The outbreak of war marked a new era for the people of Cumbria. Many
young men and women enlisted in the Forces, while older people joined
the Home Guard or became Air Raid Precaution Wardens. Children from
cities were sent to Kendal to escape the threat of bombing raids,
members of the Women's Land Army began to arrive on at the local farms,
and Silloth airfield near Carlisle trained thousands of pilots from
allied countries.The first sign of German interest in the important
shipbuilding town of Barrow-in- Furness was in May 1936, when a rigid
airship and passenger aircraft flew very low and slowly over the Furness
rooftops. Vickers shipyard became a target for enemy bombing and
eventually more than 10,000 houses were damaged or destroyed by the
Luftwaffe during the Barrow Blitz that took place during April and May
1941.Extensively researched, the book takes a detailed look at the ships
built in Barrow, memorials in the city of Carlisle and towns and
villages across Cumbria, and remembers the brave dead of Second World
War.Overall, this is a poignant testimony to the momentous efforts,
bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Cumbria
during the Second World War, who sought to find normality in a reality
so far removed from anything they had ever known.
