Product Description

The truth about the sacrifice and suffering on the home front during World War I is rarely discussed. In this book some of the oldest men and women in the country speak about experiences and events that have remained buried for 85 years. Their testimony shows the same candour and courage we have become accustomed to hearing from veterans of the western front. Those interviewed include a survivor of a Zeppelin raid on Hull in 1915, a Welsh munitions worker recruited as a girl and a woman rescued from a bombed school after five days. There are also accounts of rural famine, bereavement and the effects on families back home, and even the story of a woman who planned to kill her family to save them further suffering.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #257211 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-07
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Guardian
An important reminder of the emotional and psychological impact of war by the people who were there.

The Times
It is softly spoken, shocking and unfamiliar.

About the Author
Steve Humphries is a programme maker renowned for his landmark oral history series and their accompanying books. Richard van Emden is a writer and television researcher specialising in the First World War.

Customer Reviews

A fantastic history
The authors are right, the living history of the First World War is dying before our eyes and it thoroughly deserves to be recorded.

This fantastic book chooses not to trace the journey of the horrors of the Western Front but instead looks at life back in Britain during the war, drawing upon sources which have not been tapped before. This provides a fanscinating insight into the other side of the story, one which I hadn't ever really thought of before.

I've been to see the cemetaries at Tyne Cot and Ypres and was deeply moved by them, I've seen Hill 60 and the tomb of the unknown soldier but I had never really had spared a thought for those left at home. This book reveals some amazing stories from amazing people.

My only complaint is that I wish the book was longer - every story deserves to be recorded so that the people of my generation know how easy their lives truely are.

Stories that will stay with you
This is just a very good (and also very moving) book, highly recommended for anyone who wants to know more about a very important era in the history of Europe, but also covering an area much neglected in many of the popular histories available. Whilst the horrors of the Western, Eastern and Italian fronts should never be ignored, the suffering endured by the civilian populations from coastal bombardments, Zeppelin raids, starvation, poverty, child labour and so much more are widely covered in this fascinating read. Stories such as that of Elfie Druhm, living in London after her father's internment or Phyllis Ing's experiences in an orphanage will haunt you forever. A truly unforgettable read.