This social history of WWI explores the wartime sacrifices and contributions made by the people of this charming, historic English town. The town of Bridgnorth, located along the Severn River in Shropshire, is a popular tourist destination known for its historic castle and unique funicular rail system. Though it is steeped in military history, much of its role during the Great War has remained obscure until now. Misled by government propaganda, many of Bridgnorth’s men enlisted in the military for what they thought would be a short-term adventure. Their commitment and fortitude in the face of bloody trench warfare gives testament to the incredible bravery of the people of Bridgnorth, and their losses are evidenced in the various commemorative monuments erected throughout the town and surrounding hamlets. Utilizing contemporary documents and wartime servicemen's poignant letters, some of which are disclosed here for the first time, Bridgnorth in the Great War reveals how this once prosperous and industrious West Midlands' town endured great sacrifice in the name of Britain’s war effort.

Famed as the birthplace of modern industry and the first cast iron metal single span bridge, Ironbridge is venerated the world over yet its social history is at times unfamiliar.One hundred years ago this sleepy town, set by the river Severn, willingly volunteered its lifeblood to a war that everyone confidently believed would be a short-lived, adventurous romp. Misled by government propaganda, they soon discovered through fighting relative's letters and various official news reports, many of which are unearthed for the first time throughout this book, that it had rapidly degenerated into an endless morass of bloody violence with the probability of their men meeting a painful death on a daily basis thrown in for good measure.The town's wartime heritage is one of enterprise and hard work as the majority of the Great War gun-fodder comprised working-class men drawn from prestigious local companies. Maw & Co, the world-famous ceramic tile maker, raised its own company of enlisted fighting men, in common with other businesses nationwide, that were known as Pals Battalions. As in most instances across the land, it subsequently paid a heavy price for this mass act of patriotism. Ironbridge also became a cradle of the fledgling women's wartime workforce, who helped produce vital heavy munitions components at another famous local company's works.Ironbridge in the Great War is the story of the town's great sacrifice, as evidenced by the numerous and diverse war monuments that populate the town and its surrounding hamlets. This is detailed work that includes fascinating facts about the town, which, despite being constantly under the world spotlight, remained, until now, a part of its hidden wartime social history.

This selection of short stories offers a return journey through the future as it used to be. Time speeds backwards to the 1870s - to the alpha point of modern futuristic fiction - the opening years of that enchanted period before the First World War when Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and many able writers delighted readers from Sydney to Seattle with their most original revelations of things-to-come. In all their anticipations, the dominant factor was the recognition that the new industrial societies would continue to evolve in obedience to the rate of change. One major event that caused all to think furiously about the future was the Franco-German War of 1870. The new weapons and the new methods of army organization had shown that the conduct of warfare was changing; and, in response to that perception of change, a new form of fiction took on the task of describing the conduct of the war-to-come.

Get set for high seas adventure in this thrilling read from action-adventure master Percy F. Westerman. Full of realistic details gleaned from Westerman's own time in the Royal Navy, this classic World War I story will leave readers breathless with suspense.

How the experience of war impacted on the town, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German Kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Wellington were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. A record of the growing disillusion of the people, their tragedies and hardships and a determination to see it through. The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Meanwhile, men serving in the armed forces were scattered far and wide. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.

An account of the part played by the airfields in Shropshire during the last war; the planes and pilots who flew them; and the local civilians who worked alongside them.

The First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Shropshire offers an intimate portrayal of the county and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars'. A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it describes local reaction to the outbreak of war; charts the experience of individuals who enlisted; the changing face of industry; the work of the many hospitals in the area; the effect of the conflict on local children; the women who defied convention to play a vital role on the home front; and concludes with a chapter dedicated to how the city and its people coped with the transition to life in peacetime once more. The Great War story of Shropshire is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated through evocative images from the archives of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

After the Battle of the Lys in April 1918, Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig said of the 147th (Territorial) Brigade:'I desire to express my appreciation of the very valuable and gallant services performed by troops of the 49th (West Riding) Division since the entry of the 147th Brigade into the Battle of Armentires. The courage and determination showed by this division has played no small part in checking the enemys advance and I wish to convey to General Cameron and all the officers and men under his command my thanks for all they have done.'In April 1918, the Saturday night soldiers from Bingley, Guiseley, Haworth, Keighley, Settle and Skipton halted the German advance at a critical time in the war during the German spring offensive. Haigs Backs to the Wall order had just been issued when the 1/6th Duke of Wellingtons Regiment was sent to the front-line at Armentires. After nearly four years at the front, they had been transformed from part-time enthusiastic amateurs to battle hardened veterans, having fought in some of the Great War's major battles, including suffering the effects of mustard gas at Nieuport. It was a source of pride to the men of the battalion that they had never given up ground to the enemy, unless ordered to by a higher authority, and only then reluctantly.Using newspaper archives, war diary extracts, personal accounts and previously unpublished photographs, Stephen Barber retraces the formation and history of the 1/6th Duke of Wellingtons Regiment from the creation of the Volunteer Rifle Corps in 1860, to its mobilisation in the Great War. A day-by-day account of their movements and actions over the four-year period culminates in the pursuit of the retreating German Army at Famars, on 1 November 1918.

Highlighting modern day battles, against the backdrop of a bloody historical conflict.

The life of Charles Warren Royal Engineer is a compelling story, full of action, conflict, triumph and disaster, with reputations gained and lost. All set against the background of an expanding British Empire. It is a tale of secrecy, Freemasonry and pioneering archaeology as the young Lt Warren, still only in his twenties, tunnelled under the Holy City of Jerusalem in search of evidence of the Temple of Solomon and Herod the Great. A man of high principle and dogged determination Warren thrived on a challenge: searching for lost British spies in the desert of the Exodus, or publically calling out the rapacious colonialism of Cecil Rhodes. Later, in different circumstances, he ordered the arrest of Winston Churchill. Although thrice knighted for his many achievements, Warren is most widely remembered as the controversial Metropolitan Police Commissioner who failed to catch Jack the Ripper . In the end he faced the supreme challenge in the Anglo-Boer War, becoming the scapegoat for one of Britain's greatest military disasters, the Battle of Spion Kop. In this new biography, the first for 80 years, historian and biographer Kevin Shillington delves into the records and presents a reassessment of Warren's reputation.