Coventry in the Great War by Leonard Markham {Bindaredundat}seeders: 0
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Coventry in the Great War by Leonard Markham {Bindaredundat} (Size: 12.92 MB)
DescriptionCoventry in the Great War (Your Towns and Cities in the Great War) – February 19th 2015 by Leonard Markham (Author) {Bindaredundat}  Format: azw3 / epub / mobi / pdf Product Details Series: Your Towns and Cities in the Great War Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Pen and Sword (February 19th 2015) Language: English ISBN-10: 1473828406 ISBN-13: 978-1473828407  A naval gun on it way to the shipyard. (Courtesy Herbert Art Gallery & Museum) During World War One, the city of Coventry was a powerhouse that kept the barrels loaded and the engines of war purring. An industrial giant, Coventry produced munitions by the million and built tanks, aircraft and fighting vehicles of every description. It never slept. Coventry in the Great War commemorates the centenary of the outbreak of the conflict in 1914, telling the dour and ungilded story of the people who labored and endured for over four grueling years. This eclectic narrative of the lives of city residents and incomers alike is juxtaposed with often-bloody accounts from the many theaters of war to give a representative and nuanced picture of one of the darkest chapters in world history. The 100th anniversary of the firing of the first fateful bullet is not a time for celebration but rather an opportunity for quiet reflection and studied lesson learning. The 2,599 men of Coventry who died in the cause of freedom deserve no less. During the First World War, the advanced state of the machine tooling industry in the city meant that pre-war production could quickly be turned to war production purposes, with the Coventry Ordnance Works assuming the role of one of the leading production centres in the UK, manufacturing a quarter of all British aircraft produced during the war. But the experience of war also impacted on the inhabitants of the area, 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 Coventry were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. 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. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.  Taken before the regiment left Coventry, a posed photograph of somewhat glum and disinterested Royal Munster Fusiliers’ officers and local officials standing with the landlord of the Royal Oak – W Mayor. But Buller looks up for it. The mascot was caparisoned in a khaki coat for weekdays and a braided emerald green coat for Sundays. Both coats were embroidered with the Coventry coat of arms on one side and the Munsters’ regimental badge on the other. Buller was allocated a billet allowance of 8 shillings and 9 pence per week. (Courtesy Herbert Art Gallery & Museum)  Simm’s Motor Wheel Scout – the first war vehicle of its type in the world. One of Coventry’s less impressive vehicles. (Courtesy Herbert Art Gallery & Museum)  Sam and a comrade posing in a trench. (Courtesy Alan Wrigglesworth) About the Author Len Markham is a prolific journalist, author and historian with nearly 40 books to his credit. His books cover an eclectic range of topics and English counties including Yorkshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and East and West Sussex. His is the author of the best-selling Yorkshire Privies, The Yorkshire Weather Book and Footpaths for Fitness in West Sussex and is internationally noted for The Complete Angler. He is currently working on a volume about Stradivari's famous violins.  The war memorial. Sharing Widget |