Wiltshire at War Through Time

Wiltshire was understandably one of the most militarised wartime counties, encompassing the whole of Salisbury Plain. But the story of Wiltshire at War is also about weapon development, tactics and planning operations. British, Commonwealth and American troops made use of the facilities, and the civil population played their part, working in factories, the Home Guard or the Women’s Voluntary Service. In this book we visit the places associated with the county’s war effort. This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Wiltshire has changed and developed since the war. Starting in Salisbury and Swindon, where Spitfires were built, we explore Boscombe Down, where Fighter Command’s only Victoria Cross of the war was won, and Ramsbury, where airborne forces left for D-Day. We visit Highworth, gateway to the secret world of auxiliary units; Box, an underground city with bomb stores and Fighter Command control rooms; and many other places that give Wiltshire a diverse wartime landscape.