Hythe in the Great War (Towns & Cities in the Great War) by Wynn, Stephen

The book looks at the military aspect of the war, from the towns perspective, looking at such matters as how many men from the town had become casualties, year by year, and the knock on effect that had on their families. I have looked closely at those mentioned on the towns War Memorial, and where relevant, their families as well, because many families had more than one son go off to fight in the war. It looks at the part the town actually played in the war, such as the British Armies School of Musketry and the number of men who were trained there before being sent off to fight in the war, and put in to practice what they had learnt at Hythe. One thing I have tried to do with the book is look at everyday life in Hythe. At people simply going about their day to day existence and what constituted normality during war time. On 25 May 1917 23 German Gotha bomber aircraft carried out raids over numerous Kent towns including Hythe, where a total of 19 bombs were dropped, which by doing so, brought the war directly to the towns people. If anybody needed reminding that there was a war going on, the events of 25 May 1917 were that and more. AUTHOR: Stephen Wynn is a retired police officer having served with Essex Police for thirty years. His first book, Two Sons in a War Zone: Afghanistan: The True Story of a Fathers Conflict, was published in 2010. It is his personal account of his sons first tours in Afghanistan. Both of his grandfathers served in and survived the First World War. 100 b/w images