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From the first rumblings of war, local schools were being made ready to take the on the responsibility of educating and protecting an astonishing number of urban children. Read their story here

As the German  Uboats blockade of Britain began to have its effect,  local housewives had to use used all their ingenuity to provide food and clothing for their families. Find out how they did it here.

In April 1937 an Air Raid Warden Service was created and by the outbreak of war there were more than 1.5 million people in the ARP. Find out how  local people prepared  to protect themselves here.

Hundreds of children from the city and east coast were sent to the Haltwhistle area at the outbreak of war. Read their story here

Whilst the war rages across the world, local  people  ploughed, quarried and mined to provide the raw materials necessary for the country to survive.

As the war progressed, local industries used their considerable expertise to support the war effort.

Find out what they did here.

In Britain, the war affected everyone, from those in the forces fighting the enemy to the children back home going to school.  It was six years of hardship, when everyone was expected to make sacrifices and do their bit for the war effort.  Food, clothing and fuel were scarce.  Yet the people of Britain faced up to all the difficulties with determination and humour.

The Story of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times

In Haltwhistle and the surrounding villages, communities opened their doors to evacuees, expectant mothers and prisoners of war. Factories geared up to make products vital to the war, farmers and miners increased their production to feed and power a besieged nation, young men left to join the forces and young women’s lives changed forever as they took on men’s roles. The women and men left at home concentrated on keeping everyday life going, running essential services such as shops, hospitals, schools and transport, feeding the family when there was little to be had and preparing to defend the country against invasion.

WORLD EVENTS