This book is part of the series 'Your Town and Cities in the Great War'. Aimed at a Wirral audience it is stuffed full of illustrations, photos, postcards and ephemera which bring the text to life. The theme of the book is how the Wirral people were gradually drawn into the war. It keeps a cursory eye over what was happening 'at the front', but is very much centred on events at home.
The Regulars, the Territorials, the fresh recruits of the Kitchener battalions, the stunted 'Bantams' - they all flocked to the colours and after training in the local area were sent away to complete their training before going overseas. The gradually darkening outlook saw the introduction of the Derby Scheme and finally conscription enforced by tribunals to weed out conscientious objectors. Scandals over the occasional brutal treatment of the C.O.s even made the local courts and press. Local volunteer forces - a kind of Dad's Army - were recruited to help guard the vital shipbuilding yards, dockyards, factories and forts that proliferated along the shores of the Mersey. Even Boy Scouts volunteered their services and found themselves guarding public installations in the early days.
The industrial scene was dogged by strikes, but also saw a huge collective effort to increase productivity. Munitions factories blossomed, churning out tens of thousands of shells. Everywhere labour was in short supply and female workers were employed in huge numbers to perform task that had hitherto been in the male domain. This allowed more men to be called up for the front.
As the German U-Boat campaign blossomed in 1917, so Wirral parklands and open spaces were turned over to agriculture and allotments. But food shortages further weakened the strength of the population - despite early attempts to restrict food consumption and introduce a form of rationing.
Throughout the war, hospitals and convalescent homes had to be created to treat the hordes of wounded. Public buildings were converted, while wealthy citizens made generous donations of 'spare' properties for the common good. Countless public appeals were made to finance the purchase of ambulances and to provide other equipment desperately needed to run the hospitals. Fundraising seemed endemic with a huge effort to purchase War Bonds - Birkenhead was expected to raise enough to finance the building of a battlecruiser. Everyone was expected to put their shoulder to the wheel and dig deep into their pockets.
Then suddenly it was all over. The celebrations were wild and who can wonder? Then demobilisation, the melding of a pre-war lifestyle with many huge changes to society - and of course the erection of war memorials to commemorate the dead.
One small caveat is the poor quality of the editing, which has allowed some minor stylistic errors to creep in. This I would attribute not to the author, but to the 'hurry up and wait' approach of Pen & Sword. Overall, they fail to supply the editorial support all authors need. Luckily this minor fault did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.
I was a student in Liverpool and since then have interviewed many veterans across the Wirral for the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive. For me this book brought back vivid memories. A surprising number of key buildings and locations survive to this day. My favourite 'Then'' picture shows a German butcher's shop that had been badly damaged in riots following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. The 'Now' version has the same building as a repair centre with - ironically - the same upstairs window smashed in!
All in all, McGreal has also made me realise just how much sacrifice and effort the civilians 'back home' put into winning the war.
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