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Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473864992 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 184
Book Description
Dartford was a hive of activity during the Great War years, with most in the community doing their bit for the war effort in what ever way that they could. For men that meant enlisting in the armed forces, and for women that they were to take up roles that previously belonged to men. They worked in industry, delivered post, drove buses and taxis, and became carpenters and plumbers. They were also heavily relied on by volunteer organizations, such as Voluntary Aid Detachments, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps and later in the war, the Women's Land Army. Nearby, there was a large munitions factory in the town, which maintained a large yet productive, mostly female, workforce to ensure it met the ever-increasing demand for shells and bullets and, throughout the town, hospitals to cared for the wounded servicemen of Britain, Australia, America and even Germany, whose captured military personnel were held at one of many local prisoner of war camps. Joyce Green Aerodrome was home to units of the Royal Flying Corps and latterly the Royal Air Force, who protected both Dartford and London from air raids. This book cover how Dartford endured thirty-seven German air raids. Miraculously, not one local resident was killed.At the end of the war, the people of Dartford returned to the normality of life as best as they could, but the world had changed forever. For those who had lost loved ones, and over 300 local families had, the changes would always be a painful reminder of the terrible price of the war.Dartford in the Great War is a meticulous and compelling account of this town and its dedicated people, who sacrificed so much in their effort to thrive in one history's most difficult periods.
Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473864992 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 184
Book Description
Dartford was a hive of activity during the Great War years, with most in the community doing their bit for the war effort in what ever way that they could. For men that meant enlisting in the armed forces, and for women that they were to take up roles that previously belonged to men. They worked in industry, delivered post, drove buses and taxis, and became carpenters and plumbers. They were also heavily relied on by volunteer organizations, such as Voluntary Aid Detachments, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps and later in the war, the Women's Land Army. Nearby, there was a large munitions factory in the town, which maintained a large yet productive, mostly female, workforce to ensure it met the ever-increasing demand for shells and bullets and, throughout the town, hospitals to cared for the wounded servicemen of Britain, Australia, America and even Germany, whose captured military personnel were held at one of many local prisoner of war camps. Joyce Green Aerodrome was home to units of the Royal Flying Corps and latterly the Royal Air Force, who protected both Dartford and London from air raids. This book cover how Dartford endured thirty-seven German air raids. Miraculously, not one local resident was killed.At the end of the war, the people of Dartford returned to the normality of life as best as they could, but the world had changed forever. For those who had lost loved ones, and over 300 local families had, the changes would always be a painful reminder of the terrible price of the war.Dartford in the Great War is a meticulous and compelling account of this town and its dedicated people, who sacrificed so much in their effort to thrive in one history's most difficult periods.
Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473850762 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 191
Book Description
A historic profile of the London borough of Enfield during World War I and the conflict’s effect on the region and its people. The Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield was famous for producing the Lee Enfield .303 Rifle, the standard issued rifle provided to all infantry soldiers in the British Army during the First World War. The factory was so prestigious that King George V visited it in April, 1915. By the end of the war, its workforce of more than 9,000 had produced more than 2 million rifles. Their gun helped play a big part in winning the war. On July 7, 1917, the town was hit by a German air raid. Local anti-aircraft batteries did their best to thwart the enemy. Sadly, falling shrapnel from British anti-aircraft gunfire killed one woman, making her Enfield’s only resident to be killed in the town throughout the course of the war. A nearby young boy was also struck by some falling shrapnel but survived. After the incident, members of the Government Workers’ Union held a meeting to complain about the lack of a warning about the attack. Meanwhile, that month also saw a baker appear at Enfield Magistrates Court, charged under the Bread Order for selling loaves of bread that were over the permitted weight. For his heinous war time offence, he was fined the princely sum of ten shillings. Through researching local newspapers of the day, along with letters, diaries, photographs, parish magazines, trade journals, contemporary printed pamphlets, and more, author Stephen Wynn details the stories of Enfield during this dramatic era.
Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473827930 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 185
Book Description
Situated on the south coast of England, geographically and strategically, Dover more than played its part in the First World War. It was from its harbor that the many vessels of the Dover Patrol set about preventing German ships from using the English Channel. It was undoubtedly one of the most important Royal Naval units that Britain had during the First World War. Because of its important defensive roll, Dover was identified as a legitimate and relevant target by the German authorities. As a result, German Zeppelin's and Gotha aircraft subjected Dover to 113 aerial attacks, dropping 185 bombs in the process. The first of these raids took place on Christmas Eve, 1914; this was also the first time a German bomb had been dropped on British soil. The last raid was on 24 August 1918, in which twenty adults and three children were killed. The local residents who, for whatever reason, were unable to enlist in the military during the war, but who still felt the desire and obligation to serve their King and country, were able to do so in organizations such as the Dover Volunteer Training Corps. Most towns had similar units, and their members carried out some sterling work on the Home Front. By the end of the war, Dover and its people had sustained through testing and difficult times. Like every community throughout the nation, they had paid a heavy price. They had been as close to the war as it was possible to be, without actually being on the Front Line. Ships had sailed from its harbour to engage the enemy, and wounded soldiers had returned to the same harbour. Its men had gone of to fight in the war and, sadly, 721 of them never came back.
Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation ISBN: 1473865441 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 138
Book Description
A look at the transformation of aerial combat during World War I and the pilots of every country who were celebrated for shooting down enemy aircraft. By the time of the outbreak of the First World War, aviation was only eleven years old. The daddy of battlefield warfare until that point in time had been the cavalry, a position it maintained even as war was declared on the Western Front. Aircraft were not initially seen as an offensive weapon and were instead used by both sides as observation platforms or to take aerial photographs. Even when they were eventually used in an offensive capacity, they did not have machine guns attached to them; if the crew wanted to open fire then they had to use a pistol or rifle. As the war progressed so the use of aircraft changed from being an observational tool, to that of a fighter and bomber aircraft—something that had never been foreseen at the outbreak of the war. This book looks at the fighter aces from all sides. These were pilots who had been credited with shooting or forcing down a minimum of five enemy aircraft, of which there were hundreds. While some of these aces survived, many of them were killed. The most famous fighter ace of all is without doubt the German pilot known as the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. “It’s the legendary stuff I was brought up on, reading about first world war dogfights . . . Stephen Wynn and Tanya Wynn weave a good tale between them—absolutely enthralling.” —Books Monthly
Author: Simon Robbins Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317171977 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
Following the career of one relatively unknown First World War general, Lord Horne, this book adds to the growing literature that challenges long-held assumptions that the First World War was a senseless bloodbath conducted by unimaginative and incompetent generals. Instead it demonstrates that men like Horne developed new tactics and techniques to deal with the novel problems of trench warfare and in so doing seeks to re-establish the image of the British generals and explain the reasons for the failures of 1915-16 and the successes of 1917-18 and how this remarkable change in performance was achieved by a much maligned group of senior officers. Horne's important career and remarkable character sheds light not only on the major battles in which he was involved; the progress of the war; his relationships with his staff and other senior officers; the novel problems of trench warfare; the assimilation of new weapons, tactics and training methods; and the difficulties posed by the German defences, but also on the attitudes and professionalism of a senior British commander serving on the Western Front. Horne's career thus provides a vehicle for studying the performance of the British Army in the first quarter of the Twentieth Century. It also gives an important insight into the attitudes, ethos and professionalism of the officer corps which led that army to victory on the Western Front, exposing not only its flaws but also its many strengths. This study consequently provides a judgment not only on Horne as a personality, innovator and general of great importance but also on his contemporaries who served with the British Armies in South Africa and France during an era which saw a revolution in military affairs giving birth to a Modern Style of Warfare which still prevails to this day.
Author: James McCudden Publisher: Casemate / Greenhill ISBN: 193514975X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 321
Book Description
The day-to-day insights of a brilliantly daring World War I ace that only ends with his death at the age of 23 . . . James McCudden was an outstanding British fighter ace of World War I, whose daring exploits earned him a tremendous reputation and, ultimately, an untimely end. Here, in this unique and gripping firsthand account, he brings to life some of aviation history’s most dramatic episodes in a memoir completed at the age of twenty-three, just days before his tragic death. During his time in France with the Royal Flying Corps from 1914 to 1918, McCudden rose from mechanic to pilot and flight commander. Following his first kill in September 1916, McCudden shot down a total of fifty-seven enemy planes, including a remarkable three in a single minute in January 1918. A dashing patrol leader, he combined courage, loyalty, and judgment, studying the habits and psychology of enemy pilots and stalking them with patience and tenacity. Written with modesty and frankness, yet acutely perceptive, Flying Fury is both a valuable insight into the world of early aviation and a powerful account of courage and survival above the mud and trenches of Flanders. Fighter ace James McCudden died in July 1918, after engine failure caused his plane to crash just four months before the end of World War I. His success as one of Britain’s deadliest pilots earned him the Victoria Cross.
Author: Stephen Wynn Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1473864968 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 207
Book Description
Gravesend was like most other towns in the UK during the course of the First World War. When the call came to serve King and Country, local men enlisted in their thousands, but sadly not all of them returned.This book gives an insight into the Tilbury to Gravesend Pontoon Bridge, which allowed the rapid deployment of troops in the event of a German invasion along the East Coast. It provided a quicker route to get troops, equipment and supplies from Essex into Kent for transportation across to France. It looks at the role both New Tavern and Shornemead Fort, part of the London Defence system, played in preventing the German Navy from carrying out direct attacks on London.There is an account of the Gravesend riots, in which groups of local people burnt and looted premises they believed belonged to German aliens who were residents in the town, and the unique story of Captain Robert Campbell, taken as a prisoner by the Germans early in the war. He was allowed home by the Kaiser to see his dying mother one last time, and voluntarily returned to captivity in Germany, on his word of honour to do so.The story of Sir Gilbert Parker, the wartime MP for Gravesend, is also told. He was instrumental in convincing America to join the war as a British Allie, which was no easy task, as the United States Justice Department estimated there were some 480,000 Germans living in America at the time.The book also tells the individual stories of Gravesend's men who fought in the war, some who survived and returned to their loved ones, and others who were not so fortunate. It documents the triumphs and tragedies of Gravesend's people as they sought to find normality amongst a reality far removed from anything they had ever known before.
Author: Nicholas Milton Publisher: Pen and Sword History ISBN: 1399070592 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 266
Book Description
The British Expeditionary Force sent to France in the late summer of 1914 has been referred to as ‘The Best British Army Ever Sent to War’ as it was one of the most highly trained and disciplined forces in the world. It was also the ‘Best Birdwatching Army Ever Sent to War’ for among its ranks were hundreds of both amateur and professional ornithologists. When not fighting many soldiers turned to birdwatching as a way of wiling away the long hours spent on guard duty or watching over ‘no man's land’. As a result, the hobby ranked as one of the most popular past-times for soldiers at the front, on a par with smoking, writing, games, gambling, sport and shooting rats. The list of birds seen by soldiers serving in all the theatres of war was truly impressive ranging from the common like sparrows, skylarks and swallows to the exotic like golden orioles, hoopoes and bee-eaters. It was not just at the battle front that birds found themselves in the firing line but also on the home front. Birds provided inspiration for politicians, poets and painters who carried on despite the terrible conflict raging all around them. For the Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, who worked tirelessly to preserve peace but ended up convincing the House of Commons to go to war, birds were his hinterland. But as well as declaring war on Germany on 4 August 1914 the government also declared war on the humble house sparrow, farmers falsely accusing it of destroying Britain’s dwindling wheat and oat supplies. When the guns finally fell silent on the 11 November 1918 and the Great War came to an ignoble end, a generation of birdwatchers lay dead. Among them were scientists, researchers, lords, librarians, artists, authors, professors, poets, lawyers, surgeons and explorers, many barely having entered manhood. If they had lived the science of ornithology and the hobby of birdwatching would have undoubtedly been much the richer. A selection of them is included in the Ornithological Roll of honor at the back of this book.
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Gethyn J. Rees
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Simon Robbins
Author: John Pateman
Author: James McCudden
Author: Stephen Wynn
Author: Nicholas Milton