The 'eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' of 1918
was supposed to be the conclusion of the 'war to end all wars'.
Just twenty-one years after the armistice was signed, Barnsley, its
borough and the world braced itself for a global conflict that history
would eventually testify to be deadlier than the war that destroyed a
generation of Barnsley men and boys.
After the Great War, the famous market town stumbled into a new era that
promised social change, including universal suffrage, economic and
political stability and establishments of new international
organizations such as the League of Nations to steer the masses. In
reality, the town suffered in poverty, endured pit disasters, countless
industrial deaths all the while still lamenting its lost generation,
mercilessly butchered on The Somme.
The book's narrative explains in detail Barnsley's transition from its
interwar years, to the euphoria of victory in 1945, supported by a
timeline of national events that helped shape the town. It steers away
from the common two-dimensional viewpoints some people had on the Home
Front and the endless reusing of the same themes - 'the Great British
spirit, ' Churchillian greatness, D-Day, Dunkirk and VE day. Although
one cannot dismiss those remarkable qualities the town developed during
the war, it also explores controversial topics such as social impacts,
the rise in juvenile delinquency, misplaced optimism, increase in crime
and the acceptance of the status quo by some members of the ruling
council.
Indeed, Barnsley rose to the challenge as it did years earlier, women
once again revealed their rightful place in society as equals, miners
smashed productivity records, men and women took up arms in anticipation
of invasion.
The Second World War had arguably the same impacts on Barnsley as the
Great War, further local names etched on the memorials as a timeless
reminder of the men, women and children who died or gave their life for
their town, county and country. Never to be forgotten.
