Zeppelin Inferno - The Forgotten Blitz 1916

Zeppelin Inferno - The Forgotten Blitz 1916 written by Ian Castle and published

by Frontline Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 400

At the beginning of 1916, as the world entered the second full year of global conflict, the cities, towns and villages of Britain continued to lay vulnerable to aerial bombardment. Throughout that period German Zeppelin airships and seaplanes had come and gone at will, their most testing opposition provided by the British weather as the country’s embryonic defences struggled to come to terms with this first ever assault from the air. Britain’s civilians were now standing on the frontline — the Home Front — like the soldiers who had marched off to war. But early in 1916 responsibility for Britain’s aerial defence passed from the Admiralty to the War Office and, as German air attacks intensified, new ideas and plans made dramatic improvements to Britain’s aerial defence capability.

While this new system could give early warning of approaching raiders, there was a lack of effective weaponry with which to engage them when they arrived. Behind the scenes, however, three individuals, each working independently, were striving for a solution. The results of their work were spectacular; it lifted the mood of the nation and dramatically changed the way this campaign was fought over Britain.

The German air campaign against Britain in the First World War was the first sustained strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Despite this, it has become forgotten against the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, although for those caught up in the tragedy of these raids, the impact was every bit as devastating. In Zeppelin Inferno Ian Castle tells the full story of the 1916 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the second book in a trilogy that will reveal the complete story of Britain’s ‘Forgotten Blitz’.

A fascinating book about a fascinating subject in my own opinion. I have always found it staggering the size of Zeppelins and how these huge gigantic ships hang in the air. I used to live near RAF Cardington, Beds where they now keep I presume a couple of airships for promotional events and they are big, but much smaller than those used in the Great War. But it amazes me how if you were a child during WWI and you saw one of these coming over your town or area, must have left you in awe that these things were from a different planet. 

Ian Castle has written a really good book covering 20 chapters taking the evidential views and opinions of people at the time. The book follows the dates of the German blitz in and around the country, and we get to learn about the amount of damage caused. We also get essential eyewitness accounts and what it was like to experience these events and people’s thoughts. The accounts are good to read and really help inform the book and the subject, at the back of the book is also a number of blitz reports explaining who and how many died. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, a subject that doesn’t get the amount of attention it deserves.

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.

Armoured Warfare in the British Army 1914-1939

Armoured Warfare in the British Army 1914-1939 written by Lt Col Dick Taylor

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 248

This is the first volume in a three-volume illustrated history of the evolution of armoured manoeuvre warfare in the British army, covering the period from 1914 until 1939. Author Dick Taylor’s tour de force covers the evolution of the tank and armoured cars in response to the specific conditions created by trench warfare, the history of the use of tanks during the war, as well as the critical period between the wars in which the tank was both refined and neglected. He also looks in detail at the amalgamations and mechanization of the horsed cavalry which led to the formation of the Royal Armoured Corps in 1939.

His detailed and absorbing narrative covers the social and human aspects of the story as well as the technology and explains how the nation that invented and first fielded the tank in 1916 struggled to maintain the lead after the Armistice.

This book or small book series takes a look at tanks during the Great War and up until the Second World War. Unfortunately, the British tank was never a going to be the best in the world, but it was the first. This book explains the reasons for this from political in-fighting, to there no being group thinking to improve on the original tanks and therefore not enough money put into the weapon in the inter-war period. This book should be commended for the very comprehensive information and detail within, the author Dick Taylor has done a fantastic job I feel I have learnt so much from this book. The book contains a lot of information tables and some really good photographs of the process and design.

If I wanted to learn about the British tank, I would most certainly recommend this one and this is just the first in a series of three. This is a highly commendable book, very well written and well done.

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.