Pamela Russell – författare

The First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today.Great War Britain: Liverpool offers a detailed insight into this great city and its people facing the challenges of wartime. This highly accessible volume explores the city's regiments, and includes many individual stories of men on the frontline and the vital role of women against the background of the changing face of industry, attitudes to conscientious objectors, hospitals for the wounded and their rehabilitation, peace celebrations, the fallen heroes and how they are commemorated. Liverpool Central Library & Record Office have generously made available illustrative and other material from their extensive archives.

This is the untold story of Liverpool's children in the Second World War. Whilst everyone is familiar with the tales of evacuees who were rushed out of the cities once the bombs started falling, many of us are unaware that many stayed behind, either by choice or necessity, as the city of their childhood disintegrated and burned around them. In the words of those who experienced the Liverpool Blitz first-hand, we hear of their adventures and misadventures, the fun and games and ever-present danger, and the humor and sorrow of those wartime years. This is an important and revealing look at the war as seen through the eyes of these children. This book not only explores the memories of a childhood ravaged by war, but also the formative effect this had on individuals' lives. It reflects the collective spirit of a city that refused to be crushed, even at the darkest hours of the Luftwaffe's bombing campaign. Ideal for anyone who lived through those times, or who is fascinated by experiences and the legacy of the wartime generation, this new title pays tribute to the war's forgotten children.

Full of the warmth and excitement of growing up in the 1950s, awakening nostalgia for times that seemed cosy and carefree with families at last enjoying peacetime, this book is packed with the experience of school days, playtime, holidays, toys, games, clubs and hobbies conjuring up the genuine atmosphere of a bygone era. As the decade progressed, rationing ended and children’s pocket money was spent on goodies like Chocstix, Spangles, Wagon Wheels and Fry’s Five Boys. Television brought Bill and Ben, The Adventures of Robin Hood and, for teenagers, The Six-Five Special, along with coffee bars and rock ‘n’ roll. This book opens a window on an exciting period of optimism, when anything seemed possible, described by the children and teenagers who experienced it. Liverpool’s traditional sense of community, strengthened by the war years, provided a secure background from which children and teenagers could welcome a second Elizabethan era.