Many existing organisations responded by providing financial and other support. Warwickshire County Council organised the provision of accommodation for Prisoners of War, and also the creation of allotments to combat ...
“I think this accursed war will soon be over now, and that will settle all those worries for you, once and for all.” This was a line written by 19 year ...
I started at Vicarage Street Church School, Nuneaton in 1937, the year of the coronation of King George VI. During the war, the roof of the school was taken off ...
Daily life on the front would vary depending on which area the soldiers were fighting in as well as whether their unit was currently actively engaged in combat or had ...
The First World War created some extraordinary friendships – we have all heard of the Christmas Truce, when soldiers put down their weapons to play football together. Here is one that ...
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust owns many fascinating and important treasures relating to arguably Britain’s greatest playwright. However, often overlooked in its collection is a rare and fine portrait by William ...
I had a look through the day book from the ‘Hall & Son, Tailors’ collection held at Warwickshire County Record Office1. Hall & Son were based at 154 The Parade, Leamington ...
RSM E.J Pratt (my Great Uncle) was born in Stoneleigh in 1875, his parents were Thomas Edwin Pratt and Ann Lee. Edward joined the 1st Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment in ...
Between 1938 and 1945 the women of Warwickshire took on volunteering roles in their local communities to support the war effort (yes even in 1938 they knew war with Germany ...
Close to Hungerfield bridge, this canal bridge is not of the same quality. Decrepit, poorly maintained, and shoddily built in the first place… but it still stands. I wonder if ...
The background
In April 2017 Heritage & Culture Warwickshire worked with The Play House and pupils from Westgate Primary to create tales inspired by objects on display at the Market Hall Museum. Four classes from Westgate Primary ...
This register, entitled Knowle Men was kept by the Reverend Downing of Knowle Parish Church. It contains the names of every man from Knowle who enlisted in the First World ...
There aren’t many places you can see a World War One tank in the centre of a town. Indeed, it appears that Ashford in Kent is the only place you ...
William Gold followed his father by also working on the railway and at one stage worked in West Bromwich where he met and married Lily Jane Edith Gee, the daughter ...
The end of the war in Europe
As the war drew to a close in April 1945 Knowle Parish Magazine says little about world events: nothing appears about the end of ...
Notes on life in Warwick during the Second World War, made by Miss Nora Slater from her own diaries.
1945
The year opened cold with snow in January and February, but with ...
‘Food is one of the munitions of war’ (Lord Woolton)
From the outset of the Second World War, the Board of Education was extremely pro-active in encouraging schools to lead the way ...
I have many vivid memories of living as a child during the Second World War. We had a coal house which had a door directly into the kitchen, which Dad ...
As part of the Shrubland Street School Collection1, there are a number of memoranda that were issued by the Board of Education during the Second World War. Education and ensuring ...
Monday May 7th
A great day for Britain and her allies, and tomorrow will be a national holiday – VE Day – at last. Preparations are already being made in the ...
It’s really interesting to read through local newspapers published during the First World War. They provide an insight into life at home and details of local soldiers fighting out on ...
For me, it is the seemingly incidental comments captured in records that really bring history to life. Most of the history of the Civil Wars and Commonwealth in England as ...
In the 7th August 1914 edition of the Royal Leamington Spa Courier and Warwickshire Standard, there are some interesting articles on how the local residents should continue as business as ...
When the German army invaded Belgium 250,000 Belgians fled to Britain. Rugby, quite typically of the country’s reactions, established Relief Committees to organise accommodation and fund support1. 200 were settled ...