Britain's Heritage

The Second World War affected the people of Britain like nothing before. This was especially true of Britain's women. With thousands of men called up to join the armed forces, women took their place in the workforce, employed in the new jobs created to supply and maintain the war effort. When the working day was finished, women also served in Civil Defence and a vast array of other organisations and coped with the hardships of bombing, rationing and the separation of families.From 1941, women were subject to conscription, being directed to employment in the industries where they were most needed or into uniformed services such as the Women's Royal Naval Service ('the Wrens'), the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) or the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) or in agriculture as part of the Women's Land Army. By 1943 almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were employed in essential work for the war effort.This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the women of the Second World War in all their variety.

Nurses and nursing are firmly rooted in Britain's heritage, for the profession as we know it today owes much to the pioneering work of Florence Nightingale. Before she helped establish the first nurse training school in Liverpool in the late 1800s, the women who looked after the sick were a motley mix. The role of the nurse has developed from the untrained handywoman and private nurse, through the early nurses who acted as 'health missioners', to the highly trained professionals we recognise today. Nurse training has evolved to reflect the advances in medical treatment and nurses have been able to engage more widely with the community by undergoing additional training as, for example, district nurses, school nurses, midwives, health visitors and mental health nurses. During both world wars, nurses made a special contribution on the home front and overseas. Using first-hand accounts from nurses through the ages, Susan Cohen takes us on a nostalgic journey through the history of nurses and nursing in Britain, from the pre-Nightingale days through to the post-NHS era. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with nurses and nursing in all their variety.

Steam power led the transport revolution in England throughout the nineteenth century, but was crippled on the road network by punitive legislation. As the century turned, the laws were altered in such a way that the development of the English Steam Lorry or Wagon became a viable transport proposition.For the best part of four decades, the steam lorry was a major player on the transport scene, being developed into a highly technical machine designed to beat competition from the petrol and diesel lorry. The most advanced machines were efficient and very fast. Made by a variety of builders, including the famous Sentinel company of Shrewsbury, who built waggons with a double 'g', and Foden, of Sandbach, steam lorries came in many shapes and sizes. This book looks at their birth, and the operation and engineering that set them aside from the traction engine and steam roller.This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with steam lorries in all their variety.

The end of the Second World War provided little rest for air forces and the aircraft industry. Both sides now had to put enormous energy into research and development to gain an edge. For the British aircraft industry it meant producing aircraft quickly, and on tight budgets: for Bomber Command to carry Britain's new nuclear deterrent, and for Fighter Command to defend the country. This book examines the RAF's British-made combat jet aircraft of this turbulent and frightening period, up to the cancellation of TSR-2 and the end of the British aircraft industry as it then was. The great names, Hunter, Vulcan, Lightning, Harrier, are considered alongside less well known types, and the story of each key aircraft is told from development to operational use. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with British military jets in all their variety.

Since the dawn of the railways, away from the glamour of the main line express, thousands of miles of industrial railway moved raw materials and finished products. From sewage works to sugar factories, all manner of industries were served. These sometimes employed dozens of locomotives, or in other cases simply a horse or a petrol tractor. The Beckton gas works in London ran a massive railway, complete with locomotive roundhouse and signals, while the ironstone industry of the East Midlands operated on the edge of fields. It can be said that one was never more than a mile or two from an industrial railway, though often its existence might not have been well known. A corncucopia of locomotives provided power, while a fantastic array of specialist wagons moved all manner of goods. A few industrial lines have survived as heritage attractions, and one is even a Scheduled Ancient Monument. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with Industrial Railways in all their variety.

Grand seaside hotels dominate Britain's seaside resorts with bold, largescale buildings, often magnificent examples of the most fashionable architectural style of the time. First emerging in the eighteenth century, their golden age came in the second half of the nineteenth, when a showpiece luxury hotel was a must-have for any successful seaside resort. These imposing Grands, Royals and Imperials, filled with every modern convenience of the period and containing opulent restaurants and ballrooms, are fascinating buildings that reflect the fortunes of those who built and visited them throughout the years. Karen Averby takes us through the rise, the fall and the modern-day resurgence of the grand seaside hotel across the whole of the UK, from their exclusive and luxurious nineteenth-century beginnings, through their renaissance in the interwar years, decline in the 1970s as foreign package holidays became popular and their recent, more accessible refurbished form today. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with seaside hotels in all their variety.

The First World War was the first global war and when it broke out in 1914, the civilian population of Britain was exhorted to carry on with 'Business, as usual'. But the war soon began to affect civilian life. The war brought excitement, danger and fear for Britain's children: Zeppelins, air raid warnings and the all-clear, drills and shelters in schools, shelters at home and in public places; the blackout – all became chilling parts of everyday life. In the call-up of recruits, fathers, uncles and elder brothers went off to war; some younger boys, lying about their age, joined them. Then there were the invasion scares, in which the Boy Scouts became coast watchers, and guarded railway bridges and other important points. In the sea beyond our shores, the U-Boat assault contributed to shortages of food; 'No cakes, no jam, no nuffin.' Children found themselves helping with the harvest and foraging in the hedgerows for food. Many foods, including sweets, would be strictly rationed. Home Front expert Mike Brown describes what school was like in 1914: the lessons, classrooms, uniforms, and curriculum, and he looks at how children helped the war effort, raising money for the Red Cross, knitting soldiers' comforts, etc. This book also explores what children wore, how they dressed, what they read and how the rituals of birthday and Christmas were affected. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the lives of children in the First World War.

The kitchen garden was once a vital component of the country estate, supplying fruit, vegetables and flowers to meet the needs of the family and their household. A vast range of fruit and vegetables was grown, from everyday crops of potatoes and cabbages to the exotic delights of grapes, peaches and pineapples.The table had to be supplied all year round, and gardeners were expert in forcing, ripening and storage of produce. All sorts of gadgets and technology were employed, from cucumber straighteners and pest fumigators to oil-fired boilers and rubber hosepipes. Horticultural techniques were developed for growing plants and fruit that are still used in our gardens today. This knowledge was passed on, as gardeners worked their way up from garden boy, employed to wash pots and scare birds, to undergardener, journeyman and then foreman, with the most ambitious reaching the prestigious position of head gardener. Working life in the kitchen garden was a seasonal routine of sowing, potting, watering and cropping.This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the kitchen garden in all its variety.

'Tommy Atkins' has been the nickname given to soldiers of the British Army since the eighteenth century. The origin of the name is shrouded in mystery, but it has stuck. By 1914, the Tommy had changed dramatically since the days of Queen Victoria's redcoats. Edwardian army reforms had improved recruitment and training and had re-organised the regular forces and reserves.When the First World War broke out, the system went smoothly into action and the BEF was carried across the Channel to France. But the British Army was relatively small and the First World War required a rapid expansion of the ranks. Lord Kitchener's call for men raised the so-called New Army, half a million strong, but more were needed and conscription came into force. Many of those who volunteered together were also trained together and fought side by side in battle. In the fire of machine guns and amid the shell-fire, large numbers of men from city parishes, towns and villages fell together. Neil Storey takes us through the recruitment, equipment, training and experiences of these soldiers in the First World War: the Tommies, 'the poor bloody infantry'.This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the Tommy of the First World War.

Bastions of civic architecture, town halls are a prominent part of the urban landscape of towns and cities throughout Britain.They are part of a long tradition dating back to sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the town hall began to embody power and authority within local society and politics. Their design and decoration are a fascinating reflection of these centres of power, and architecturally they reflect the periods in which they were built, from the classical revival and Gothic styles of the nineteenth century to the art deco of the 1930s, and the modernist buildings of the mid- to later twentieth century. This book traces their historical development from their early beginnings to the present day, at a time when many are being repurposed as they become redundant, while others have opened themselves up for more secular use.This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with town halls in all their variety.

For Britain's railways, the 1970s was a time of contrasts, when gallows humour about British Rail sandwiches and delayed trains often overshadowed real achievement, like 'parkway' stations and high-speed travel. The Seventies Railway begins with the optimism of the new decade. It describes the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, the introduction of new computer systems, and the giving of grants for socially vital services. But while speeds were climbing, and finances appeared to be improving, Monday morning misery remained for many, as rolling stock aged and grew ever more uncomfortable. This was the BR of Travellers-Fare, Freightliners and peak-capped porters. It was beset with strikes and began with the aftershock of Beeching, but ended with the introduction of 125-mph services and the promise of even faster trains to come. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the seventies railway in all its variety.

Britain has a rich urban history with many of its towns and cities overlying Roman period archaeology and incorporating Roman remains. In further cases, Roman towns now lie beneath fields and agricultural land because settlement did not continue, or took a different form, in later periods. These Roman towns have been a source of study since the days of antiquarians while through modern archaeology exploration our knowledge and understanding of these settlements and their origins continues to evolve. As part of the Roman Empire, a range of new urban settlements developed across Britain. These had some similarities with cities across the empire but also provincial and individual differences. They also developed within pre-existing landscapes that were already rich in settlement, with local circumstances and identities playing an important part in the nature of each Roman town. This book explores the nature of the archaeology of these towns and what it tells us about the development and function of these settlements, how they shaped lives and what we know about their inhabitants. Making use of the latest archaeological material and theories, the book reveals Britain's Roman towns, and how their characteristics were formed by both Britain's position within the Roman Empire and their local settings.

The last veteran of the First World War has long since died, and those of the Second are getting ever scarcer, but public interest in war memorials continues unabated. The tragic impact of world events on local communities over the past century has demanded memorials to keep the dead in mind, and pay tribute to their sacrifice. Communities have been raising memorials to their war dead since the Middle Ages but the largest number were raised as a result of the First World War. War memorials were erected in their thousands after 1918: bronze Tommies and stone wayside crosses became commonplace, and can attain high levels of artistic refinement. Britain's great cities raised magnificent monuments, as did regiments, railway companies, schools and private families. Among them are truly outstanding works of monumental art by sculptors such as Charles Sargeant Jagger, Gilbert Ledward and Eric Gill. Others took practical form: a swimming pool or a village hall, or a stained glass window. Their range and variety are huge, and their number is uncountable: no agreed tally exists. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with war memorials in all their variety.

Under-maintained and over-worked during the Second World War, Britain's railways emerged from the conflict carrying a 'poor bag of physical assets'. Yet the new government of 1945 saw a need to bring the nation's great industries into public ownership – a move that saw the creation of a single railway network three years later. At first, it seemed like 'business as usual', but as the 1950s dawned and BR's deficit grew deeper, it was clear that costs needed to be cut wherever possible. And that meant modernisation. Published at the very end of 1954, the so-called Modernisation Plan would see the ordering of over 170 diesel locomotives and the launch of a bold plan to electrify much of the West Coast Main Line. The downside for enthusiasts and traditionalists was the beginning of the end for steam, though the path to modernisation would not run smooth; neither would it come cheap. The decade would end much as it had begun – with a new government seeking ways to save money. Doctor Beeching was on his way. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the Fifties Railway in all its variety.

This is the story of Britain's model villages: miniature worlds that have captivated garden guests and paying public since the early twentieth century. This history of these small-scale utopias covers their early growth as playthings of the wealthy, their blossoming into fairylands on seafronts during the post-war holiday boom, and of many model villages' gradual decline from toy-towns to ghost towns. But it is also the story of how diligent modelmakers, artists and crafters have carried on in the sheds, gardens and workshops of Britain to build small – yet think big. Today we still delight in their miniature marvels, and this book explains why. This book is part of the Britain's Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with model villages in all their variety.

The traditional cargo-carrying narrowboat – recently voted one of the 100 icons of England – emerged with the construction of the narrow canal network and lasted in until 1970 when the last regular long-distance contract was lost. Up until then, working boat families lived aboard according to their own culture and work ethic. Narrow Boats explores this, explains why their way of life persisted for so long, and looks at why and how it has changed.The vessels evolved as the horse gave way to steam and diesel power and boatyards developed the skills to build beautiful boats, decorated with roses, castles, scrolls and geometric designs that brought colour and vibrancy to the waterways. Since their demise, a new generation of craft has emerged purely for leisure and residential use. This book, by technical consultant Tom Chaplin, reflects on the origin and purpose of the traditions that many of these attempt to replicate.This book is part of the Britain's Heritage Series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain's past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with the narrow boat in all its variety.