'Swansea in the Great War' - where can you buy it?

'Swansea in the Great War' is now in print (paperback, 224 pages and 200 images) though copies are currently sitting in a warehouse in Barnsley, home of Pen and Sword Books...

I understand that it will start to appear in the local bookshops in early October. Pen and Sword books don't usually seem to appear in W.H. Smith for some reason, though Waterstones do stock them. It'll be with the on-line book sellers too, at what price I don't know.

I'll be selling copies in the Civic Centre, Swansea (County Hall) between 13.15 and 16.30 on Wednesday 22 October, first come, first served (contact me via this site if you wish to reserve a copy or copies for collection on the day).

The book retails at £12.99 but I'll be selling it for £10.

I'll also be selling the book for a tenner at the Swansea Local History Book Fair at Swansea Museum on Saturday 25 October 2014 between 10.00 and 16.00. Again, first come, first served and get in touch to reserve a copy...

Worth a look on Monday 25 August 2014...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04fpy63

The Long, Long Trail...

‘The Long, Long Trail’ was a popular song of the Great War era.

I have been travelling down my own ‘long, long trail’ for over a year now though the end is finally in sight. Today the ‘final’ proofs of ‘Swansea in the Great War’ arrived in the modern manner – no longer sent as large pages via Royal Mail but now as a low-res PDF attachment to an e-mail!

The main task is to check that the page numbers inserted into the index actually match the page numbers that the index entries appear on. So a small, but important, part of the process.

I plan to turn that around in a day or two after which its back to the publisher’s and then off to the presses for an early October publication! Phew!

Here endeth the Blog...

This blog was set up to gather interest and information relevant to Swansea in the Great War, as I researched for a book. As the finished work is now with the publisher (prior to publication in October 2014) the need for the blog has essentially passed. Any new information is, I'm afraid, too late for inclusion on the publication though please contact me with your stories - they are always of interest.

For that reason there will be very few updates appearing here until the book comes out.

You can see more about me at:

http://bernardlewisauthor.wordpress.com/

And I also have this site under development...

https://swanseabattalion.wordpress.com

Feel free to get in touch with any information or comments!

Bernard Lewis

First proofs received...the checking commences.

The first proofs for 'Swansea in the Great War' arrived from the publisher today and I (and my wife!) need to check them very carefully. Even with modern day computer techniques there is plenty of room for error when e.g. the images are inserted into the text for the first time. The images obviously have to appear in the right places and accompanied by the right captions - not alway as easy as it sounds in a 228 page document!

After the first proofs are checked they go back to the publisher for correction and then the second and final proofs come back to me so that I (yes, I) can complete the index. Getting published is an enjoyable if hard slog!

Book launch in October 2014!

It has been confirmed that 'Swansea in the Great War' will be launched at the Civic Centre in Swansea before an invited audience on 22 October 2014. Both the Lord Lieutenant of West Glamorgan and the Lord Mayor of Swansea have indicated that they will be in attendance, with the Lord Mayor kindly providing light refreshments for guests.

Great War Swansea - TV documentary

I have been contracted to act as adviser/researcher to BBC Wales for its forthcoming documentary on Great War Swansea.

I met with the producer this week and, as part of the contract, I am providing the Beeb with material from my forthcoming book, Swansea in the Great War, which will be published in October 2014. The documentary will be fronted by Eddie Butler and will be a half hour in length.

The BBC will also be looking at issues that I may not have covered though I suspect that my content will save them a lot of digging in the archives!