Portobello And The Great War

This fascinating selection of photographs documents the impact of the First World War had on Portobello, and how the area has changed and developed over time.

This regimental history chronicles the Dandy Ninth Battalion Royal Scots from its first forays in the Boer War through the brutal fighting of WWI. After suffering the disastrous Black Week of the Second Boer War, the British Army formed a new Highland battalion, the kilted 9th Royal Scots, which became affectionately known as the Dandy Ninth. It sent volunteers to South Africa and established itself as Edinburgh’s kilted battalion, part of the Territorial Force of part-time soldiers. Mobilized in 1914 as part of the Lothian Brigade, the Dandy Ninth defended Edinburgh from the threat of invasion, and constructed part of the landward defenses around Liberton Tower. They were part-time soldiers and new recruits, drawn from the breadth of society, from lawyers to rugby players and artists, such as the Scottish Colorist F.C.B. Cadell, and William Geissler of the Edinburgh School. In the Great War they mobilized to France and Flanders and served in many of the major actions: in Ypres and on the Somme; at Arras and Cambrai in 1917; and during the 1918 German Spring Offensive at St Quentin. In the Advance to Victory, they were with the 15th (Scottish) Division.

Tourism has long been important to Scotland. It has become all the more significant as the financial sector has faltered and other mainstays are in apparent long-term decline. Yet there is no assessment of this industry and its place over the long run, no one account of what it has meant to previous generations and continues to mean to the present one, of what led to growth or what indeed has led people of late to look elsewhere. This book brings together work from many periods and perspectives. It draws on a wide range of source material, academic and non-academic, from local studies and general analyses, visitors’ accounts, hotel records, newspaper and journal commentaries, photographs and even cartoons. It reviews arguments over the cultural and economic impact of tourism, and retrieves the experience of the visited, of the host communities as well as the visitors. It questions some of the orthodoxies – that Scott made Scott-land, or that it was charter air flights that pulled the rug from under the mass market – and sheds light on what in the Scottish package appealed, and what did not, and to whom; how provision changed, or failed to change; and what marketing strategies may have achieved. It charts changes in accommodation, from inn to hotel, holiday camp, caravanning and timeshare. The role of transport is a central feature: that of the steamship and the railway in opening up Scotland, and later of motor transport in reshaping patterns of holidaymaking. Throughout there is an emphasis on the comparative: asking what was distinctive about the forms and nature of tourism in Scotland as against competing destinations elsewhere in the UK and Europe. It concludes by reflecting on whether Scotland's past can inform the making and shaping of tourism policy and what cautions history might offer for the future. This prolific long-term analysis of tourism in Scotland is a must-read for all those interested in tourism history.

In a quest to to discover the forgotten Irishmen in twenty-seven Irish newspapers, many of which are now obsolete, the author uncovered unbelievable and forgotten newspaper articles, cast aside since the 1920s – until now. Following the success of the first book in the series covering 1914, Irishmen in the Great War: Reports from the Front 1915 is a labour of love from author Tom Burnell, containing over 150 hand-picked news stories taken from a selection of twenty-seven Irish newspapers throughout the course of the year. These rare and untapped stories, many of which have not seen the light of day since the 1920s, give a unique insight into life on the front line and on the home front during the First World War. These are the accounts of local men at the front, letters sent home from soldiers in the trenches at Flanders, graphic narratives from allied gun turrets, Irish nuns at Ypres, Irish POWs held in Germany, troops coming under fire on Christmas morning and many more. We are presented with articles explaining the logistical side of supporting the army, from how the men at the front were fed to combating ailments brought about by living in the trenches. A letter from a surgeon of the King's Country Infirmary explains the graphic experiences of everyday life on the front line and the newspapers present feature articles on the use of torpedos, hand grenades, warplanes and more. Translated German letters pay tribute to the courage, stamina and shooting skill shown by the British and letters from British troops remark on the deathly accuracy of the German snipers. We also hear of a Kilkennyman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and how the attack strengthened the resolve of Irish soldiers on the front. We see letters from lieutenants in the Leinsters, privates in the Munsters at Egypt, the Connaughts at Turkey, a fifteen-year-old soldier of the 18th London Irish Rifles, a Kilmoganny soldier writing to the Kilkenny People during a lull in the fighting, letters explaining how the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles fought at Neuve Chapelle and an officer's harrowing description of a gas attack at Hill 60. Following the success of the first book in the series covering 1914, Irishmen in the Great War: Reports from the Front 1915 is a labour of love from author Tom Burnell, containing over 150 hand-picked news stories taken from a selection of twenty-seven Irish newspapers throughout the course of the year. These rare and untapped stories, many of which have not seen the light of day since the 1920s, give a unique insight into life on the front line and on the home front during the First World War. These are the accounts of local men at the front, letters sent home from soldiers in the trenches at Flanders, graphic narratives from allied gun turrets, Irish nuns at Ypres, Irish POWs held in Germany, troops coming under fire on Christmas morning and many more. We are presented with articles explaining the logistical side of supporting the army, from how the men at the front were fed to combating ailments brought about by living in the trenches. A letter from a surgeon of the King's Country Infirmary explains the graphic experiences of everyday life on the front line and the newspapers present feature articles on the use of torpedos, hand grenades, warplanes and more. Translated German letters pay tribute to the courage, stamina and shooting skill shown by the British and letters from British troops remark on the deathly accuracy of the German snipers. We also hear of a Kilkennyman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and how the attack strengthened the resolve of Irish soldiers on the front. We see letters from lieutenants in the Leinsters, privates in the Munsters at Egypt, the Connaughts at Turkey, a fifteen-year-old soldier of the 18th London Irish Rifles, a Kilmoganny soldier writing to the Kilkenny People during a lull in the fighting, letters explaining how the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles fought at Neuve Chapelle and an officer's harrowing description of a gas attack at Hill 60. Amongst the articles of bravery and death, there are also stories of humour and quirkiness, from a furious cyclist who was fined 10s for riding on the pavement to rousing trench songs and remedies to rid the body of lice. These rare and untapped stories, have finally been utilized for this book, to give a unique insight into life on the front line and on the home front during the First World War.

Arguably the finest regimental history even written. A magnificent publication it is with its profusion of maps, illustrations and photos - each page of photos contains several. The Worcesters was one of the five regiments that had four regular battalions before the war, with two special reserve and two territorial battalions. By the end of the war another fourteen battalions had been raised for a total of twenty-two of which twelve went on active service. 9,460 officers and men gave their lives, 71 Battle Honours were awarded and eight VCs one of whom, attached to the RFC, was the airman Leefe Robinson, famous for shooting down a zeppelin. Battalions served on the Western Front, in Gallipoli, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, Italy; one battalion ended the war in North Persia. Appendices provide the Roll of Honour; Honours and Awards including Mention in Despatches, with date of Gazette (for 'Companion' of the British Empire read 'Commander'); details of Badges, Colours and Distinctions of the regiment; and the music for regimental marches. Illustrations are by well-known artists depicting battle scenes including each VC-winning action - apart from Leefe's zeppelin. After considering various factors, explained in his very informative preface, the author decided to present this history as one general story in which the number of the battalion concerned is printed in the margin of the pages dealing with its deeds. Attention is paid to minor actions such as trench raids, which usually find no place in compressed official histories; they are recorded in this history. The plans illustrate the engagements recorded in the book, and are designed to depict the part played by the several battalions in their battles and to enable the visitor to the battlefields to recognise the ground on which each fight took place, as much as to make clear the general course of those actions. The book opens with a very interesting account of the regiment in the years before the war, beginning at the turn of the century, and there is a very comprehensive index of 25 pages. This is a great piece of work and must rank as one of the finest of the Great War regimental histories, many would say the finest, and I wouldn't argue.

This book is out of the ordinary. As well as describing the many changes in Sheffield between 1914 and 1918, it tells about the troubling events in following years as poverty and riots took hold.It is also special in identifying hundreds of small as well as large Sheffield companies that worked to provide the necessities of war. With many previously-hidden facts, the book describes the city's 'national factories', the new Ministry of Munitions, the government's control of companies, arguments about the employment of women, an increased emphasis on workers' welfare, the impact of the Sheffield Committee on Munitions of War, and the special contributions of the Cutlers' Company.Compulsory call-up, conscientious objectors and the work of the Sheffield Military Tribunal are also brought to life, as are problems caused by a shortage of food and the eventual imposition of rationing. The city's German prisoners of war are introduced, as are the ravages of influenza and the terrible poverty and conflict that soon afflicted the city. These local changes are presented against a background of important national events and with more than 100 original photographs.

Warwick in the Great War is a detailed account of how the experiences of war impacted on the garrison town from the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, to the long-awaited Armistice in 1918, and its immediate aftermath. The troops went off to war, cheered and supported by their friends and family, all in a high holiday mood, but underneath this jovial faade, their loved ones knew that some of the men would never return. Yet life went on, albeit with progressive and totally new experiences. As the war stagnated, Warwick`s citizens offered practical support for troops both at home and abroad. How did they cope with returning wounded troops, and where did they go? Tribunals decided who should be given exemption from military service: difficult decisions, especially when food economies and the conscription of farm labourers were involved. Rationing was inevitable, but how was it enforced? What happened after the Army Pay Corps moved to Warwick? And then there is the question of the treatment of Prisoners of War, both in Germany and at home.Using contemporary accounts, the author explores a little-known piece of Warwick`s history. Mainly looking at life on the home front, included are some extracts from the letters serving soldiers sent home, allowing these heroic men who lived through these momentous events, to tell their stories in their own words.