'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...

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!

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!

Interest in the Great War centenary...

Unsurprisingly the amount of interest in the centenary is rising fast. In recent years I have given the occasional talk on the Swansea Workhouse or the Swansea Pals to local history societies.

In the next 12 months or so I am giving talks on Swansea in the Great War at Swansea Museum (twice), two libraries in Swansea, Swansea U3A, Newton WI, the Bynea and Llwynhendy history society, Blackpill History Society, Swansea Probus Club, Neath U3A and one or two others...

I don't charge a fee for local societies (Swansea/Neath area in the main) but instead ask for a modest donation to a local charity of my choice.

Hopefully the high interest will translate into book sales once 'Swansea in the Great War' hits the shops in October! I don't suppose JK Rowling is trembling in her boots, though...

So, how many lads with a Swansea link won Victoria Crosses in World War I? Answer: two.

William Fuller. Survived the war.
George Prowse. Didn't survive the war.

Brave men, indeed.

Bernard Lewis