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Stuart Hylton

The Great War of 1914–1918 was the world's first total conflict. It drew the whole population into the war effort as never before. The armed forces recruited on a scale that was previously unimaginable, and the munitions industries drew more and more citizens into the labour market. The entire national economy was thrown onto a war footing. The local newspapers of those years provide a unique picture of these momentous changes, and Reporting the Great War uses their words to recapture the experience of the time. It illustrates in telling detail the human tragedies and triumphs of a nation at war and the day-to-day preoccupations of communities trying to find normality during an unprecedented emergency. Sections of the population were gripped by 'hun-phobia' the fear that everything Germanic was an agent of the enemy. Terror of aerial attack and the shortages caused by the German submarine blockade brought the reality of war close to home. Unfamiliar terms entered the national vocabulary conscription, conscientious objection, rationing and pre-war assumptions, from the role of women to the use of alcohol, were challenged and changed. Stuart Hylton's fascinating account of the British home front during the Great War, as it was seen through the newspaper columns of the day, shows a nation seemingly sleepwalking into a war in 1914 and emerging, four years later, with the hope that a better world would come with the peace.

Pen & Sword Military

The Great War on the Home Front

Reporting the Great War

Scott Lomax

The First World War saw many changes to Derbyshire that helped shape what the county is today. This book details the human experiences, thoughts, concerns, fears and hopes of the county during one the most important periods of its history. All aspects of civilian life are featured, including the run up to war and the reaction to its outbreak; the recruitment of men to the forces and the eventual conscription; the efforts of those who could not fight; industry and the munitions factories, where workers built the weapons and tools that helped win the war; the impact on agriculture and the role of farmers in feeding the nation; food shortages and rationing; the role of women; the role of the county in helping wounded servicemen and providing comforts and funds for those overseas; Belgian refugees; conscientious objectors and an alleged plot to kill the Prime Minister; anti-German feeling, hostility to Germans living in the county, and prisoners of war; civil defence and a Zeppelin raid that brought destruction and fear. For the first time in its history, the people of Derbyshire realised that the horrors of war were not confined to overseas battles but they could be witnessed and experienced in their own neighbourhoods.

Pen & Sword History

The Home Front: Derbyshire in the First World War

The First World War saw many changes to Sheffield that have helped shape what the city is today. It is apt that as we mark the centenary of the outbreak of the war, whilst paying our respects to those who were killed serving our country, we recognise the impact that the war had on those at home.This brand new publication details the human experiences, thoughts, concerns, fears and hopes of a city during one of the most important periods in its history, including the run up to war and the reaction to its outbreak; the efforts of those who could not fight; industry and how workers were instrumental in creating the weapons and tools that would help Britain win the war, along with the city's role in treating and entertaining wounded soldiers and the role of the University of Sheffield and the effect of the war on education. The part women played in the munitions factories plus a devestating Zeppelin raid over Sheffield are also covered in detail.For the first time in its history, Sheffield realised that the horrors of war were not confined to overseas battles but that they could be witnessed and experienced in their own neighbourhoods.As seen in The Yorkshire Post, Sheffield Telegraph, The Star (Sheffield), Bradway Bugle and Grapevine Magazine.

Pen & Sword Social

The Home Front: Sheffield in the First World War