkel HE111 with a Machine gun with 2000 rounds in woods and he hid it in the leg of his Guy to get out of the wood, but he could not tell everyone
this reminds me of the stories from my granddad's
time during the blitz.
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Robert Westall was born in North Shields, Northumberland, England in 1929.
His first published book The Machine Gunners (1975) which won him the Carnegie Medal is set in World War Two when a group of children living on Tyneside retrieve a machine-gun from a crashed German aircraft. He won the Carnegie Medal again in 1981 for The Scarecrows, the first writer to win it twice. He won the Smarties Priz...more
More about Robert Westall...
His first published book The Machine Gunners (1975) which won him the Carnegie Medal is set in World War Two when a group of children living on Tyneside retrieve a machine-gun from a crashed German aircraft. He won the Carnegie Medal again in 1981 for The Scarecrows, the first writer to win it twice. He won the Smarties Priz...more
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