Britain at War 1939 to 1945

About the Book

The book has excellent reviews from UCL People (University College London) and the Historical Association, a British charity for teachers. It gives a short insight into the horrors of the home front told from the perspective of someone who actually experienced them, a fascinating look at the harsh realities of life in Britain, life full of drama and the danger of impending death. How did a family with a small child caught up in such a war survive? There follows an overview of the major campaigns in World War II, giving an insight into the big picture, enlivened by personal experiences and quotations from Churchill. A Canadian reviewer has said, “This book was a relatively quick read that would be of interest to those who might not have much background in the events of the war or those who know the broad details but want the day to day understanding of how lives were affected by things like bombing raids. James Lingard has meticulously researched and presented the timeline of events for the war, but where this book really shines as far as I am concerned is in the sharing of his own family’s experiences as they were personally impacted. Though only a young boy when the war began, his life was affected in multiple ways and his family was at one point thought killed as their air raid shelter was destroyed. In actual fact they had gone out to the woods for an outing, which ultimately saved their lives! “Another enjoyable part of the book was the quotes Lingard used at the beginning of each chapter. Many of these quotes were taken from speeches by Churchill or other prominent men of the time and they add to the general picture and emotions of the period.”

About the Author

James Lingard was educated at Dulwich College and subsequently at University College London, where he obtained an LLB (Hons) degree. After qualifying as a solicitor—with honours—in 1956, he became a partner in what was then a small city firm, before joining Norton Rose in 1972. There, he specialised in banking law and set up an insolvency practice. He wrote Lingard’s Bank Security Documents (LexisNexis Butterworths)—now in its fifth edition—Corporate Rescues and Insolvencies (Butterworths) and Tolley’s Commercial Loan Agreements and gave numerous lectures and contributed to technical journals. He served for a number of years as the following: * council member of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (now R3) * council member of the European Association of Insolvency Practitioners (now Insol Europe)—being the first English solicitor so selected * founding president of the Insolvency Lawyers Association * member of the insolvency licensing committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales * chairman of the Banking Law Sub Committee and of the Insolvency Law Sub Committee of the City of London Law Society * chairman of the Joint Insolvency Examination Board *judicial chairman of the Insolvency Practitioners Tribunal