No fewer than four new book titles covering dramatic 20th
century history events in the local area will be available for Christmas
presents in association with the Leatherhead & District Local History Society.
First to appear in the autumn was Little Bookham in World War 1 by Vivien White. This is based on research
for the 2014 Heritage Weekend exhibition that marked the centenary of the start
of the Great War and was restaged in September
2018 to cover the end. It tells the story of this tiny community, lists all
those local men known to have fought in the war, and focuses in particular on a
few of those individuals who lost their lives.
Second to appear was Struggle
and Suffrage – Women’s Lives in Leatherhead 1850-1950 by Lorraine Spindler,
published to mark the centenary of the first Parliamentary votes for women in
1918. How did the women of Leatherhead help to
achieve the vote that year and how closely had the suffrage movement touched the
lives of local women up to that point? The book looks at the daily struggles of local women over a century,
considering how education,
war, romance, household responsibilities, religion and entertainment all
evolved, enabling women to come out from the shadows.
Also marking the centenary of the Armistice, the third new book
is A Salute to Fetcham by Lyn Rozier
and Janice Steele of the Fetcham U3A. This is a tribute both to the villagers who
stayed at home in what was also then a tiny rural community and those who were
engaged in the forces. It outlines the sacrifices made by local volunteers, some
of whom served as nursing orderlies in the military hospitals and to a young
woman who enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.
Finally about to appear is Memories of Ashtead, based on interviews with surviving residents
who recall childhood there during World War 2. This has a personal foreword written
by TV personality Bamber Gascoigne who was among the youngsters concerned.
The three books about wartime in
local villages will be available for purchase at Barton’s Bookshop in
Leatherhead and the Wishing Well in Bookham. A Salute to Fetcham is also available at The Kitshop in Fetcham. Struggle and Suffrage, published by Pen
& Sword, is available both in shops and via Amazon. They will all also be
available at Leatherhead
Museum