Wars are not just about the people who fight. Those who wait at home suffer too. This book gives an insight into how the people of Shrewsbury lived through those years. ??Chapters describe the arrival in the town of Belgian refugees and, not long afterwards, of prisoners of war and the reaction of the local people to them all; the enlistment and later conscription of men and the tribunals held to consider the applications of those who wanted to avoid being called up; the establishment of hospitals in local houses for the treatment of the war wounded; and finally the raising of subscriptions for memorials to those who had been killed.??Throughout this period most people tried to live as normal a life as possible, despite the absence of so many of their menfolk. They had to cope with food shortages and new laws that restricted so many aspects of their lives. Alongside this they lived with the constant dread of news from the front.

The First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Shropshire offers an intimate portrayal of the county and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars'. A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it describes local reaction to the outbreak of war; charts the experience of individuals who enlisted; the changing face of industry; the work of the many hospitals in the area; the effect of the conflict on local children; the women who defied convention to play a vital role on the home front; and concludes with a chapter dedicated to how the city and its people coped with the transition to life in peacetime once more. The Great War story of Shropshire is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated through evocative images from the archives of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

The opening years of the fifteenth century saw one of the most bitterly contested political and military convulsions in the history of the British Isles, a conflict that is too-often overlooked by military historians. Henry IV, who had overthrown and probably murdered his predecessor Richard II, fought a protracted and bloody campaign against the most powerful nobles in the land. This war is the subject of John Barratt's gripping study. The Percy family, the 'Kings of the North', and their most famous leader Sir Henry Percy - 'Hotspur', whose fiery nature and military prowess were immortalized by Shakespeare - stood out against Henry's rule. And the beleaguered king also had to contend with a range of other unrelenting opponents, among them Owain Glyn Dwr, who led the Welsh revolt against English supremacy. In this graphic account of the first, deeply troubled years of Henry IV's reign, John Barratt concentrates on the warfare, in particular on the set piece pitched battles fought at Homildon Hill, Pilleth and Shrewsbury. His story brings to life the embittered politics and the personal and family enmities that gave rise to armed conflict. And he describes in vivid detail the tactics and fighting methods of the day, which were dominated by the devastating power of the English longbow.

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 Wellington 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. The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Meanwhile, men serving in the armed forces were scattered far and wide. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.

Wars affect everyone. Whether they are fought on the battlefields or on the home front, by the armed forces or civilians, sacrifices have to be made, and everyone suffers one way or another. This book gives a flavour of what it was like to live in Newport and the surrounding area during the Great War years. Newport was proud to send its brothers, husbands, uncles and fathers to fight for King and Country, many of whom had never been far from home before, some who came from decorated service backgrounds for whom the armed services was in their blood. Rich or poor, farm worker, office manager or son of a wealthy estate owner, they all united to defend their town and protect British values and way of life. Life continued as usual for many of those on the home front, despite, amongst other things, the introduction of DORA, rationing and the loss of the labour force from the farms. Newport was already generous in its giving to the poor but this was taken to a whole new level with the introduction of many national and local war charities. They knitted, sewed, auctioned and sung their way through the war one Newport women even drove the first tractor in Shropshire, playing no small part in the war effort.This show of patriotism and stoicism was made against the backdrop of a bloody and heinous war that went on far longer than anticipated. The constant threat of receiving the dreaded telegram indicating their loved ones fate was never far from the minds of Newport's civilians, yet the people of Newport kept the home fires burning brightly.

During the First World War three quarters of a million British people died – a figure so huge that it feels impossible to give it a human context. Consequently we struggle to truly grasp the impact this devastating conflict must have had on people's day-to-day lives. We resort to looking at the war from a distance, viewing its events in terms of their political or military significance. The Great War: The People's Story is different. Like the all-star ITV series it accompanies, it immerses the reader in the everyday experiences of real people who lived through the war. Using letters, diaries, and memoirs – many of which have never previously been published – Isobel Charman has painstakingly reconstructed the lives of people such as separated newly-weds Alan and Dorothy Lloyd, plucky enlisted factory-worker Reg Evans and proudly independent suffragist Kate Parry Frye. A century on, they here tell their stories in their own words, offering a uniquely personal account of the conflict. The Great War: The People's Story is both a meticulously researched piece of narrative history and a deeply moving remembrance of the extraordinary acts of extremely ordinary people.