The Second World War was, for Britain, a 'total war'; no section of society remained untouched by military conscription, air raids, the shipping crisis and the war economy. In this comprehensive and engrossing narrative Angus Calder presents not only the great events and leading figures but also the oddities and banalities of daily life on the Home Front, and in particular the parts played by ordinary people: air raid wardens and Home Guards, factory workers and farmers, housewives and pacifists. Above all this revisionist and important work reveals how, in those six years, the British people came closer to discarding their social conventions than at any time since Cromwell's republic. Winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys prize in 1970, The People’s War draws on oral testimony and a mass of neglected social documentation to question the popularised image of national unity in the fight for victory.

Examines the "home front" war effort from an overall imperial perspective, assessing the contribution of individual imperial territories.

Providing a classic social history of London's experiences of war from 1939 to 1945, this book describes the Phoney War, the blackouts, the first evacuations and the horrors of the Blitz, followed in the last days of the war by the terror of the doodlebugs. Through it all, a spirit of defiance united all sections of London society, and the book, based on published sources as well as interviews, letters and diaries, presents a record of a population under siege.

At the start of the Second World War, Britain was at the height of its imperial power, and it is no surprise that it drew upon the global resources of the Empire once war had been declared. Whilst this international aspect of Britain’s war effort has been well-studied in relation to the military contribution of individual dominions and colonies, relatively little has been written about the Empire as a whole. As such, An Imperial World at War makes an important contribution to the historiography relating to the British Empire and its wartime experience. It argues that the war needs to be viewed in imperial terms, that the role of forces drawn from the Empire is poorly understood and that the war's impact on colonial societies is barely grasped at all in conventional accounts. Through a series of case studies, the volume demonstrates the fundamental role played by the Empire in Britain’s war effort and highlights some of the consequences for both Britain and its imperial territories.Themes include the recruitment and utilization of military formations drawn from imperial territories, the experience of British forces stationed overseas, the use of strategic bases located in the colonies, British policy in the Middle East and the challenge posed by growing American power, the occupation of enemy colonies and the enemy occupation of British colonies, colonial civil defence measures, financial support for the war effort supplied by the Empire, and the commemoration of the war. The Afterword anticipates a new, decentred history of the war that properly acknowledges the role and importance of people and places throughout the colonial and semi-colonial world.’ This volume emanates from a conference organized as part of the ‘Home Fronts of the Empire – Commonwealth’ project. The project was generously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and led by Yasmin Khan and Ashley Jackson with Gajendra Singh as Postdoctoral Research Assistant.

An account of British bureaucratic blindness to the Jewish catastrophe in Europe shows that Churchill's efforts in behalf of the Jews were continually thwarted by subordinates.

This book is the first major study of the blackout in the Second World War. Developing a comparative history of this system of civil defense in Britain and Germany, it begins by exploring how the blackout was planned for in both countries, and how the threat of aerial bombing framed its development. It then examines how well the blackout was adhered to, paying particular regard to the tension between its military value and the difficulties it caused civilians. The book then moves on to discuss how the blackout undermined the perception of security on the home front, especially for women. The final chapter examines the impact of the blackout on industry and transport. Arguing that the blackout formed an integral part in mobilising and legitimating British and German wartime discourses of community, fairness and morality, the book explores its profound impact on both countries.

The book has excellent reviews from UCL People (University College London) and the Historical Association, a British charity for teachers. It gives a short insight into the horrors of the home front told from the perspective of someone who actually experienced them, a fascinating look at the harsh realities of life in Britain, life full of drama and the danger of impending death. How did a family with a small child caught up in such a war survive? There follows an overview of the major campaigns in World War II, giving an insight into the big picture, enlivened by personal experiences and quotations from Churchill. A Canadian reviewer has said, This book was a relatively quick read that would be of interest to those who might not have much background in the events of the war or those who know the broad details but want the day to day understanding of how lives were affected by things like bombing raids. James Lingard has meticulously researched and presented the timeline of events for the war, but where this book really shines as far as I am concerned is in the sharing of his own familys experiences as they were personally impacted. Though only a young boy when the war began, his life was affected in multiple ways and his family was at one point thought killed as their air raid shelter was destroyed. In actual fact they had gone out to the woods for an outing, which ultimately saved their lives! Another enjoyable part of the book was the quotes Lingard used at the beginning of each chapter. Many of these quotes were taken from speeches by Churchill or other prominent men of the time and they add to the general picture and emotions of the period.

The population of Britain was mobilized to support the war effort on a scale unseen in any other Western democracy – or in Nazi Germany. They endured long working shifts, shortages of food and all other goods, and complete government control of their daily lives. Most men and women were conscripted or volunteered for additional tasks outside their formal working hours. Under the air raids that destroyed the centres of many towns and made about 2 million homeless, more than 60,000 civilians were killed and 86,000 seriously injured. This fascinating illustrated summary of wartime life, and the organizations that served on the Home front, is a striking record of endurance and sacrifice.

Juliet Gardiner's critically acclaimed book - the first in a generation to tell the people's story of the Second World War - offers a compelling and comprehensive account of the pervasiveness of war on the Home Front. The book has been commended for its inclusion of many under-described aspects of the Home Front, and alongside familiar stories of food shortages, evacuation and the arrival of the GIs, are stories of Conscientious Objectors, persecuted Italians living in Britain and Lumber Jills working in the New Forest. Drawing on a multitude of sources, many previously unpublished, she tells the story of those six gruelling years in voices from the Orkney Islands to Cornwall, from the Houses of Parliament to the Nottinghamshire mines.

Bogen beskriver og analyserer detaljeret hvordan krigens nyheder blev behandlet både fra engelsk og fra tysk side, illustreret med talrige eksempler fra årene under 2. Verdenskrig. Forfatteren var ansat i Ministry of Information, som sorterede nyhederne til hjemmefronten, og The Political Warfare Executive, som sendte propaganda til tyskerne, og til de tysk-besatte lande, og som samtidig (i Intelligence Directorate) fulgte den tyske propaganda hver dag. Bogen bygger på materiale fra både tyske og engelske arkiver.