Windermere & Grasmere in the Great War

by Ruth Mansergh

Overview

Windermere and Grasmere in the Great War is an expert account of these Lake District town's fascinating contributions to the Great War effort from the outbreak of war in 1914, to the long-awaited Allied victory in 1918. The book is designed to be accessible to all, and for this reason it includes the history of the South Lakes area of Cumbria, where the scarcity of visitors was felt during the Great War. Interesting stories include Lake Windermeres setting as a watery runway, rumors that a German airship was operating from a secret base near Grasmere, the double life of Arthur Ransome, and Cumberland Wrestlings postwar boom. The book also takes a detailed look at the graduates of the Lakes Flying Company, the Hardistys, VAD nurse Nellie Taylor, the Baisbrowns, the boatmen who sewed bags for sand, the gunpowder carts, Beatrix Potters opinions, conscientious objectors, landowners and gentry, Cobby the horse, railwaymen, and prisoner of war Frederick Mallinson. It acts as a reference guide to local war memorials, and a chronological guide to Belgian refugees in south Lakeland whose homes included Ellerthwaite Lodge, Windermere, Calgarth Park auxiliary hospital, Troutbeck Bridge, and the village of Finsthwaite. St Martins next to the Old England Hotel, Windermere, has more memorials than any other church in Cumbria including the Cathedral (Carlisle). Overall, this is a poignant testimony to the bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Windermere and Grasmere during the Great War, who sought to find normality in a reality so far removed from anything they had ever known.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473864047
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Series:	Your Towns & Cities in the Great War
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ruth Mansergh is a full-time mother of two who has worked as a journalist and as a freelance sub-editor/proofreader for publications including Financial Adviser and the Daily Mail. She was brought up in Cumbria, went to school in North Yorkshire, and has a degree in English with Social History from Leeds University. She has inherited her fathers keen interest in local history.

Table of Contents

About the Author & Acknowledgements 7

Preface 8

Introduction 9

1 Recruits Needed 11

2 The Battle for the Skies 22

3 The Lakes Flying Company 28

4 Cases Involving Suspected Spies 33

5 Women's Wartime Work 38

6 Refugees in South Lakeland 49

7 Help on the Home Front 54

8 Keeping the Lakeland Economy Going 60

9 Keeping Up Traditions 69

10 Beatrix Potter: The Land and the War 73

11 Stories of Local War Heroes 78

12 We Will Not Go to War 93

13 Landowners and Gentry Remembered 98

14 Railways and Railwaymen Remembered 110

15 War Memorials: Windermere Cenotaph 113

16 War Memorials: St Martin's 116

17 Further Windermere War Memorials 125

18 War Memorials: Ambleside 133

19 War Memorials: Grasmere 138

20 Exploring South Lakeland Memorials 146

21 Prisoners of War 166

22 The End of the Struggle 171

Bibliography 173

Index 176

Editorial Reviews

"This series is totally riveting, essential reading for anyone who lived there, and for anyone, indeed,
who wants a complete picture of how the conflict affected the people of this country. Superb.
"

Books Monthy

"This series is totally riveting, essential reading for anyone who lived there, and for anyone, indeed,
who wants a complete picture of how the conflict affected the people of this country. Superb.
"

Books Monthly