Faces of the Home Front presents a fascinating insight into the people, wartime organisations, events, life and work on the British Home Front during the Second World War. This is the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times told through an array of previously unpublished rare photographs, illustrations and ephemera. If you have wondered how Air Raid Wardens, Ambulance crews, Home Guard, Firemen, Special Constables, Women’s Voluntary Service and the Women’s Land Army were recruited and trained, how they were uniformed and what their duties entailed in wartime were, this is the book for you. Drawing on the authors’ own extensive archives of original photographs, training manuals, documents, decades of research and interviews with those who were there, there are stories of well-known events such as the Blitz on London and many other often lesser known events and incidents around the country, some deeply moving, some harrowing and some that show how the kindness and selfless bravery of people that helped get Britain through its darkest hours. The combination of images and stories vividly bring to life the experiences of people in cities, towns and countryside in wartime as they experienced evacuation, rationing, the black-out and air raids touched the lives of everyone. This volume is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any family historian, collector, re-enactor. AUTHOR: Neil R. Storey is an award winning historian who specialises in the impact of war on British society during the first half of the twentieth century. He lectures all over the UK, including at Imperial War Museum, English Heritage and National Trust sites. He has his own archive of over 20,000 original photographs to help illustrate his lectures and publications. Neil has written over 40 books, countless articles for a variety of national periodicals and journals and regularly features on television and radio documentaries as guest expert including BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? Fiona Kay has a lifelong interest in military and social history with a special focus on the roles played by women in both World Wars. She has her own extensive collection of portrait and family photographs, books, magazines and ephemera that record the history of fashion and society from the mid-19th century to the 1950s. She also collects vintage clothing and has participated in historical events and exhibitions all over the UK. Fiona lectures on dating family photographs and was a regular member of family photograph interpretation expert team at the prestigious Who Do You Think You Are? Live! events.
100 colour illustrations