Christmas at War: True Stories of How Britain Came Together on the Home Front by Caroline Taggart

Christmas at War: True Stories of How Britain Came Together on the Home Front Reviews

• 
  Rachel (not currently receiving notifications) Hall

  Inspiring and informative resource focused on the six Christmases during WWII
  
  Having read a number of the ‘I Used To Know That’ books by Caroline Taggart, I am a keen admirer of her gift for pulling together a wide range of material on a topic and presenting it in an accessible and very readable format. Christmas at War is no different and the focus is on the six wartime Christmases of 1939-44 and includes first-hand testimony, diaries and letters from the period and factual details which together provide a valuable insight into the lives of British citizens across a large demographic, both urban and rural. The overall takeaway from this compilation is of a time when the nation was less self-centred and materialistic than today, and humanity and spirit came to the fore as the country united.
  
  Divided into chapters with each focused on a specific area the book covers a broad range of relevant topics, from rationing to evacuation and family life. Taggart does not shy away from chronicling the hardships of the era, with fear, anxiety, loneliness and boredom all featuring prominently in many of the first-hand accounts. Although detailing the London blitz of late 1940, Christmas at War does not concentrate solely on the offensive in the capital but also highlights the effect on major ports and industrial centres and, with the enemy aiming to have the greatest effect on civilian life and national morale, cities of cultural significance. The final chapters are devoted to the experiences of those in active service or held in prisoner of war camps during the period and are anything but rose-tinted.
  
  My overriding memories from this book are Caroline Taggart’s eye-opening factual sound bites and it is these, along with the handful of more vivid, poignant and heart-warming accounts that will stay with me. Examples of such anecdotal testimonies are Christmas pudding made with carrots replacing dried fruit for moisture, sending poultry through the post, paper chains glued with a paste of flour and water and women painting seams on the back of their legs in order to appear as though they were wearing nylons). From petrol rationing to the suspension of TV broadcasts and enforced dietary changes (including advice to make cakes without eggs), the flourishing black market, the Women’s Land Army, blackouts and Operation Pied Piper to evacuate children, Christmas at War is a tremendous resource and overview which is terrifically broad in scope.
  
  The appeal of this book is widespread and its value as a living testimony of the people who lived through the era for future generations is obvious. Although solidly engaging from the off, I did feel that the the book was a little top-heavy with first-hand memories, many of them covering the same ground and becoming rather repetitive. Whilst some of the individual stories leave a lasting memory, many of the other personal accounts seem to merge into one and add little to the bigger picture. I was of the opinion that whilst some of the accounts might have left a lasting personal memory they were far from being particularly informative for general readers and an increase in hard facts offering an overview of the situation (from the basics of rationing, to the process of evacuation and use of air-raid shelters etc), would have made for a more stimulating read that was easier to draw conclusions from.
  
  A useful almanac of Britain during WWII and one which I look forward to sharing with folks old and young. As a forty-year-old reader I was surprised to find I learnt a great deal and gained a far better appreciation for those who lived through the hardship and misery, but could always muster a smile and exemplified the value of family life. Many of the personal testimonies also demonstrate the kindness and generosity of strangers and the lasting legacy of post-war austerity is made apparent. A bittersweet reminder of Christmas time during a devastating offensive and the ideal remedy for the customary jaded sighs, grumbles and expectation of expensive gifts at Christmastime!
• 
  Cathy

  Subtitled ‘True Stories of How Britain Came Together on the Home Front’, Christmas at War is an interesting collection of firsthand accounts and excerpts from contemporary articles, journals and letters about people’s recollections of Christmas during the years of the Second World War.
  
  I liked the the way the author used phrases from the reminiscences as chapter headings, such as ‘You’ll Have to Have Shop Butter From Now On’. I also loved the photographs in the book. My particular favourite was one of an Anderson shelter decorated for Christmas which really epitomises the spirit of the contributions to the book. One small niggle was what seemed like inconsistent formatting of the text. However, I eventually worked out that verbatim accounts were shown in normal text and excerpts from letters or diaries shown in italics.
  
  The book commences with evacuees’ recollections of Christmas away from their families, with some better than those they’d experienced previously and others just different. For example, Christmas in the country versus in the city with one contributor remarking that ‘out in the country in the 1940s you were still pretty much in the nineteenth century’. Evacuees recall new experiences – different Christmas food and traditions, for example – but also loneliness, cruelty, even physical abuse. I was surprised to learn of the lack of government pre-planning for evacuation with organisers in some cases knocking on doors to find people willing to take in evacuees.
  
  In the chapter entitled ‘Thank Goodness…Now We Can Get Some Sleep’, contributors recall nights spent in public shelters when, contrary to what you might expect, they found they slept better once the air raid warning had sounded because the uncertainty was over. Sharing a shelter with so many other people didn’t provide much privacy. ‘There was an Elsan toilet pan surrounded only by a heavy hessian curtain. People used to time their bodily functions to coincide with bomb or gunfire or aircraft flying overhead…’ However, many recall the so-called ‘Second Great Fire of London’, the night of 29th December 1940, when a hundred thousand incendiary bombs and twenty-four thousand high-explosive bombs (yes, you read those numbers right) were dropped on London.
  
  Much of the book is given over to reminiscences about the shortage of luxury goods and foodstuffs typically associated with Christmas and the ingenuity required to conjure up anything resembling festive fare. Hence the many recipes for ‘mock’ something or other that prevailed at the time. Similar ingenuity was required when it came to Christmas decorations and presents with much use of recycled items, hand-me-downs, homemade presents and gifts courtesy of ‘bring and buy’ sales. That was unless you had useful contacts who could obtain goods in short supply or were fortunate enough to benefit from the generosity of strangers. And, of course, with television off air for the duration of the war, with the exception of the radio, entertainment had to be of the homemade variety too: sing-a-longs round the piano, card games, board games and charades.
  
  What really came home to me reading the book was how many of the things we now associate with Christmas were absent from people’s lives. For example, all the church bells were silenced, only to be rung if invasion was imminent. Gatherings of family and friends were necessarily limited by petrol rationing, evacuation, people serving overseas, loved ones confined as prisoners-of-war and restrictions on leave. Despite all of this, people continued to make a valiant effort to celebrate Christmas in whatever way they could. Whether in hospitals, on active service overseas or even confined as prisoners-of war, people tried their best to create some festive spirit.
  
  The book ends on a more sombre note, acknowledging that the last Christmas of the war (1944) was one of contradictions. There was optimism that Germany was close to defeat. On the other hand, 1944 had seen the most devastating bombardment of London, including with the dreaded ‘Doodlebugs’, killing and injuring many and resulting in the destruction of homes, businesses and infrastructure.
  
  Christmas at War was one of the books from my NonFictionNovember reading list. It made the perfect literary companion to a historical fiction book I read shortly before – A Ration Book Christmas. I believe Christmas at War would make an ideal Christmas gift for anyone with an interest in social history or the Second World War and how it affected the daily lives of ordinary people.
• 
  Marjorie

  I expected to find this book rather twee and for it to gloss over the deprivations suffered by many on the Home Front. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it is neither twee and nor does it shy away from the poverty many found themselves thrust in. It does mention how little food was available on almost every page but as these are the memories of those who actually lived through this cataclysmic period in our History you can forgive the author for over-beating the drum.
  
  It is quite London centred. It does mention the bombing raids on other cities but the majority of the reminisces are from Londoners, whether this is because they were the only ones with easily accessible records to the author I do not know. What we do know is that housewives from around the country kept diaries which were submitted to the Government on a regular basis (watch the impeccable Housewife 49 by Victoria Wood) and it would have been nice to hear some of those voices.
  
  The book actually gives a quite rounded picture of how celebrating Christmas changed throughout the period of 1939 - 1944. People's recollections of the paper bells and concertinaed paper decorations that some of the wealthier families had made me think of my own Grandparents who had those same decorations well in to the late 1970s. The children all seem to remember making paper chains to decorate their homes and air raid shelters and that invoked a nostalgia for my own 1970s childhood when my maternal Grandmother used to sit me down to make them with her.
  
  There is no doubting that this is a nostalgic look at the war period and how people came together to make the best of things. It suffers not for that though, it is actually quite warming to read and makes you realise how much "things" have come to mean at this time rather than just the joy of being with your family, ideally playing parlour and card games instead of slumping in front of the TV. I don't think it will change anyones perspective on the season but it will put smiles on faces.
  
  That said I do feel this is probably more of a "gift book" than one you would buy yourself. I can see it featuring quite heavily in the stockings and present piles for grandparents in particular (even though they will have no recollection of this period they are nearer to it than their Grandchildren).
  
  I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
  
• 
  Karen

  Christmas at War focuses on the six Christmases between 1939 and 1945, when Britain was at war. It includes first-hand testimonies from diaries and letters compiled from this period, providing us with an accurate and invaluable account of how the British people celebrated Christmas during this dark time.
  
  These often funny, first-hand accounts and stories reminisce of a time when the dog ate the entire Christmas roast, crackers were homemade with no crack inside and you shouted ‘bang’ when they were pulled. But they also recounted a time when there was often no turkey, no money for presents and more importantly a shortage of husbands, brothers and sons who were away fighting in the war. It was a time and a country that was very different to that which we know today. It was a time when ‘we just got on with living and made the best of everything’.
  
  Being interested in history and social history (particularly the 1940’s), I really enjoyed reading this book. It is difficult to imagine the struggles that people faced during the war and this book serves as a bittersweet reminder as to the true values of Christmas.
• 
  my.bookshelf.87

  Christmas At War by Caroline Taggart gives first-hand accounts from those who lived through the 1930s/40s of what it was like to celebrate the festive season when the world was at war. The title may make it sound like a depressing read but it was actually uplifting, entertaining and informative in equal measures. Not all doom and gloom. 🎄
• 
  Mrs Kate

  Amazing to read
• 
  Laura Lane

  I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys history. It gives poignant insight I to what it was like for those on the British home front and soldiers.
• 
  Jasmine

  It feels wrong to rate this like I would rate any other book but for me, this was a three star book- not because of the content but more due to how how easily the content was presented.
  
  This book was overall very insightful and interesting and I loved reading all
  about people's experiences. I think that these sort of things are important to read about. I also really liked the note at the start about money which I found particularly interesting.
  
  However, one thing which I struggled with at parts was to keep track of what I was reading. I wish that other people's experiences had been in bold or a different font or even just italicised. It would have made reading this book a lot easier for me personally. I also wish that there were more paragraphs at parts because some paragraphs were pretty long and I struggled to keep track of where I was.
  
  But overall, I found this to be really interesting and I definitely learnt a learnt a lot. I'd recommend this and might reread in the future.
• 
  Hayley

  
  A collection of true accounts of how ordinary folk from all walks of life managed through the festive period during the WWII period is most definitely a way to make you feel incredibly humbled in what is now such a materialistic time of year.
  
  What is so refreshingly original about this book is that the collections are directly from the source. This isn't a historian's opinion of what life was like for the civilians left at home.
  
  Taggart has collected accounts from all demographics; from the affluent to the poor, from the peril filled cities (mostly London) to the hardy rural areas. Rationing affected those in the cities most, but all felt the pinch when it came to things such as sugar, eggs and butter. Reading the lengths they went to in order to replicate a cake made with real eggs and how brilliant they were in making clothes last as long as possible as material was so hard to come by made me feel proud.
  
  Whilst not glossing over some of the heart breaking aspects, this book is full of cheer. Even the most destitute who could afford nothing, or at best having something so little as a few nuts or an orange in a stocking gave young children a huge boost...it kind of make today's consumer-loving tots look shameful.
  
  The most sobering accounts of those in POW camps, not just for one year but for many and how they tried so very hard with practically nothing to lift their spirits really hit me in the feels.
  
  I loved that this was so easy to pick up and put down as the sections of everyone's accounts are nicely broken up. Meaning if you want to delve in and out of the book (which is perfect in a busy festive period) then you won't lose your momentum.
  
  Whilst some of the accounts are definitely rose tinted (as nostalgic tales can often be), it was an incredibly heart warming book, which reinforces my respect for the many great British folk that had to make do and mend. A perfect gift for anyone.
  
  A brilliant 4 star read for me.
  
  I would like to thank Readers First and John Blake Books for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
  
• 
  Ursula

  A very readable social history of the way Britons celebrated Christmas during, and despite, the Second World War. That's 6 separate occasions and the writer does seek out variety in her accounts. We meet people of all ages and backgrounds, city and country, at home and abroad. Despite the subtitle "True Stories of How Britain Came Together on the Home Front" there are tales of service people both in Britain and all around the world, but the majority of recollections are those of civilians trying to enjoy a festive season whilst enduring fear and shortages.
  
  Caroline Taggart lets the individual voices of those people take centre stage as she weaves their stories into a meaningful tale. She uses contemporary diaries, letters, speeches and newspaper stories as well as memories written or spoken years after the events. All is well-researched and often moving as those difficult days come to life for the reader.
  
  This will be a valuable resource for students and for anyone trying to reproduce those times for a novel, a play or a film. I also recommend it as a family read because people of different ages will remember those times or the stories told them by parents or grandparents. And young people will be interested in how different the lives and expectations of people living in the 1940s are to their own experience.
• 
  Heather Copping

  This is one of those books that is full of people's reminecences from start to finish. Some I found to be more interesting than others. The ones I particularly liked was the ones about the evacuees, life on the home front and how they managed to survive the war years on very little food. I think maybe people could learn a bit from this section on the lead up to Christmas when everyone is panic buying loads of food which ultimately gets wasted. There was one mistake that I noticed on page 59 where it mentions the doodlebug coming back after it had dropped it's bombs! The section on Christmas toys I liked and I can remember visiting my grandparents as a child and they still had some of those toys which I loved to play with. Even my husband nowadays loves his Meccano set and Hornby trains.
  Anyone who likes social history will like these first hand remenicesences.
• 
  Hazel Tyson

  I have to say that I did enjoy this book. It was interesting to read how different Christmas was during the war and what people put up with, or how imaginative people became; not how we are today and what we take for granted now. I can't imagine having tinned spam for Christmas dinner! It's safe to say that the war really took it's toll on Christmas for everyone, more so if you lived in the city it would seem. Living in the country definitely had it's benefits as you would mainly grow most of your food, however when it came to presents everyone was in the same boat, with a lot of gifts being hand me downs or homemade. Only the wealthy didn't really see much of a difference. I really felt for the children who were evacuated, can't have been nice spending Christmas away from from home and your parents.
• 
  Clara

  I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Christmas at War', as I found it to be a book which flowed well, and the accounts of people who experienced it first-hand were incredibly informative. Many books of this genre are not written in this way, and I have found that this style is one that works well both for the writer and reader. The range of sub-topics included was very well thought out, and the inclusion of the contexts added was placed perfectly.
  The anecdotes evoked contrasting emotions, and allowed the reader to place themselves in the situation. As a person who is greatly interested in this topic, I was originally unsure about the style of the book, but it grew on me quickly, and I really enjoyed reading it. It is a brilliantly written book!
• 
  Ginni

  A quick and easy read; a collection of memories and true life anecdotes about WW2 Christmas in the U.K. (mainly - some POW and overseas service memories too.) Mentioned several books in the bibliography that I’d like to read.
  I was born after the war had ended, but my older siblings, and obviously my parents, have related their memories to me over the years, so this was quite a nostalgic read for me, in a strange way. Also I think my mum was still in the war-time mind frame when I was young - not that we didn’t eat really well at Christmas, but she was still saving wrapping paper, never cutting string but unknotting and saving it, storing eggs in isinglass in the larder....always a thrifty lady.
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  Emmie

  Such an interesting account of the festive period in the war. It told me information that I've never known, I came away with some new knowledge and a new found gratitude for all we have at Christmas time. I'll definitely be reading this again next Christmas!
• 
  Mother of

  I was lucky enough to get this book before publication date, and read it in 2 days.
  
  It's fantastic. I loved every single story.
• 
  Lesley Lee

  Fascinating read. Christmas needs to go back to how it was then rather than the rampant consumerism we have now.
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  Lisa of Hopewell

  I learned of this book via this post:
  https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.c...
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  Zara Harper

  A stark reminder of Christmases gone by in conditions we’ll never truly understand. As much as I’m glad I read the book I did find it became very monotonous as each story was very much the same.
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  Luisa Jones

  Brilliant for historical research into so many aspects of life in WWII, especially on the home front and for children.