Publications
Our latest book
"Bramley's Home
Front
A Surrey Village
during World War II"
is available -
all enquiries to
sales@bramleyhistorysociety.org.uk
Price £7.50 plus
£1.20p P & P 2nd Class
£2.00 P & P 2nd Class Recorded
ISBN 9780952840114
2005 saw the sixtieth anniversary of the end of WWII and in tune with the general national commemorations, Bramley History
Society mounted an exhibition at the Bramley Fête. A great deal of work
was done by committee members, gathering memories, and copying newspaper
and official publications, to preserve details of those people left at
home to cope with shortages, restrictions and the dangers of the Blitz
and later bombings while the younger men went away to fight.
It seemed a waste of effort that all this work should be just stored
away in the archives, and so the idea of this book was born.
If ever there was a civilians’ war, this was it
The rise of air power since World War I brought, not just news of death
and destruction, but the actualities right into our village. This book
attempts to give a picture of civilian life in Bramley during and after
World War II. ‘The Home Front’ was a Government slogan.
Inevitably, with over 80 people interviewed, it has been possible only
to use extracts in this book, but all the full transcripts of peoples’
memories are stored in the Bramley History Society archives.
There are many books about World War II that run from 1939 to 1945, but
this booklet is only partly chronological. It starts with the outbreak
of war, and ends with the peace, but in between memories are generally
given under subject matter, and so overlap.
Memories are fallible, and we have received varying versions of events.
Wherever possible, checks have been made with official records.