Norwich and Norfolk


Book Description

A traveler’s guide to the history of Norwich and Norfolk, from the Stone Age to the dawn of World War I, featuring guided tours, photos, and more. Whether you’re traveling alone, with friends, or with your family, this guide has something for everyone wishing to explore the host of fascinating places on offer in what the Norfolk-born authors believe to be the most unspoiled and mysterious county in England. Norwich has its own section along with three possible walks taking in many of the recommended sites. The vast coast is presented next and finally the book travels to central Norfolk: places of interest are grouped as much as possible so that travelers can make the most of the time available. Everywhere, legends and stories relating to an area are woven into the narrative. A final chapter considers Norwich and Norfolk through time using rare archive and archaeological material to give a taste of life in days gone by. Top Norfolk photographer Daniel Tink has taken 100 photographs especially for the book and presents these where appropriate alongside some wonderful contrasting old prints and etchings. The book concludes with a comprehensive index and bibliography designed to facilitate further study. Throughout, telephone numbers and websites of attractions are given, providing readers with a “toolkit” to unlock the secrets, history, sites, and stories of this vast county. “A magical journey through the streets of Norwich and around the countryside and coastline of Norfolk. There’s even a tale about a ghost in the ruined priory . . . . Superb stories . . .full of information and very readable indeed.” —Books Monthly (UK)




Norwich in the Second World War


Book Description

Norwich in the Second World War is the story of the city and its people, both civilian and military, from the construction of the first air raid shelters in 1938 through to VE Day in 1945 and the return of Far Eastern prisoners of war in 1946. Featuring first-hand accounts of what happened when enemy bombers raided the city, notably during the notorious Baedeker Blitz of 1942, rare photographs and documents make this book a must for anyone who knows and loves the city of Norwich.




Norwich at War


Book Description




The Last Great War


Book Description

What was it that the British people believed they were fighting for in 1914–18? This compelling history of the British home front during the First World War offers an entirely new account of how British society understood and endured the war. Drawing on official archives, memoirs, diaries and letters, Adrian Gregory sheds new light on the public reaction to the war, examining the role of propaganda and rumour in fostering patriotism and hatred of the enemy. He shows the importance of the ethic of volunteerism and the rhetoric of sacrifice in debates over where the burdens of war should fall as well as the influence of religious ideas on wartime culture. As the war drew to a climax and tensions about the distribution of sacrifices threatened to tear society apart, he shows how victory and the processes of commemoration helped create a fiction of a society united in grief.




Norfolk Coast in the Great War


Book Description

Norfolk Coast in the Great War focuses on the trials and joys, the achievements and disappointments, the humor and the sadness of everyday life in a region living on the edge of the country at the heart of the Kings vast Empire. Everyone from the folk who went off to fight, to scouts and schoolchildren, had a role to play in this coastline that had, since the time of the Spanish Armada, been considered a likely place for an enemy invasion. There were days of great tension, even terror, such as on the day of the first bombardment of the coast by the German Navy, and the day of Zeppelin attacks and dog fights out to sea when the flimsy planes of a fledgling RAF took on the Red Baron and his comrades.This unique study is based largely on original archive material, much of it never before published in book form. It is accompanied by many rare and fascinating photographs that show the day-to-day life of the people who lived in the many settlements on the coast and just inland. In addition, this book also gives an itinerary for a walk along the 46 mile stretch of the coast from Hunstanton to Cromer, taking in many of the places discussed and giving views that are exactly the same as they were 100 years ago.




Norfolk in the Great War From Old Photographs


Book Description

A fascinating pictorial account of Norfolk during the First World War.




English Landed Society in the Great War


Book Description

The extent to which the Great War impacted upon English landed society is most vividly recalled in the loss of young heirs to ancient estates. English Landed Society in the Great War considers the impact of the war on these estates. Using the archives of Country Life, Edward Bujak examines the landed estate that flourished in England. In doing so, he explores the extent to which the wartime state penetrated into the heartlands of the landed aristocracy and gentry, and the corrosive effects that the progressive and systematic militarization of the countryside had on the authority of the squire. The book demonstrates how the commitment of landowners to the defence of an England of home and beauty - an image also adopted in wartime propaganda - ironically led to its transformation. By using the landed estate to examine the transition from Edwardian England to modern Britain, English Landed Society in the Great War provides a unique lens through which to consider the First World War and its impact on English society.




The Great War and Medieval Memory


Book Description

A comparative study of the cultural impact of the Great War on British and German societies. Taking medievalism as a mode of public commemorations as its focus, this book unravels the British and German search for historical continuity and meaning in the shadow of an unprecedented human catastrophe.




Norwich's Military Legacy


Book Description

Originally a town that was built of wood by the Anglo-Saxons, it was later burned down and then rebuilt as Englands second city, after London, by William the Conqueror. Riots between the church and the citizens saw Norwich at war with the Pope in 1272 when a gate was constructed as a penance. The Norfolk Regiment has seen its men in combat from the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, the Boer War and both World Wars. The more recent conflicts in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan have also witnessed the bravery of the Norfolks. A comprehensive list of military personnel who gave their lives is examined, including Norwich-born Second Lieutenant Wilfred Edwards VC, as well as an account of 9694 Private John Henry Abigail of the Norfolk Regiment who, on 12 September 1917, aged 21, was executed for being AWOL. It would not be until November 2006 that Private Abigail was pardoned by the British government.