Read ebook Steaming to Victory : How Britain's Railways Won the War by Michael Williams in FB2, PDF
9781848093140 English 1848093144 In the seven decades since the darkest moments of World War II, it seems every tenebrous corner of the conflict has been laid bare, prodded, and examined from every perspective of military and social history. But there is a story that has hitherto been largely overlooked. It is a tale of quiet heroism, a story of ordinary people who fought, with enormous self-sacrifice, not with tanks and guns, but with elbow grease and determination. It is the story of the British railways and, above all, the extraordinary men and women who kept them running from 1939 to 1945. Churchill himself certainly did not underestimate their importance to the wartime story when, in 1943, he praised "the unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of railwaymen of all ranks in contributing so largely towards the final victory." The railway system during World War II was the lifeline of the nation, replacing vulnerable road transport and merchant shipping. The railways mobilized troops, transported munitions, evacuated children from cities, and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Nearly 400 railway workers were killed at their posts, and 2,400 were injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action . The trains themselves played just as vital a role. The famous Flying Scotsman train delivered its passengers to safety after being pounded by German bombers and strafed with gunfire from the air. There were astonishing feats of engineering, restoring tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. Trains transported millions to and from work each day and sheltered them on underground platforms at night, a refuge from the bombs above. Without the railways, there would have been no Dunkirk evacuation and no D-Day. Michael Williams, author of the celebrated book On the Slow Train , has written an important and timely book using original research and over a hundred new personal interviews. This is their story., The definitive history of the British railways during the Second World War. The railway system during World War 2 was the lifeline of the nation, replacing road transport -- vulnerable to fuel shortages -- and merchant shipping -- an easy target for the Luftwaffe. By contrast, the railways were harder to bomb and not so difficult to repair. Astonishing feats of engineering restored tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. The railways mobilised the troops, transported the munitions, evacuated the children from the cities and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Railwaymen and women were so vital to the war effort that they were not allowed to join up -- though many did so, defying the ban and performing outstanding acts of heroism. Nearly 400 workers were killed at their posts and another 2,400 injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action. Even the locomotives were sometimes celebrated as heroes -- one old engine named Victoria was credited with bringing down an enemy aircraft when its boiler exploded during the attack and caused the plane to crash. There were quite astonishing feats of moving goods and people. During one weekend in September 1939, more than 1.3 million frightened and confused children were evacuated to the countryside from the cities. The following year, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk saw more than 600 special trains transporting 319,000 troops from Dover to camps and hospitals throughout Britain. In the two months leading up to D-Day, 24,459 special trains were scheduled and nearly 3,700 ran in the week before D-Day itself. This is a story of courage, ingenuity and fortitude, which has not been told before.
9781848093140 English 1848093144 In the seven decades since the darkest moments of World War II, it seems every tenebrous corner of the conflict has been laid bare, prodded, and examined from every perspective of military and social history. But there is a story that has hitherto been largely overlooked. It is a tale of quiet heroism, a story of ordinary people who fought, with enormous self-sacrifice, not with tanks and guns, but with elbow grease and determination. It is the story of the British railways and, above all, the extraordinary men and women who kept them running from 1939 to 1945. Churchill himself certainly did not underestimate their importance to the wartime story when, in 1943, he praised "the unwavering courage and constant resourcefulness of railwaymen of all ranks in contributing so largely towards the final victory." The railway system during World War II was the lifeline of the nation, replacing vulnerable road transport and merchant shipping. The railways mobilized troops, transported munitions, evacuated children from cities, and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Nearly 400 railway workers were killed at their posts, and 2,400 were injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action . The trains themselves played just as vital a role. The famous Flying Scotsman train delivered its passengers to safety after being pounded by German bombers and strafed with gunfire from the air. There were astonishing feats of engineering, restoring tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. Trains transported millions to and from work each day and sheltered them on underground platforms at night, a refuge from the bombs above. Without the railways, there would have been no Dunkirk evacuation and no D-Day. Michael Williams, author of the celebrated book On the Slow Train , has written an important and timely book using original research and over a hundred new personal interviews. This is their story., The definitive history of the British railways during the Second World War. The railway system during World War 2 was the lifeline of the nation, replacing road transport -- vulnerable to fuel shortages -- and merchant shipping -- an easy target for the Luftwaffe. By contrast, the railways were harder to bomb and not so difficult to repair. Astonishing feats of engineering restored tracks within hours and bridges and viaducts within days. The railways mobilised the troops, transported the munitions, evacuated the children from the cities and kept vital food supplies moving where other forms of transport failed. Railwaymen and women were so vital to the war effort that they were not allowed to join up -- though many did so, defying the ban and performing outstanding acts of heroism. Nearly 400 workers were killed at their posts and another 2,400 injured in the line of duty. Another 3,500 railwaymen and women died in action. Even the locomotives were sometimes celebrated as heroes -- one old engine named Victoria was credited with bringing down an enemy aircraft when its boiler exploded during the attack and caused the plane to crash. There were quite astonishing feats of moving goods and people. During one weekend in September 1939, more than 1.3 million frightened and confused children were evacuated to the countryside from the cities. The following year, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk saw more than 600 special trains transporting 319,000 troops from Dover to camps and hospitals throughout Britain. In the two months leading up to D-Day, 24,459 special trains were scheduled and nearly 3,700 ran in the week before D-Day itself. This is a story of courage, ingenuity and fortitude, which has not been told before.