Shropshire Routes to Roots

1. Preparation for war

When was World War II?

World War II began in Europe in 1939 and lasted for almost 6 years, ending in 1945. It started as a conflict between Germany and the Alliance, or partnership, of Britain, Poland and France. Eventually it involved most of the Nations of the World. World War II was the most destructive war in the history of the world. It was different to previous wars. The use of air power meant that it was not just the Armed Forces which were involved in the conflict, but the whole population was threatened.

How did the preparations for war affect the people and children of Oswestry?

Britain began preparing for war well before 1939. The Government feared that ordinary people would suffer terribly from bombing so they planned to do four things in case war was declared.

The images below link to four separate pages explaining about how the preparations for War would have affected you if you lived around Oswestry.

How were we to protect ourselves from the bombs?	Why did everyone carry a gas mask?	Why did the lights go out at night?	Why was evacuation necessary?
Read about bombs, in a new window [Shropshire Archives]	Read about gas, in a new window [Reproduced with kind permission of the Oswestry and Border Counties Advertiser]	Read about the blackout, in a new window [Shropshire Archives]	Read about evacuation, in a new window [Reproduced with kind permission of Shropshire Newspapers]
(Note: All the above pages load in a new browser window)

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