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New Book: 'A District at War'


manchester regiment

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ime not sure if i have posted this in the right section,hope its ok to post it.

two of the GWF members and also members of the manchester regt forum,neil drum[drummy] and pete thomas have written a book about irlam+cadisheads roll in the great war,its due out on 24th may 2010,all proceeds will go to the hamilton trust.www.hamiltondavies.org.uk.

its called a district at war,priced at just £12.99,660+pages,its a very good book and well researched and the proceeds go to a good cause

it can be ordered through the hamiltondavies trust

mack

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Neil's a dedicated researcher and if this book is as good as his previous projects, it'll be a cracker - full of personal information and anecdotes about the men.

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Good gracious! I work in "Irlam and Cadishead" - Irlam is not to be confused with "Irlam o' th' Heights" (cue long discussion about Salford ...).

Never in 20 years working with young people have I met so many who are going into the army. I may be able to buy this book as a work's related expense. But - buy it I will!

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I look forward to getting my hands on it.

Regards,

Garry

Edit: Please read post 7 for ordering.

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Folks

I've now had the opportunity of seeing an advance copy. Let me be absolutely up-front here in saying that this is the best example of this sort of "memorial" book that I've seen. Something like 600 pages packed with individual stories and interesting "stuff". The level of detail makes this a fine social and historical commentary on an industrial area, a similar commentary on the war, as well as a fine tribute to the men who served. It is a book of greater significance than just to the local area around Irlam.

Neil and Pete have my absolute respect for the work done - and all the profits are going to a very deserving local charity. Go buy a copy!

Book's full title - "A district at war - Irlam & Cadishead's part in the Great War"

John

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Hi, as the book is for charity our preferred method of ordering is direct to the Hamilton Davies Trust as this will ensure that all the profits from the book go to the charity (we didnt advertise on the internet sales agents - it happened automatically because we took out an ISDN number). The book is currently at the printers and will be available in about three weeks. At the moment we are collecting expressions of interest and will send an email to everyone who registers (info(at)hamiltondavies.org.uk) as soon as they arrive back from the printers. I hope this doesnt inconvenience anyone and please accept our apologies if it does.

Cheers

Pete

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Right, that's it pre-ordered via Amazon.

Right, that's it pre-ordered via the Hamilton Davies trust.

I also sent an e-mail around work about the book; at least one other person has expressed an interest.

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Hi all,

Not sure if this is in line with forum rules, but as all proceeds go to a registered charity and there is no personal gain then I hope it is in order.

All the best Neil.

'A District at War'’ is the story of the part played by the communities of Irlam and Cadishead, near Manchester, during the First World War. The book started as a result of a list scribbled down of the 137 men recorded on the main war memorial at Irlam many years ago, and from there following years of research it has developed into a book of 624 pages, which covers over 1,000 local men who served in the Great War, 209 of whom lost their lives. Information has been gleaned from sources worldwide, and from records such as Soldier’s service and pension files, medal records, war diaries, war graves commission records, Regimental Histories and from families of a number of those mentioned in the book. Over 400 illustrations are included, covering many of the casualties mentioned. The book covers each of year of the war, as well as appendices covering those who won awards, a roll of honour of all who are known to have served, and an index.

We are not making any money from this and have priced the book to enable it to be within an acceptable price range to most people and hopefully therefore ensure the widest of circulation which will assist in developing local knowledge of the sacrifices made by the local communities during the war and ensure remembrance continues.

We are committed to ensuring that any proceeds from the book to go back into the community, and therefore all proceeds from sales of the book will go to the Hamilton Davies Trust which is a registered charity and undertakes community projects in the Irlam, Cadishead and Rixton with Glazebrook areas.

The book is now available and costs £12.99 (£16.00 including UK post & packaging) Copies of the book can be obtained from:

Hamilton Davies Trust

117, Liverpool Road

Cadishead

Greater Manchester

M44 5BG

Please email the Hamilton Davies Trust if you would like to order a copy:

info@hamiltondavies.org.uk

'A District At War'’ Irlam and Cadishead's part in the Great War 1914-1918

By Neil Drum and Pete Thomas

Published May 2010

ISBN 978-0-9564489-0-3

Cover price - £12.99

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to working in Salford I was able to nip down to the Trust yesterday lunchtime and get my copy. I've only had a quick flick but the amount of work put into it is staggering - I feel almost guilty at only having paid £12.99! Several of the places are known to me already, if wildly different from yesteryear, and I've already come across a relative of one of our Connexions clients. Well done Neil and Pete!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I echo what John Hartley said above. This is the review I just posted onto The Long, Long Trail:

"A District at War: Irlam and Cadishead's part in the Great War 1914-1918

by Neil Drum and Pete Thomas

published in the Thomas-Drum Publications, May 2010

ISBN 978 0 9564489 0 3

cover price - £12.99

paperback, 623pp, profusely illustrated

reviewed by Chris Baker

This fine study of the 1081 men of two Lancashire villages and the surrounding area sets a new benchmark for depth of research, clarity of presentation and excellence of production of the finished article. At a whopping and dense 623 pages, the price of £12.99 is a steal.

Irlam and Cadishead, long since subsumed into Greater Manchester, were Lancashire villages that expanded greatly through industrialisation in the 1800's. Even so by 1914 the population was still only some 8000, with industry being dominated by the Co-operative Wholesale Society soap works and the Partington steelworks. This book presents as complete a story of the men who went to war and the 209 who did not return as is possible to produce (although hopefully the book will tease out from readers other snippets of information about local men).

Structured in chronological sequence, "A District at War" takes us through the experience of the villages during the conflict, setting Irlam and Cadishead against the backdrop of political, economic and social shifts. Some of the men were already serving when war began:indeed the first casualty was as early as 27 August 1914 when former regular George Vinton, recalled from reserve, died serving with the 2nd Royal Munster Fusiliers in the famous rearguard action at Etreux. Some were Territorials, many were among those who responded to Lord Kitchener's appeal. And so it goes, grinding stoically on through the long casualty lists of 1915 and 1916 into conscription and increasing difficulties at home in the latter years of the war. The story of every man is unfolded, many illustrated by photographs that help bring this study to life, forming the main body of the work. Some 430 pages are of the men's individual stories, for which the authors have drawn upon military service and operational records, local press and other Lancashire sources, family memories and documents. Men continued to die of causes attributable to their war service up to 1922, where "A District at War" ends other than to bring things right up to date with the most interesting story of the replaced village war memorial and the activities of remembrance that continue and will continue. How could it be otherwise?

A really splendid work that is a credit to the authors, the Hamilton Davies Trust that funded the work, and to Irlam and Cadishead themselves".

Well done Drummy and Pete!

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Totally agree with Chris.... a great book, a labour of love. Well done to the authors

ACE

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