The well-known history of the First World War is one of the trials and tribulations of men on the Western Front, in ditches and dug-outs in atrocious conditions, but it is easy to forget this was the first truly global war that stretched out to touch civilians and soldiers alike. German submarines and their blockades saw rationing introduced across Britain, women went to work to replace men fighting in the trenches and the nation was shelled by battleships, bombed by Zeppelin and even attacked by plane. Here, for the first time, Peter Cooksley looks at the effects of the war on the civilian population and gives a new insight into what 'mummy and daddy did in the war', a propaganda slogan of the time. Carefully researched and illustrated by a wealth of contemporary photographs and ephemera, this volume tells the story of those left at home.

Peter Cooksley is a published aviation author