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When the Office Went to War

War Letters from the Men of the Great Western Railway

Clare Horrie , Kathryn Phelps
When men from the Great Western Railway’s audit division left to fight in the First World War, they began to correspond with staff back home in the Paddington office where their letters were compiled into monthly ‘newsletters’. Twelve of these newsletters are arranged chronologically in this touching collection, in which a group of colleagues bound together by work, yet scattered across France, Belgium, the Dardanelles, Greece, India and Egypt, pour out their thoughts and reflections about life on the front.
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RRP £14.99

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Product information:
  • Publisher: Conway
  • Year: 2015
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304pp
  • Illustrated: Yes
  • Dimensions: 223x145mm
  • ISBN: 9781844862801
  • Condition: New
  • Weight: 0.5kg
Product code:
505574
Product information
Full publisher description
During the course of the First World War, staff of the Great Western Railway's Audit Office sent letters and photographs back to their employer in Paddington, which were in turn collated into monthly "newsletters" by those who stayed at home to keep Britain moving. Today these newsletters give a unique insight into the Great War - these soldiers were writing to inform and entertain their colleagues rather than to comfort a worrying parent or to confess their love to a distant partner - and bring a distinct band of individuals to life.

The story is told chronologically to recreate the suspense in the Audit Office as the remaining few waited to hear from their colleagues at the Front.
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