Naval and Military Press Your Towns and Cities Series

[John Gilinsky]

Naval and Military Press published a fairly large series of monographs in the past few years clearly as part of the WWI Centenary celebrations on various major UK cities and towns.  The series "Your Towns and Cities" is of some interest.  Can anyone please let us know how they have reviewed, used and what they consider to be distinctive features of individual titles?  Thanks.

[Bernard_Lewis]

I think you might be referring to the Pen and Sword Books' series on towns and cities, many of which (including my effort) have eventually been shunted off to N&MP at discounted prices.

 

Reviews on my tome were fine, including one by Chris Baker and another by David Filsell (for the WFA 'Stand To' magazine)  a though I've seen or read others in the series which, I think, were of varying standards. 

 

Bernard

[keithmroberts]

I can commend the Portsmouth volume which was written by a former archivist in the city with many years of experience researching local history. 

 

Keith

[John Gilinsky]

Thank you all for your consideration.  Here in Canada there have been some published PhDs from the late 20th century onwards but only a handful and given the nature their research time was also somewhat limited.  Without being unfair, singly out by default omission can the 3 responders to my original question list their own title and any others that they believe are at least respectably researched?  Here in Toronto I am focused on doing an exhaustive history of a local veterans hospital so I am including the diverse communities that interacted with this health care facility.  

 

Questions and/or topics that intrigue me about this clearly publisher's centenary project:

 

Home Guards (local, district)

 

War Charities (local, district)

 

Social Service agencies pre-war as influenced by the war (local/district)

 

Social Service agencies created anew or significantly altered by and/or during the war (local/district)

 

Social Service agencies created after the war (local/district)

 

Local war related or relevant publications of any kind/topic(s)

 

Archival/research/finding aids including bibliographies, lists, calendars, for any type of materials such as local newspapers, broadsides, postcards, posters, photographs, etc....

 

Thanks again,

John

[Bernard_Lewis]

Well, the Cardiff one was disappointing. Carmarthen was well written. I've seen a couple on day trips but none stood out as 'outstanding' though, to be fair, I only had a light browse of those.

 

My own effort is 'Swansea in the Great War.'

 

Bernard

[Bernard_Lewis]

I think P&S gave it's commissioned authors a blank canvas as regards content. 

 

Broadly speaking, I noted every Swansea reference to the Great War in my local archive office holdings - and dug them out.

 

I scoured a local newspaper of the day.

 

I went through the Corporation minutes.

 

I looked at the history of the town's local battalions.

 

I appealed for any info on those with a strong Swansea link that had served.

 

Looked up a Red Cross booklet that covered the Swansea medical efforts.

 

Wrote up the 2 Swansea VC winners.

 

Listed (with difficulty) Swansea war dead from the CWGC records (just for review and mild analysis, I didn't list them in the book.)

 

Asked a few questions on the GWF.

 

And eventually produced about 70,000 words, I think.

 

Sold over a 1,000 methinks...

 

Bernard

[Bernard_Lewis]

My 'Swansea in the Great War' book has chapters on recruitment and conscientious objection, Belgian refugees and enemy aliens, medical services, industry, food supply, women, home front relief efforts, VC winners, vignettes on some who served on land, sea or in the air (including a nurse who was captured by the Austrians), Swansea's 'foreign legion' - Swansea lads who came back from abroad to fight for their country of birth, Great War myths (a brief discussion of Blackadder type stuff), and remembrance.

 

All with a strong Swansea slant...

 

Bernard