LIFE AT HOME
How news of the outbreak of war was reported in East Lancashire
On August 4th 1914 the declaration of war between Great Britain and Germany was announced in a short statement by the Foreign Office at11 [...]
Armistice in Rossendale
Armistice means the ending of hostilities before peace negotiations start. At the end of the First World War several armistices were signed by different countries [...]
Why did men from St. James–the-Less have to fight in the First World War?
Between early August 1914, when the war started, and 1916 over 150 men from St James-the-Less had joined the armed forces and gone to [...]
World War One Belgian Refugees
Between late August 1914 and May 1915 250,000 Belgian refugees escaping the war in their country arrived in Britain. Now, one hundred years later, [...]
Conscientious Objectors
Despite the many thousands in the UK who thought it was their patriotic duty to enlist and fight the enemy at the start of [...]
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919.
Before Rossendale and the nation could think of getting back to ‘normal’ after the war, a new, deadly, silent threat appeared during 1918. It [...]
Zeppelin airships
In the two years before the war there were hundreds of sightings of what people believed were airships in the skies from across Britain. [...]
Work and Healthcare
Work Many of the men and women who remained behind supported the war effort in lots of ways. Because many men were away on [...]
How did the soldiers keep in touch with their families and friends at home?
Unlike today, when we have smartphones and a host of other electronic devices to make immediate contact with people anywhere in the world, the [...]
When War broke out in Rossendale
There was a lot of patriotism and confidence in the first weeks and months of the war, both in the nation and in Rossendale. [...]
What means of communication did the army use in the trenches?
In any war reliable and accurate communication is essential. Battles are often won or lost on the ability to communicate information on enemy positions [...]
Life at home in 1914
It is interesting to take a look at what life was like in 1914, in the months before war broke out, to try and [...]