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 Birmingham 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. Birmingham’s part in the Great War is well documented from the production of Rifles and Lewis Guns at the B.S.A. to the mind boggling 25 million rifle cartridges produced weekly at Kynochs. Airplanes, tanks, armored cars, military trucks, shell fuses, shell cases, Mills bombs and hundreds of other intricate parts needed to make military hardware. “The country, the empire and the world owe to the skill, the ingenuity, the industry and the resource of Birmingham a deep debt of gratitude,” to quote Prime Minister Lloyd George and former Minister of Munitions. But that is only part of the story. Around 150,000 Birmingham men enlisted and sadly approximately 14,000 did not return. No story of Birmingham’s war effort can be told without mentioning the wives, moms, sisters and girlfriends who toiled away night and day working in munitions. Four years of local war time newspapers have been trawled through unearthing personal experiences of Brummagem folk in the Great War.

Courage, passion, ambition and tragedy under the storm clouds of war from the top ten bestselling author. It is 1915 and Daisy Tallis, headstrong, impassioned and a talented young silversmith, is desperate to make her parents proud. The family business is at the very heart of Birmingham’s jewellery quarter community. Daisy, having studied at the city’s celebrated School of Jewellery and Silversmithing, is now skilled enough to be a teacher. It is at the school that she meets her father’s notorious rival, James Carson. Although he’s a married man, Daisy finds herself dangerously drawn to his flattery. As war tightens its grip on the country, the jewellery quarter is thrown into turmoil as the men are forced to decide who will enlist. When tragedy strikes, can Daisy and her mother find what it takes to hold both the business and the family together? ‘Full of drama, love and compassion’ Take a Break ‘A tale of passion and empathy that will keep you hooked’ Woman’s Own

This book is about how Barrow's output of war materials was vital to the Great War effort, and it is about the Barrovians and men from the surrounding south Lakeland area - from all walks of life - who fought abroad, and the area's women war heroes. It includes background information on the history of the town, such as the Furness Railway, iron ore in the area and shipbuilding, and lists vessels built at Barrow pre- and during the war with information on what happened to them. These vessels include Mikasa and HMS Vanguard. At the outbreak of World War One, Vanguard fought in the battle of Jutland. The Mayfly (or the Won't Fly as Churchill called it), built by Vickers at Barrow along similar lines to the very early Zeppelins, was launched in 1911. She was the first British rigid airship to be built. Today, Astute submarines for the Royal Navy keep Barrow busy and local people turn up when new submarines are launched. This book also acts as a reference guide to local war dead and war heroes, lost heroes, the area's recipients of the Victoria Cross, memorials with details of those commemorated (including those whose names were unwelcome on memorials). Barrow's War Memorial in Barrow Park was unveiled in November, 1921 by Field Marshall Sir William "Wullie" Robertson and records close to 600 names of those who fought and died in the First World War.