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The Royal Hospital Chelsea at War

Martin Cawthorne

$49.99

Paperback

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English
The History Press Ltd
05 September 2024
The untold story of the aged and infirm facing the horrors of the Blitz at Chelsea, a significant gap in the historical record.

In May 1938 a confidential meeting was held between Officers of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Government Departments responsible for Civil Defence planning. All participants agreed that should war come, the 500 Chelsea Pensioners living in the Royal Hospital should be evacuated to a place of safety outside London. However, toxic politics and complex logistics meant that on the outbreak of war in September 1939 only 50 Pensioners were evacuated, to a country house in Herefordshire. The remainder, many carrying physical and psychological scars from the First World War, sought sanctuary in hastily constructed air-raid shelters and awaited their fate. Using recently uncovered archive material, some stored for decades in an attic at the Royal Hospital, this book chronicles the story of Chelsea's old soldiers, once more in the line of fire as they faced the horrors of the London Blitz.

AUTHOR: Martin Cawthorne spent a career in finance before he began volunteering at the Royal Hospital. He worked on a project to digitise part of the institution's archive collection while undertaking a Master's degree in Historical Studies at the University of Oxford, for which he researched the Hospital's wartime history. Martin is now recognised as the expert on the institution's wartime story and works with the Royal Hospital Chelsea on a number of heritage and outreach projects.

37 b/w illustrations
By:  
Imprint:   The History Press Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 156mm, 
ISBN:   9781803995991
ISBN 10:   1803995998
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

MARTIN CAWTHORNE spent a career in finance before he began volunteering at the Royal Hospital. He worked on a project to digitise part of the institution’s archive collection while undertaking a Master’s degree in Historical Studies at the University of Oxford, for which he researched the Hospital’s wartime history. Martin is now recognised as the expert on the institution's wartime story and works with the Royal Hospital Chelsea on a number of heritage and outreach projects.

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