All Quiet on the Home Front: An Oral History of Life in Britain During the First World War

by Richard van Emden, Steve Humphries

A "fascinating" look at hardship, heroism, and civilian life in England during the Great War (World War One Illustrated).

The truth about the sacrifice and suffering among British civilians during World War I is rarely discussed. In this book, people who were there speak about experiences and events that have remained buried for decades.

Their testimony shows the same candor and courage we have become accustomed to hearing from military veterans of this war. Those interviewed include a survivor of a Zeppelin raid in 1915; a Welsh munitions worker recruited as a girl; and a woman rescued from a bombed school after five days. There are also accounts of rural famine, bereavement, and the effects on families back home--and even the story of a woman who planned to kill her family to save them further suffering.

Genres: History, World War I, War, Nonfiction

422 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Richard van Emden is a British author and television documentary producer who specializes in the First World War.

Reviews

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was created almost a decade ago as part of an oral history project in Britain to interview the remaining survivors - soldiers and civilians alike - who lived through the First World War. Many of these people were well into their 90s and a few were older than 100. Their stories described a Britain which went through wrenching, profound changes in terms of its economy, attitudes, social mores, and daily life.

Through reading this book, it became painfully clear that not a city or village in Britain was left untouched by the war. People went hungry. Some died from malnutrition. Women (as well as children) contributed in a big way to the war effort by working in munition factories and in the countryside, planting and harvesting crops to help offset the effects of the U-Boat blockade, which nearly strangled Britain in 1917.

The following statement by Emily Galbraith, whose brother Peter was killed during the Somme battles in 1916, speaks volumes as to the war's lingering effects on people who lived through and after it:

`My father wrote every week to the War Office to know what had happened and all we heard was that he had been at a place called High Wood, but what happened we never knew.

`After the war, a memorial at Hornchurch was dedicated to local men who'd died, including Peter's name. And we discovered a young man used to go on every anniversary of my brother's death and lay flowers on the memorial. We never knew the reason. Anyway, in the 1930s, after my parents were dead, this boy's mother and sister asked me to their house at Manor Park in London. While I was there I decided to visit the memorial at Hornchurch, which was some twelve miles away. I had my dog with me and thought I would take him for a walk, and the man insisted that he walked with me all twelve miles --- he said he would go by bus on the way back but we never did.

`We walked twelve miles to put flowers on the memorial and then walked eleven and a half miles back before he said anything about my brother. My brother had been killed helping someone else --- him. A machine gun had started firing and Peter and three friends were in a bunch together. They all got into shell holes, and this man in the shell hole on Peter's right went into a panic. He screamed for my brother to come and my brother got out of his safe shell hole to help but as he did so a sniper shot my brother and he fell, dead.

`How could I react to this revelation? I just took it calmly, you couldn't alter anything.'

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!! And that is saying a lot since it is non-fiction. A great insight into home life during the First World War. I think I would have enjoyed this even if I didn't need it for research. It expected it to be informative, but dry. It was informative, but written in such a way that is hard to put down.

From the beginning of the war to the end you are able to see into the lives of many different individuals. I loved that home life is described. You hear about the battles in detail, but hardly so with home front raids and difficulties. Little details about how Peter Gailbrath's family were Methodists and conscientious objectors...until they looked at war in a different sense and realized it wasn't wrong to fight. Or pranks soldier patients played to nervous nurses, of different zeppelin raids, the lack of food toward the end of the war, the treatment of Germans in the Uk, and so forth.

Just a note:
*a couple uses of swear words. Although I'm not justifying those words, there was a lot less than I imagined there to be.
*the lack of immoral sexual behaviour was touched on in a few pages; it was written discreetly.
*spiritualism is mentioned briefly.

What I especially liked was how the author wrote how things were and didn't bring in his own personal opinion. You didn't feel like he was coloring things up or adding unnecessary details.

So yes, I recommend this book because of how thorough and amazing it was! I definitely will be reading/looking through it again in the future.

[Dropbear123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked it. Quite detailed but accessible. Lots of detail on the responses to the war in the beginning and at the end. A very interesting chapter on the rather harsh treatment of Germans living in Britain. The chapters on the German naval raids and the bombings were good. The chapters on things like food and living conditions were very good. There was a lot about women on the home front. The weakest chapter for me personally was the chapter on nurses and treatment of soldiers in Britain, but that is just due to my personal taste.

4.75/5

[Len Knighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

One day a year is designated for the remembrance of fallen soldiers; perhaps we take time on a couple other days. We read about the great battles in the great wars and/or watch movies and television programs about them. But how often do we think of the families who fought to survive many miles behind the lines? Life is different in the War years and this book gives us an idea that War is hell at home and on the battlefield. Richard van Emden brings life at home during World War I to our home through stories told by those who lived them, stories of survival and heroism, stories of death and despair. There are happy endings, sad endings; some stories continue to this day. Hopefully none of these experiences will ever be repeated.

Four stars

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

there’s a long standing joke between my gf and i that we each have a “straight man” trait (obsessions with baseball and wars, respectively). i’ve watched approximately a million history channel specials with my dad, band of brothers, pretty much every war movie known to man, etc. obviously, most of this media is focused on the soldiers and the actual fighting. duh! all this to say — it was quite interesting to read something focused on the effects on civilian life instead, esp one dealing with british life in wwi (since i am, of course, much more familiar with american perspectives). a nice departure from my norm! / 4.5 stars

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant and Fascinating

What went on in the UK for the folks at home during WWI. From zeppelins dropping bombs to starvation to women and children in munitions factories and cultivating the land to loss of family to the mood of the people and much more. Lots of new info to me. Very good read!

[George Foord · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great piece work about ww1 through the people who lived then

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent resource for scholars, writers, and the layperson. Vivid and exceptional.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great presentation of how the first world war was felt back in Britain, the impact on everything from healthcare to bombings and food shortage - with quiet a few interviews with some of the very few people who was still alive when the book was written (2003).