Published by TAVENER PUBLICATIONS.
This little book joins the many privately printed editions written by men and women about their local towns, villages and war memorials. They all serve as fine memorials to the men and women who lived at the time, those who fought and died and those who fought and survived. They also give the reader an insight into a lost world, often portrayed as the golden Edwardian era prior to the Great War.
David O'Neale has produced a very interesting study of the villages of Bridgham and Roudham in Norfolk. The book is lavishly illustrated with many excellent photographs of village life and personalities both pre and post war.
The book starts in 19100, taking the reader to the outbreak of war. Life in the villages is described and local families outlined. The book then goes on chronologically throughout the war, describing the effects of the war on village life, and biographies are given of each casualty as they occur throughout the war. The first casualty to affect the villages occurred in 1915 and the last in 1919.
Particularly poignant are the memorial cards and entries in the sextons log, for the tolling of the church bell when news of a casualty was received. There are also photographs of the memorials and or cemeteries where each casualty is commemorated.
The local hospital and airfield are covered as well, with newspaper reports and photographs of both, along with contemporary adverts taken from newspapers which are both amusing and educational.
David O'Neale is to be congratulated on producing a highly readable and informative book which ensures that the 23 men of Bridgham and Roudham who died during the Great War will not be forgotten, not only by the local population, but now by a wider audience.
Michelle Young
