Great War Railwaymen

Great War Railwaymen PDF Author: Jeremy Higgins
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1910500097
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
The railways were intrinsic to fighting the First World War, whether at home or abroad. On the Western Front and beyond trains ferried men and supplies to and from the front on a staggering scale, ensuring that the war machine functioned without pause. Back in Britain, the railway network shipped millions of tonnes of war material from the factories to the ports, becoming the lifeblood of the war effort. Great War Railwaymen details this incredible achievement, exploring not only the vast infrastructure, but also those who operated it. Despite the importance of the railways, many of those involved in the industry went off to fight in the mud and trenches, on the world's oceans, or in the skies above war torn Europe. Between them, they were awarded 2500 Military medals, 44 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 27 Military Crosses and 6 Victoria Crosses. This is their story. Meticulously researched and lovingly produced, Jeremy Higgins narrates the fascinating stories of over a thousand of these men, vividly capturing their wartime experiences and pressing home the vital importance of the railways, and those that ran them, to the Allied victory in the First World War.

Great War Railwaymen

Great War Railwaymen PDF Author: Jeremy Higgins
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1910500097
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
The railways were intrinsic to fighting the First World War, whether at home or abroad. On the Western Front and beyond trains ferried men and supplies to and from the front on a staggering scale, ensuring that the war machine functioned without pause. Back in Britain, the railway network shipped millions of tonnes of war material from the factories to the ports, becoming the lifeblood of the war effort. Great War Railwaymen details this incredible achievement, exploring not only the vast infrastructure, but also those who operated it. Despite the importance of the railways, many of those involved in the industry went off to fight in the mud and trenches, on the world's oceans, or in the skies above war torn Europe. Between them, they were awarded 2500 Military medals, 44 Distinguished Conduct Medals, 27 Military Crosses and 6 Victoria Crosses. This is their story. Meticulously researched and lovingly produced, Jeremy Higgins narrates the fascinating stories of over a thousand of these men, vividly capturing their wartime experiences and pressing home the vital importance of the railways, and those that ran them, to the Allied victory in the First World War.

British railways and the great war ; organisation, efforts, difficulties and achievements

British railways and the great war ; organisation, efforts, difficulties and achievements PDF Author: Edwin A. Pratt
Publisher: Dalcassian Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 570

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Book Description


Railways of the Great War

Railways of the Great War PDF Author: Colette Hooper
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780593074121
Category : Military railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
From the exploits of railwaymen at the Front to the secrets of railway spies who worked behind enemy lines; the manufacture of munitions in railway workshops to the role of railways in post-war remembrance âe" this book explores some of the remarkable stories of the railway war. Individually, each illuminates a different aspect of the conflict. Taken together, they provide us with a fresh perspective on the First World War as a whole. The Great War was the quintessential railway war. Railways helped to precipitate this mechanized conflict: they defined how it was fought and kept the home front moving; they conveyed millions to the trenches and evacuated the huge numbers of wounded. The railways sustained a terrible war of attrition and, ultimately, bore witness to its end. In Railways of the Great War, Michael Portillo and Colette Hooper tell the forgotten story of the war on the tracks and explore the numerous ways in which Britainâe(tm)s locomotives, railway companies and skilled railway workforce moulded the course of the conflict. From mobilizing men and moving weapons, to transporting food for troops and later taking grieving relatives to the battlefields on which their loved ones had fallen, the railways played a central role throughout this turbulent period in our history.

Wartime GWR

Wartime GWR PDF Author: Elaine Arthurs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780711038059
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
This title presents a collection of photographs illustrating the human and operational cost of two world wars on the Great Western Railway taken from the archive of the Museum of the GWR at Swindon.

Tracks to the Trenches

Tracks to the Trenches PDF Author: David R. P. Guay
Publisher: Fifth House Publishers
ISBN: 9781927083369
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Tracks to the Trenches is a photographic history of the role that Canadian soldiers and railroad men played in the construction of rail lines to the Allied front during World War I."--

Britain's Railways in the First World War

Britain's Railways in the First World War PDF Author: Michael Foley
Publisher: Pen and Sword Transport
ISBN: 152678680X
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
It is easy to believe that the only part that Britain’s railways played in the First World War was to carry the soldiers to the ships that would take them to France. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Without the help from the railways it is unlikely that the war would have been over as quickly as it was. In Britain’s Railways in the First World War Michael Foley examines how the railway system and its workers proved to be a vital part of the war effort, one contemporary writer even commenting that he thought they were as significant as the navy. The book describes how the enlistment of railway troops for the Royal Engineers to meet the increasing transport demands of the military was to bleed the civilian system dry as skilled railwaymen were sent to work at the front. In addition, the military commandeered thousands of Britain’s railway vehicles, sending them to each of the theatres of war, and turned the already stressed railway workshops away from maintaining what remained of the country’s railways and rolling stock so they could produce armaments for the forces instead. The book also reveals how the British were so far behind their enemies and allies in the use of railway support to the front lines that they had to plead for help from Canada.

British Military Railways Overseas in the Great War

British Military Railways Overseas in the Great War PDF Author: Paul E. Waters
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781900340526
Category : Military railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Detailed history of British Military Railways overseas during WW1 - all theatres covered, from the Western Front to the Falkland Islands

Narrow Gauge in the Arras Sector

Narrow Gauge in the Arras Sector PDF Author: Joan S. Farebrother
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473869587
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
The Arras sector of the Western Front in World War I (WW1) was held partly by the British and Dominions 1st Army from September 1915, and almost wholly by the 1st and 3rd Armies from March 1916. No less than in the Ypres sector to the north and the Somme sector to the south, the struggles of the French and then British troops in this sector were pivotal to the outcome of the War. The sector included countryside in the south, but in the north a major part of the industrial and coal-mining area of northern France, around Lens and Bthune. In this book the contribution of metre and 60 cm gauge railways to the Allied war effort in this sector is examined in the context of the history of the metre gauge lines already established. The build up of light (60 cm gauge) lines from 1916 is examined in detail area by area, and the contribution of the related metre gauge lines is reassessed, from British and French sources. After the War the role of these railways in the reconstruction and recovery of this devastated region of France is described. Later the surviving part of the 60 cm gauge network served the sugar beet industry east of Arras. The history is followed through another World War to the closure of the last of these railways in 1957.The book refers to previous works on British War Department light railways in WW1, but contains sufficient general information for readers new to the subject. It also describes how to find key locations now, and how and where rolling stock can be seen. Six walks and an urban tour are included for those who wish to explore the territory in greater depth.

Great Britain's Great War

Great Britain's Great War PDF Author: Jeremy Paxman
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0670919640
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Jeremy Paxman's magnificent history of the First World War tells the entire story of the war in one gripping narrative from the point of view of the British people. *** We may think we know about it, but what was life really like for the British people during the First World War? The well-known images - the pointing finger of Lord Kitchener; a Tommy buried in the mud of the Western Front; the memorial poppies of Remembrance Day - all reinforce the idea that it was a pointless waste of life. So why did the British fight it so willingly and how did the country endure it for so long? Using a wealth of first-hand source material, Jeremy Paxman brings vividly to life the day-to-day experience of the British over the entire course of the war, from politicians, newspapermen, campaigners and Generals, to Tommies, factory workers, nurses, wives and children. It shows how both British life and identity were utterly transformed - not always for the worst - by the enormous upheaval of the war. Rich with personalities, surprises and ironies, this lively narrative history paints a picture of courage and confusion, doubts and dilemmas, and is written with Jeremy Paxman's characteristic flair for storytelling, wry humour and pithy observation. *** "A fine introduction to the part Britain played in the first of the worst two wars in history. The writing is lively and the detail often surprising and memorable" Guardian "He writes so well and sympathetically, and chooses his detail so deftly, that if there is one new history of the war that you might actually enjoy from the very large centennial selection this is very likely it" The Times

Narrow Gauge to No Man's Land

Narrow Gauge to No Man's Land PDF Author: Richard Dunn
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description