Book Description

This fascinating compilation of over 220 photographs and other images documents the many aspects of social history and development of Southampton from Victorian times to the Second World War. Gathered from many sources, these well-chosen and expertly annotated images - many of them not previously presented in book form - evocatively recall bygone townscapes, transport and shipping scenes, past occupations, occasions and recreations, and some of the people who made their distinctive contributions to the growth of the town and port. Fully illustrated chapters highlight the role of Southampton as 'The Gateway to the World' and the port handling peacetime troop movements around the once far-flung British Empire. Byways of local history here newly explored include topics as diverse as the epic fifteen weeks strike of skilled shipyard engineers in 1913; the first ladies' football match at The Dell in 1919 and the curious confusion between the seaplanes of Amelia Earhart and Sir Alan Cobham which landed on the Itchen at Woolston in 1928. The author, well-known for a dozen books on local history subjects, has assembled a distinctive selection of evocative images that complements his other two volumes in this series and will appeal to all who are interested in the development of Southampton and how its past relates to the present.