Bridgnorth in the Great War (Paperback)
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Your Towns & Cities in The Great War
Pages: 140
Illustrations: 50
ISBN: 9781783831173
Published: 16th October 2019
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| Other formats available | Price |
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| Bridgnorth in the Great War ePub (14.2 MB) Add to Basket | £6.99 |
World-famous Bridgnorth town is situated on the river Severn near Kidderminster and is a very popular anglers' haunt and tourist destination. Within the shadow of its very own Civil War-ravaged castle lies a unique funicular rail system and the north-western terminus of the famous Severn Valley heritage railway line.
Although steeped in military history, much of its Great War social history has remained obscure until now. This enthralling account explores many surprising and unknown facts about Bridgnorth and its wartime Home Front, drawing on a wealth of material from diverse primary sources, including official news reports that disclose the fullest picture of the terrible sacrifices the serving men, their relatives and also their townsfolk made to Britain's war effort.
Misled by government propaganda, which implied that the men were enlisting for a short-term adventurous romp, this little town patriotically sacrificed the flower of a generation to the largely trench-bound bloody morass the Great War became. Their commitment and fortitude 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 in surrounding hamlets.
Utilizing contemporary documents and wartime servicemen's poignant letters, some of which are disclosed for the first time, Bridgnorth in the Great War reveals how this once prosperous and industrious West Midlands' town endured the greatest sacrifice of its manhood to this cataclysmic event, which was fancifully dubbed 'the war to end all wars'.
In this book it really does focus on the brave boys and men from the Bridgnorth area who went off to war, this particular book in the series really does focus on the connection between its boys and men and the actual events of the war. In a way this makes the book more personal or certainly makes you feel more connected to the war front, this is done by a lot of newspaper and journal type reports of ‘officer A was killed in action at Battle A’ or you get the lists of the men who have joined up from the various villages in the area.
UK Historian
It wasn’t a big book to read, at only 137 pages. So it was a short read but it feels an important read, after all this is a book talking about the men of one small area giving their lives by going to war for their country. When you think how many young men gave their lives in all the villages and towns of this country, there is a huge respect for these men and how we owe them a great debt in remembering them. What also appears in this book is some fantastic local pictures, which are excellent and bring a lot to the book. An excellent addition to the series and certainly worth a recommendation to anyone.
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A new addition to the very popular series, this book reviewing the participation of Bridgnorth. The author uncovered the surprising and unknown facts of this West Midlands town in the Great War. – Highly Recommended.
Firetrench
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As featured by
The Great War magazine, January 2020
This series, which saw the light in the centenary of the Great War and which continues to grow, is an interesting look at the life of small and large communities in the Great War. A look that deserves to be rediscovered because analyzing the impact of the deaths of so many young people especially on small communities you can have a sense of the destruction brought about by that conflict, much more than reading the cold stories of tactics and military strategy. Numbers become names and lives, and broken dreams. I deeply appreciate the effort of the authors and the Pen & Sword publishing house to return these precious testimonies.
Old Barbed Wire Blog
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Article: 'Book will weave the stories of town's war' as featured by
Express & Star, 7th November 2019 – words by Rory Smith
Article: 'Tales of town during First World War told in new book' as featured by
Bridgnorth Journal, 7th November 2019
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