Guest HelenB Posted 30 December , 2005 Share Posted 30 December , 2005 Hi all. I'm trying to research life in England for civilians during the First World War. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some books on womens work at home during the war, the extent of bombardment on England itself and anything general on this topic. Thanks very much for your help, helen x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burlington Posted 30 December , 2005 Share Posted 30 December , 2005 Helen Try 'All quiet on the Home front- Van Emden & Humphries. ISBN 0755311892' and 'Dear Old Blighty'. Turner. ISBN 0718118790' though the latter is probably out of print by now. Good luck martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 30 December , 2005 Share Posted 30 December , 2005 Women at War 1914-1918 - Arthur Marwick. Fontana 1977. Easily found on the second hand market. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 30 December , 2005 Share Posted 30 December , 2005 The Home Front in the Great War" by David Bilton is also currently in print. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raster Scanning Posted 31 December , 2005 Share Posted 31 December , 2005 Hi Helen. The book below was written by a lady known more for houskeeping and cooking on a budget books. She produced this book in 1929 and it is a mine of valuable information covering all the subjects you are interested in. There are few copies for sale here I have a copy if you have any further questions. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Light Posted 31 December , 2005 Share Posted 31 December , 2005 Helen I'd find the nearest library/record office that has a run of local newspapers for the period, and then set aside about 3 days every week to go through them They're a wonderful source of information about what was going on in local communities during the war. Mine include details of all sorts of women's work, local voluntary organisations, hospital support groups, reports of talks given by women returning from France; letters from women abroad and fund-raising of all types. There are also reports of patriotic concerts, summer fetes, prisoners of war working locally, chestnut and moss gathering for the war effort, local tribunals, births, marriages and deaths, coroner's reports - endless... and addictive... Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 31 December , 2005 Share Posted 31 December , 2005 I agree about the newspapers, and they are addictive. I have seen it written that women went out to work because of the war, and I am not suggesting that is not true. But from what I have seen in the pages of the Holmfirth Express during the war, women who were working in the mills before the war were also working in the mills during the war and after the war. The women in the mill owners families were heavily engaged in charity work before the war, and this continued during and after the war. In this particular part of the country it seems to be more a question of how much extra work is done by the women during the war, rather than if the women went out to work. I have noticed that the ones I am most likely to read about in the newspapers are the members of the richer part of the population, but reports of mills working day and night and overtime levels causing discontent amongst the workforce obviously applies to working women. Especially when the men who haven’t volunteered are being hauled up before military tribunals and conscripted in such numbers that women are essential to keep production going. Bearing in mind that there was nothing unusual in a fifteen year old girl being employed full time as a weaver, both before, during and after the war. Probably those married women who would have spent their time at home with the children made arrangements to go back to work earlier than they would have if there had been no war, and some of the older and younger ones will have been employed, the replacements for the men had to come from somewhere. But I imagine that in a city with a lot of male office workers the situation would be different from that of the women in a small mill town. I would interested to see what you come up with. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Lund Posted 4 January , 2006 Share Posted 4 January , 2006 The book below was written by a lady known more for houskeeping and cooking on a budget books. She produced this book in 1929 and it is a mine of valuable information covering all the subjects you are interested in. Thanks for the tip. It arrived at 10 a.m. this morning, for me this sort of book is very useful indeed. Tony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raster Scanning Posted 5 January , 2006 Share Posted 5 January , 2006 No problem. Cheers. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John84 Posted 6 January , 2006 Share Posted 6 January , 2006 Hi all. I'm trying to research life in England for civilians during the First World War. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some books on womens work at home during the war, the extent of bombardment on England itself and anything general on this topic. Thanks very much for your help, helen x Hello Helen...... try this book...its a superb read. John. Blighty: British Society in the Era of the Great War Author: DEGROOT Gerard J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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