Oxford played a unique part in the national endeavour to defend Britain in the Second World War. During the Blitz and beyond, thanks to its proximity to London, the city provided an alternative base for civil servants from the Ministry of Food, the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Home Security, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Works. The Admiralty, the War Office, the Air Ministry, MI5, and Bletchley Park all also had a presence in Oxford. Colleges became military hospitals, evacuee centres and both cadet and senior officer schools. Students fit for active service took shortened degree courses and underwent military training while they studied. Grassy quadrangles were converted into vegetable plots and the New Bodleian Library provided underground storage for treasures from Parliament and national museums.

Drawing on first-hand narratives and material from University and college archives, this pioneering account reveals the essential role Oxford played in producing military intelligence, creating propaganda, and developing radar and the atomic bomb. It also explores the city’s role in bringing penicillin to market and laying the foundations of the welfare state. It shows how the Cowley car works was heavily involved in arms production and the salvage of RAF fighter planes, and also how the University provided a place of sanctuary for academics fleeing fascism who in turn made significant contributions in their fields of expertise.

Together these accounts paint an extraordinary picture of the war’s profound impact on an ancient seat of learning.

Ashley Jackson’s engrossing new book describes how the city of dreaming spires woke up to the realities of the Second World War. His trawl through the archives has yielded a rich and glittering haul, containing much that will interest more people than mere Oxonians.

-- Nicholas Rankin * Literary Review *

Oxford's War 1939-1945 draws on an extensive range of sources including the archives of the Oxfordshire History Centre, Oxford Mail, the city council and Oxford University to shine a light on the herculean work taking place in the city and the surrounding countryside. 

-- Ben Hardy * This Is Oxfordshire *

This is a fascinating and very readable
book which comes with an excellent selection
of images along with reference notes and
bibliography. Very highly commended.

* Future PLC *

Professor of Imperial and Military History at King's College London, Visiting Fellow of Kellogg College Oxford