Middlesbrough at War 1939-45

Middlesbrough at War 1939-45 written by Dr Craig Armstrong and published by 

Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

Middlesbrough was of vital importance to Britain’s war effort. The town, and its surrounding area, contained a number of vital industries including shipbuilding, chemicals, iron, steel and other metals, and engineering, as well as a joinery firm that played a leading role in the wartime aviation industry. The ICI plant at nearby Billingham also played a leading role in the creation of petrochemicals and explosives.

As with many communities, the start of the war saw Middlesbrough faced with hastily having to bring its Air Raid Precautions and civil defence services up to full strength. With its strategic importance, it was believed that Middlesbrough would be an obvious target for the Luftwaffe. As a result, schoolchildren and other vulnerable people were evacuated from the town at the very start of the war in a scheme that did not prove entirely successful.

Middlesbrough became the first built-up urban area in mainland Britain to be bombed. In the event, Middlesbrough was raided periodically throughout the war with the worst coming on the night of 25/26 July 1942, when waves of Luftwaffe bombers dropped almost 30 tons of bombs on the town. The raid killed sixteen people and caused very extensive property damage. Meanwhile, just days later, bombs fell on the town’s railway station as a train was waiting at the platform there. The pictures of the resulting damage were wired around the world.

Due to its location on the coast and being a city dominated by industry and maritime, Middlesbrough was always going to be a target for the Luftwaffe. What we did see was the city being under regular attack throughout the war in an attempt to undermine the morale of the community, but also in the hope of hampering the British war effort. In the classic style of the Towns & Cities in World War Two series, we learn how the war affects all aspects of life, from having to rebuild after air raids and losing loved ones from the attacks. Seeing women having to work at the various factories and workplaces to replace the men who were having to go off to war. Then you have the various small organisations having to pick up and help in an hour of need and daily life structures being compromised and changed as everyone has to deal with some aspect of the war on the home front.

As I have said before this series is, in my opinion, fantastic and the author here Dr Craig Armstrong has done another brilliant job in writing about the history of a city but finding a good balance in the telling of the stories and lives of the people of Middlesbrough. The writing is excellent and this is supported throughout with some great ‘local’ pictures from around Middlesbrough. Certainly a fascinating read and an excellent addition to the series.

Football’s Great War

Football’s Great War written by Dr Alexander Jackson and published by

Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 384

As modern football grapples with the implications of a global crisis, this book looks at the

first in the game’s history: The First World War. The game’s structure and fabric faced

existential challenges as fundamental questions were asked about its place and value in

English society. This study explores how conflict reshaped the People’s Game on the

English Home Front.

The wartime seasons saw football's entire commercial model challenged and questioned. In 1915, the FA banned the payment of players, reopening a decades-old dispute between the game's early amateur values and its modern links to the world of capital and lucrative entertainment.

Wartime football forced supporters to consider whether the game should continue, and if so, in what form? Using an array of previously unused sources and images, this book explores how players, administrators and fans grappled with these questions as daily life was continually reshaped by the demands of total war. From grassroots to elite football, players to spectators, gambling to charity work, this study examines the social, economic and cultural impact of what became Football's Great War.

This book in my opinion is certainly an important one and asks the readers a number of questions about the role football plays in society, how much of a role does professionalism play in it and is there a big difference between keeping it in an amateur format or professional. The author of this book is also the Curator at the Football Museum in Manchester, and this certainly shows up well as he is able to draw on many sources and archive material in his writing for the book. I enjoyed the picture section within the book but then I am a football fan, it does seem though that having read a number of football books recently surprising how inept the FA really has been.  I mean they almost ruined Women’s football and had it not been so big it’s lucky they didn’t kill off the men’s game or at least set it back a number of decades. A thoroughly good book and very enjoyable to read, highly recommended and I’m enjoying getting into the sporting history books.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Keep the Home Fires Burning written by Phil Carradice and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

Keeping the Home Fires Burning tells the story of how the troops and the general public were kept happy and content during the First World War. Between 1914 and 1918 there was the entertainment of the masses for the sole purpose of promotion of the war effort. It was the first time that a concerted effort to raise and sustain morale was ever made by any British government and was a combination of government sponsored ideas and lucky happenstance. It was all picked up and used by the new Propaganda Ministry.

The range of activities was wide and varied, from poetry to cinema, from music hall singers and artists to the creation of battlefield heroes. There was postcard humour and deliberate veneration of philanthropists - and war participants - like Woodbine Willie.

The theme of Keeping the Home Fires Burning is backed up by 40 illustrations from the time, including participants, posters, battlefield views and so on.

Keeping the Home Fires Burning looks at a part of the war not often mentioned but some would say was important. This book looks at the entertainment side of the Great War, it was seen by the Propaganda Ministry that what was needed was a way of keeping up the morale of the people both at home and abroad. After all, this was one of the first wars that not only involved combatants abroad but affected the non-combatants at home especially as a world war was happening just across the channel.

This involved entertainment for the masses in a number of ways from screen stars seen in the local picture house, to entertainment, shows at the local music halls, celebrating war heroes on postcards, art to even poetry. In a world where everything was being targeted towards the war effort, it was seen that rather than a public getting down and depressed by military losses and casualties. There needed to be a concerted effort to keep the public morale high in order to help the positivity among the population buoyant to help the effort.

This book written by Phil Carradice is an easy but entertaining read, but it seems well researched and documented. I have always enjoyed books by Carradice, as you kind of always guaranteed a good read. I also enjoyed the notes section and bibliography and will be reading further books that have been listed. This book should be recommended as it does look at an important part of the war that doesn’t get enough recognition.