Publications

Halifax was surprised by the outbreak of war in August 1914 but within days the public mood had turned into a staggering display of unified support. Voluntary fund raising organisations sprang up and bore witness to an incredible self-help ethic that supported the troops at the front, their dependant families at home and the returning wounded. People came to fear the Zeppelins, were forced to retrieve their children from German naval guns in Scarborough and read with horror the stories of local lads gassed at the front. Residents of German descent found themselves in difficult situations, and Belgian refugees were offered sanctuary.Struggling local industry was revitalised by government orders for Khaki cloth, machine tools and munitions. Halifax can claim to have contributed many interesting technological items such as bomb release mechanisms, flame projectors and Tommy's iconic bowl shaped steel helmet. Women were increasingly employed in traditional male occupations. In 1917 the food crisis fermented tensions, but at the end of 1918 there was triumph of a sort. 

By the time of the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Elland businessman, William Stott, had been keeping his lavishly illustrated diaries for over 40 years. This book records his views and opinions during the Great War as it became known. They give a unique window into life on the home front from the point of view of the ordinary middle class man in the street and, in typical Yorkshire fashion, William is by turns blunt and humorous in his writings. They also give an insight into society’s attitudes towards class, gender and race, attitudes that are at odds with the more liberal views of today and there are times when William’s language would nowadays be considered offensive. He was, however, a man of his times and he should only be judged by the standards of the society he lived in.William records not only national but also local events, and the goings on of a well known local personality or friend are mentioned with as much enthusiasm as those of the good and great. He was a devoted family man and the reader can identify with the ups and downs of family life from his observations. Many of the perceptions that we have about the Great War are disproved in the diary. There were no great celebrations when war was declared, people did not believe it would be over by Christmas and not every man flocked to the colours to answer Kitchener’s appeal for volunteers. William enthusiastically supported the war but his own son did not volunteer and one of the recurring themes in the diary is his struggle to prevent his son from being called up when conscription was introduced in 1916. When all is said and done this is a fascinating look into society during those tumultuous early years of one of the greatest watersheds in British history 

In this, the second volume William Stott's wartime diaries, we continue the story of the Great War, as it became known, through the eyes of a middle class Yorkshire businessman who was attempting to make sense of one of the greatest tragedies suffered by this country and the changes to society which it caused. This is the story of life on the home front and, as usual, the diaries are wonderfully illustrated with William's caricatures and cartoons of local and national events and people. 

Calderdale People in the Great War

Compiled by the Halifax Great War Heritage Society

The Naval & Military Press are holding a sale of books relating to The Great War. 

Prices are from £2 with nearly 5000 titles to chose from 

Pen & Sword, is a British publisher which specialises in printing and distributing books in both hardback and softback on military history, militaria and other niche subjects, primarily focused on the United Kingdom. 

Former teacher, lecturer and founder/director of two archives on the world wars of the twentieth century, Peter Liddle is a well-published historian of personal experience in those wars with books on

Gallipoli, The Somme and D-Day. He is dedicated to the preservation of the evidence of the past and has particularly enjoyed drawing together in publications and conferences the research of others in the field..

He has a lifetime of interest in sport, history travel and wildlife. He lives with his wife, Louise, in Rawdon, Leeds. He is Life President of The Second World War Experience Centre.