Can I trust Wiki on this?

I wouldn't. Even 'Wiki' has the "Lack of References" disclaimer at the top of the page. The few samplings I made, of the included names, redirected back a 'wiki' article with the same disclaimer. Several of the names link to 'Time' magazine articles in the '30's. If it were me I would verify the names I was going to cite. If you want I'll take some names and see what pops up; just give me a list of those you want to cite.

 

It might be worth asking here: Japanese Ships & Navy Message Board
A fair number of Japanese speakers there among other things.

 

Would John Toland's 'Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire' be of any help? I read it about 30 years ago as a teenager and seemed then to be very though especially in reguard to politics, but it may now be dated for your needs.

 

Don't trust Wiki for anything. Anyone can post anything there without citation or references. At university we were told that if we used Wiki as a reference source for a paper it was an automatic fail.

 

I think that is going too far! You always need to double and triple check any source - and get hold of the originals if poosible.

Too often lazy authors just reference each other and once it print it seems to become FACT.

As for Wiki, it is an excellent fund of knowledge but just a starting point.

Gave them £20 a couple of months ago to keep them free - have I wasted my money?

 

Like many others on this thread, I would always recommend using Wikipedia as a fast, initial source of reference but with the obvious caveat that it relies largely on data coming in from what may very well be unsubstantiated sources.

Having said that I have often been quoted on Wikipedia and my friends will always acknowledge that I write nothing but the truth

If you want to see a few examples try these for size:

Kilroy was here
Kilroy was here - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
External links
Chad drawn in an army album from 21 June 1944 by Ron Goldstein, with the caption "Wot! Leave again?" The album is now held at the Imperial War Museum.

London Victory Celebrations of 1946
London Victory Celebrations of 1946 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
External links
Victory Parade, London 1946 by Ron Goldstein (BBC WW2 People's War Archive) An eye witness account.

End of World War II in Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_of_World_War_II_in_Europeq
Footnotes
Ron Goldstein Field Marshal Keitel's surrender BBC additional comment by Peter - WW2 Site Helper

Ron

 

You are right, I was a little too harsh, I stand corrected.

It is a good place to go for an initial background on a subject.

Like you, I donated some money to them in the past.

 

I find it most useful as a starting point - most articles are a mine of keywords for onward Googling

That being said - a lot of the WWII articles are now pretty well referenced/sourced, even if it is down to decades-old memoirs and official histories.

The secret...as with so many sources....is in how you use it.