_____________________________
I am very pleased to announce that Zeppelin Letters has just been revised (March 2022) as a lower price black and white edition which is available for sale now. The original price for the colour edition was £14 which I felt was too expensive. Now the only difference is the removal of colour from the images and a few of the page backgrounds. As most of the photographs were old, and black and white, there is very little difference apart from the new, much lower price of just £6.95.
LONDON DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Personal letters from the people of London
Introduction
Both my grandfathers fought in the Great War, later known as the First World War, and both survived … but only just! One was nearly shot in the head during the Battle of the Somme – a bullet passed right through his helmet, narrowly missing his head. The other was almost shot in the heart. He was saved thanks to the metal cigarette case in his breast pocket; the bullet bounced off it and into his arm. He was left without the use of that arm, but it was a strange case of smoking saving his life!
I was under the mistaken impression that the home front was relatively peaceful during the Great War. I knew that Londoners had suffered greatly during the Second World War Blitz, but I was very surprised to learn that another Blitz had occurred during the First World War. It was certainly very frightening for civilians at the time, in fact they were outraged by the indiscriminate bombing which killed many innocent women and children. Up to that point, war for the British was something usually only targeted at soldiers.
This book is a time machine. I hope that, like me, you will be transported back 100 years by reading the personal letters, and viewing the cartoons and photographs from the First World War. It was a frightening time, but still the great British sense of humour prevailed.
David Ransom
https://www.david-ransom.co.uk
Zeppelin Letters 