Author: Gerald D. Wasley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780861148851
Category : Devon (England)
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description

Author: Gerald Wasley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780857040855
Category : Devon (England)
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
'Devon at War' covers events on the home front during the Second World War, setting them against the ebb and flow of the conflict between the Allied and Axis forces.

Author: Derek Tait
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781473855755
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
When war was declared on 1 September 1939, the people of Devon pulled together in a way that they hadn't done since the Great War of 1914-18. This book covers the people of Devon's contribution to the war effort, from the commencement of the conflict in September 1939, to its end in September 1945. It features many forgotten news stories of the day and looks at the changes to civilian's everyday lives, entertainment, spies and the internment of aliens living within the area. Devon became vital as a base for troops and as a dispatch point for the many men who left to fight in Europe. Several RAF bases were also established within the county to repel German attacks. Air raid shelters were erected in gardens and at public places and many children living in larger cities were swiftly evacuated to the countryside, as Plymouth and Exeter both suffered greatly from German bombing, with much of Plymouth being obliterated. Carrying a gas mask, rationing, the make-do-and-mend culture and the collection of scrap metal all became a generic way of life. Many of the jobs left open by men fighting abroad were taken up by women on the Home Front. The Women's Voluntary Service assisted with the evacuation of mothers and children to the country, carried out civil defense duties and provided food and clothing for the many refugees from occupied Europe. During the buildup to D Day, American troops were trained and stationed within the county before leaving for the beaches of Normandy. Slapton Sands, Dartmoor and Woolacombe were all used as training grounds with tragic loss of life at Slapton. Devon played a truly vital role in the war and its people contributed greatly to bringing the world changing conflict to an end.

Author: Derek Tait
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473855764
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
When war was declared on 1 September 1939, the people of Devon pulled together in a way that they hadn't done since the Great War of 1914–18. This book covers the people of Devon's contribution to the war effort, from the commencement of the conflict in September 1939, to its end in September 1945. It features many forgotten news stories of the day and looks at the changes to civilian's everyday lives, entertainment, spies and the internment of aliens living within the area.Devon became vital as a base for troops and as a dispatch point for the many men who left to fight in Europe. Several RAF bases were also established within the county to repel German attacks. Air raid shelters were erected in gardens and at public places and many children living in larger cities were swiftly evacuated to the countryside, as Plymouth and Exeter both suffered greatly from German bombing, with much of Plymouth being obliterated. Carrying a gas mask, rationing, the make-do-and-mend culture and the collection of scrap metal all became a generic way of life.Many of the jobs left open by men fighting abroad were taken up by women on the Home Front. The Women's Voluntary Service assisted with the evacuation of mothers and children to the country, carried out civil defense duties and provided food and clothing for the many refugees from occupied Europe.During the buildup to D Day, American troops were trained and stationed within the county before leaving for the beaches of Normandy. Slapton Sands, Dartmoor and Woolacombe were all used as training grounds with tragic loss of life at Slapton.Devon played a truly vital role in the war and its people contributed greatly to bringing the world changing conflict to an end.

Author: John Kiste
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750955287
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Home to all three armed services, Plymouth was greatly affected by both major conflicts of the twentieth century. Between 1914 and 1918, Devonport Dockyard was responsible for much routine repair and maintenance work as well as building new ships and submarines, while the Royal Marines and army battalions were active in various theatres of war overseas, and Mount Batten became one of the major stations of the newly formed Royal Air Force. During the Second World War, few cities in England suffered more devastating damage, with the heart of the old city destroyed and a death toll of 1,172.Richly illustrated and filled with true tales of local heroism and the unbreakable spirit of the people of Plymouth during these tumultuous years, this book looks at how the city fared during the wars and played her part in victory.

Author: Ruth Mansergh
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473894565
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
More than 350 bombs fell on Wimbledon during the Second World War, killing 150 residents and injuring a further 1,071. Around 12,000 houses were damaged and 810 destroyed.Notable people discussed in this fascinating book include Ernest Leonard Harvey, who was onboard HMS Suffolk on the night Bismarck was spotted; Peter Walley, who died when he steered his crashing aircraft away from housing in the area; Pat Reid, Colditz Castle escapee; PoW Ernest Colman's "Wimbledon Variation"; casualties of the Burma-Thailand railway; and the members of the Mitcham Home Guard who were killed when a German parachute mine hit the Tower Creameries site on Wednesday, 16 April 1941 (after a relatively quiet couple of weeks).This well-researched book also includes a list of the lost hospitals of Wimbledon, as well as war memorials in the London Borough of Merton findings which have since been added to the Imperial War Museum's website, www.iwm.org.uk. It also provides an insight into factory worker jobs that have long-since bitten the dust. Tri-ang in South Wimbledon was a national by-word for toys until it started making munitions for real. And, with the outbreak of war, Vortexion of The Broadway, Wimbledon - a manufacturer of public address amplifiers - found itself under the direction of the Government for war work.Overall, this is a poignant testimony to the momentous efforts, bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Wimbledon during the Second World War, who sought to find normality in a reality so far removed from anything they had ever known.

Author: Laura Quigley
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750959266
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
True tales of Second World War spies from across the West Country have been collected together for the very first time in this fascinating book. From the rescue operations as the exodus from France began to the secret guerrilla army in Devon and Cornwall, this book will amaze and intrigue with the incredible stories of Jasper Lawn of N51, the Helford Flotilla and the first escape routes for POWs, agents and crashed airmen.

Author: Sasha Abramsky
Publisher: Akashic Books
ISBN: 1617758264
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
“Masterfully captures the life of this little-known sportswoman, a versatile female athlete comparable to Babe Didrikson Zaharias.” —Booklist (starred review) Lottie Dod was a truly extraordinary sports figure who blazed trails of glory in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dod won Wimbledon five times, and did so for the first time in 1887, at the ludicrously young age of fifteen. After she grew bored with competitive tennis, she moved on to and excelled in myriad other sports: she became a leading ice skater and tobogganist, a mountaineer, an endurance bicyclist, a hockey player, a British ladies’ golf champion, and an Olympic silver medalist in archery. In her time, Dod had a huge following, but her years of distinction occurred just before the rise of broadcast media. By the outset of World War I, she was largely a forgotten figure; she died alone and without fanfare in 1960. Little Wonder brings this remarkable woman’s story to life, contextualizing it against a backdrop of rapid social change and tectonic shifts in the status of women in society. Paving the way for the likes of Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, and other top female athletes of today, Dod accepted no limits, no glass ceilings, and always refused to compromise. “Eighty-five years before Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs fought the ‘battle of the sexes,’ a Victorian teenager showed what women could do . . . [Abramsky] celebrates her as a brave and talented and determined original.” —The Atlantic

Author: Neil Storey
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 1399001590
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Faces of the Home Front presents a fascinating insight into the people, wartime organisations, events, life and work on the British Home Front during the Second World War. This is the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times told through an array of previously unpublished rare photographs, illustrations and ephemera. If you have wondered how Air Raid Wardens, Ambulance crews, Home Guard, Firemen, Special Constables, Women's Voluntary Service and the Women's Land Army were recruited and trained, how they were uniformed and what their duties entailed in wartime were, this is the book for you. Drawing on the authors’ own extensive archives of original photographs, training manuals, documents, decades of research and interviews with those who were there, there are stories of well-known events such as the Blitz on London and many other often lesser known events and incidents around the country, some deeply moving, some harrowing and some that show how the kindness and selfless bravery of people that helped get Britain through its darkest hours. The combination of images and stories vividly bring to life the experiences of people in cities, towns and countryside in wartime as they experienced evacuation, rationing, the black-out and air raids touched the lives of everyone. This volume is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any family historian, collector, re-enactor.

Author: Loyd Lee
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313033145
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description
A broadly interdisciplinary work, this handbook discusses the best and most enduring literature related to the major topics and themes of World War II. Military historiography is treated in essays on the major theaters of military operations and the related themes of logistics and intelligence, while political and diplomatic history is covered in chapters on international relations, resistance movements, and collaboration. The volume analyzes themes of domestic history in essays on economic mobilization, the home fronts, and women in the military and civilian life. The book also covers the Holocaust. This handbook approaches each topic from a global viewpoint rather than focusing on individual national communities. Except for nonprint material, the literature, research, and sources surveyed are primarily those available in English. The volume is aimed at both experts on the war and the general academic community and will also be useful to students and serious laymen interested in the war.