Oxford in the Great War (Your Towns and Cities in the Great War) - Softcover

This book tells the fascinating, and largely forgotten, story of Oxford's part in the Great War. The University City became a military training camp as soldiers and officer cadets occupied men's colleges left virtually empty as undergraduates enlisted. Public buildings were converted into military hospitals where many war casualties were treated. The City also took in Belgian and Serbian refugees. Oxford dons engaged in vital war work, and academic life largely depended upon the women's colleges. Local industries, including Morris's new car factory at Cowley, converted to war production, and women made munitions or replaced men in other work. Fear of invasion sparked the formation of a Dad's Army, and a black-out protected the City from air raids. Civilians, especially women, supported the war effort through fund-raising and voluntary work. They also cultivated war allotments as food shortages led to communal kitchens and rationing. This expert account shows a civilian population coping with anxiety during a titanic struggle in which college heads and the humblest citizens were afflicted equally by the loss of loved ones.

Local historian Malcolm Graham was Head of Oxfordshire Studies with Oxfordshire County Council until he retired in 2008. His many publications on the local history of Oxford and Oxfordshire have included an account of the County during the Second World War, and he has a vast knowledge of Oxford in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is married, and lives in Botley, near Oxford.