In Hertfordshire Soldiers of The First World War the authors explore a series of individual case studies of Hertfordshire men who served in various theaters during the First World War, all of which had been uncovered as part of the Herts At War community project. This unique collection of largely unknown accounts includes stories from the Western Front, Gallipoli, Salonika, Mesopotamia, East Africa, Egypt and even Russia in the fight against the Bolsheviks in 1919. The Herts At War team uncovered many letters and objects in the course of their research, including men who were Victoria Cross winners to those whose courage or bravery went unrecognized, as well as stoicism on the Home Front. One of the most moving of these surrounds a photograph which was found in the hands of Sergeant Percy Buck as he lay fatally wounded in a shell hole in 1917. On the back of the photograph of his wife and young son he had written his address and asked for whoever found the image to post it to his loved ones in the event of his death. Sergeant Buck would have assumed it would be a British comrade who would find the photograph, but the person who recovered it was a German soldier who subsequently sent it on to the grieving, but grateful, family. The war memorials of Hertfordshire contain the names of over 23,000 men and women who gave their lives whilst in the service of their country during the Great War; some of their tales are uncovered here. Indeed, the poignant collection of stories, anecdotes and artifacts revealed in this book bring the First World War to life in an unusual and highly moving fashion.

This book highlights the importance of Watford as a regional centre within South West Herts during the years of the Great War as well as the cohesion of the local area and the impact events and initiatives had on the entire region. The organization and presence of the Army are discussed before focusing on different aspects of civilian life such as the contribution of civilians to the war effort, the Police and Fire Service, the role of Churches, Schools and the Press and changes in employment and local businesses. As the War wore on and the magnitude of the sacrifice sunk in, hospitals and charities became more prominent. The latter part of the book presents these as well as the many public and private ways of commemorating the War Dead in the aftermath of the conflict. The distinctiveness of such Memorials reflects the legacy of the Arts and Crafts Movement and the artistic communities resident in Bushey and Watford.

During the First World War three quarters of a million British people died – a figure so huge that it feels impossible to give it a human context. Consequently we struggle to truly grasp the impact this devastating conflict must have had on people's day-to-day lives. We resort to looking at the war from a distance, viewing its events in terms of their political or military significance. The Great War: The People's Story is different. Like the all-star ITV series it accompanies, it immerses the reader in the everyday experiences of real people who lived through the war. Using letters, diaries, and memoirs – many of which have never previously been published – Isobel Charman has painstakingly reconstructed the lives of people such as separated newly-weds Alan and Dorothy Lloyd, plucky enlisted factory-worker Reg Evans and proudly independent suffragist Kate Parry Frye. A century on, they here tell their stories in their own words, offering a uniquely personal account of the conflict. The Great War: The People's Story is both a meticulously researched piece of narrative history and a deeply moving remembrance of the extraordinary acts of extremely ordinary people.

Only three men have ever won a bar to the Victoria Cross; but only two lived to wear the medal and bar, the other, Noel Chavasse, being awarded his bar posthumously. Of the three, the third being Charles Upham of the New Zealand Military Forces, Arthur Martin - Leake and Chavasse were non-combatants, being members of the RAMC.Born in 1874, and brought up in comfortable circumstances in rural Hertfordshire, Martin -Leake trained as a doctor and spent much of his life working for an Indian railway company; but the urge to be where he felt he was most needed, coupled presumably with a thirst for adventure, though he himself would have been too modest to admit to either, took him first to South Africa during the Boer War, where he won his first VC, then to Albania during the Balkan War of 1912-13, where his presence must surely be classified as 'outside the call of duty', and finally to Flanders, where he won the bar to his VC.Surprisingly, this is the first biography of this most remarkable man, for which Ann Clayton has been given access to all the family papers. These include hundreds of his letters, but she has also unearthed eye-witness accounts of his bravery which, typically, he was at pains to gloss over. This is indeed a thrilling story of a life lived to the full by a man who sought little for himself, but having been blessed with a fortunate birthright, only wanted to repay the debt. Ann Clayton is also the author of the widely acclaimed Chavasse: Double VC, published in 1992.

This is a poignant, sometimes ribald, history of the rank-and-file servicemen who were psychiatric casualties of World War One.

This British Railways history explores the long-held tradition of naming steam locomotives in honor of the military. The naming of steam locomotives was a beloved British tradition since the first railway locomotives appeared in 1804. Many of the names were chosen in honor of military personnel, regiments, squadrons, naval vessels, aircraft, battles, and associated historic events. This volume looks specifically at the steam locomotives with military-inspired names that were built by the London & North Eastern Railway, which joined the British Railways stock in 1948. A large number of the company’s Jubilee class locomotives were given names with a military connection, as were a small number of Black Five class engines. Famously the majority of the much-admired Royal Scot class of engines carried names associated with the military in general and regimental names in particular. Many of the nameplates were adorned with ornate crests and badges. Long after the demise of mainline steam, rescued nameplates have become prized collectors’ items. This generously illustrated publication highlights the relevant steam locomotives and explains the origins and social history surrounding their military names.