Tag Archives: world war 2

Social History Book Advent Calendar Day 22 – The Blitz, Mass Observation and new Working Opportunities

by thehistoryinterpreter

We are moving closer to the present day with Tom Harrisson’s Living through the Blitz. This book is based on the contemporary diaries and returns that formed part of the Mass Observation Survey and goes behind the ‘stiff upper lip’ media propaganda. Here you will find unvarnished, hard-hitting stories of fear and panic; accounts that are very different from nostalgic reminiscences, written long after the time. Inevitably, a significant proportion of the book concentrates on London but there are also chapters on the Southern ports and the industrial north. I particularly like the individual, personal experiences that shine out from the pages of this book. If the Blitz is history for you, rather than memory, you may well find that your preconceived ideas of keeping calm and carrying on are overturned by reading Harrisson’s work. More information about the Mass Observation can be found here. The original records are held by the University of Sussex.

I am still suffering from post-shed moving related injuries. Aided by adrenalin, yesterday I managed to steady sides of a shed as my companion devised a method of rolling the panels along on random bits of pipe. At least it is now ‘job done’ and I have a perfect excuse for not scrubbing floors (or indeed moving) for the next few days. I also have confirmation that the job I must not mention will see me take on a different role next year. I have a sparkly new job title and am now, in theory, less unimportant. As a result, I will be immersing myself in the world of Restoration Britain, slightly later in the seventeenth century than my usual stomping ground but I am relishing the challenge. Did someone mention ‘slowing down’?

Social History Book Advent Calendar Day 19 – life on the farm

by thehistoryinterpreter

I could not compile a list of social history books and omit the ‘Farm’ series. They have already warranted a couple of passing references in other posts but today’s belongs solely to them. Many people, especially in Britain, are family with BBC TV’s living history series Victorian Farm/Edwardian Farm/Tudor Monastery Farm/Wartime Farm. All of these are now available on DVD and are a wonderful insight into rural life in the period specified. What is less well known is that each series also has an accompanying book; I have them all. These are ‘coffee table’ books: beautifully produced hardbacks with lavish coloured illustrations. There are contemporary illustrations as well as scenes from the programme. I have no idea how well this translates to the e-reader editions. The books are nonetheless well researched and the insight into the experimental archaeology carried out by the authors, Peter Ginn, Ruth Goodman and Alex Langlands, is invaluable. For those who are unfamiliar with the series, three historians/archaeologists spent a year recreating life in a farm of a particular period. The books describe the highs and lows of their experiences.

I have decided to focus on Wartime Farm. The war referred to in the title is the Second World War, so this volume features the struggle to increase production during the conflict and the on-going tussles with officialdom, in the shape of the ‘War-Ag’. The book goes beyond the difficulties of the small-scale mixed farmer to describe the role of the farmer’s wife, giving and added female perspective. There are sections devoted to rationing, machinery, evacuees, home defence, labour, digging for victory and making do and mending, along with many others. The book does talk about the making of the series and this aspect may be less relevant to some. There are however ‘how to’ sections; so between the pages you will find a recipe for plum duff, instructions for making a mop, details of how to dance the foxtrot and how to make shampoo. In summary then, a good, general introduction to life on the wartime farm, well written and beautifully produced. Insider tip – there was a low-key, forerunner to these programmes, Tales from the Green Valley, focusing on the seventeenth century. I think this is the best of the lot. There is no book for this one but you can still get it on DVD, either as a stand alone or, at very little extra cost, as a companion with Victorian Farm and yes, I have that too.

 

Social History Book Advent Calendar Day 5

by thehistoryinterpreter

Today I would like to reveal a book that I found especially useful when I was writing up the more recent part of my family history. Angus Calder’s The People’s War: Britain 1939-1945 is an account of life on the Home Front. The content is wide ranging with sections on evacuation, civil defence, the Blitz, the role of the cinema, the War Ag and Bevin Boys amongst many other things. It is a lengthy book with footnotes and a bibliography that take you on to further reading. It was written in the 1960s, so expect the language and socio-political attitudes to be of that time but if anything, this adds to the value of the book. There have been many other accounts of this aspect of the second world war written since this one and there are likely to be more in the next few years but this particular volume remains a comprehensive and important contribution to our understanding of a period that is rapidly disappearing from living memory. It is now very difficult to use the memories of those who were adults during the second world war to recreate the world of the home guard, rationing, munitions workers, farmers and others struggling to cope during this time. Calder makes heavy use of oral testimony to recreate the every-day occurrences and concerns for those at home.

Another short post today – I did warn you! Thanks to all those who have enquired after my health. I feel fine and I should have paid tribute to the wonderful staff who I encountered yesterday – the NHS at its best.