Recollections of WWII is a directory of oral history collections in the UK which contain recordings relating to the Second World War.
"This site has been created to highlight the existence of the thousands of oral history recordings that have been carried out with people who experienced the Second World War. The collections listed on this site contain memories of servicemen and women from all nations, evacuees, Holocaust survivors and civilians who experienced the war on the Home Front."
The collections can be browsed by geographical area or by subject. The majority can be easily accessed by researchers, often requiring only a few days notice. In many cases, these excellent sources of first hand testimony have not be reproduced in publications before, and can provide fresh insights into this period of history.
The author Matthew Smaldon is clearly extremely dedicated to his self-imposed task and has performed a tremendous amount of research in order to achieve an amazing website - and his work is obviously ongoing.
The WW2 Combined Operations website covers in depth the activities of the Combined Operations Command which made a huge contribution to the outcome of WW2 by planning, equipping and training for offensive amphibious operations between the evacuation at Dunkirk in June 1940 and the D-Day invasion of June 1944.
The Command drew on the best practices and expertise from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Air Force. Many of their top planners and experts formed the nucleus around which the Command grew into a formidable force.
Commando raids to major landings: Mulberry Harbours to Ice Ship in the Rocky mountains - in much detail - to name but a few.
Gold Beach 60 Years On is a Second World War re-enactment association that was set up to run a very successful event that took place in June 2004 at Ver sur Mer in Normandy, France.
The objectives of the organisation were to set up and run a Second World War Living History camp in Normandy for the June 2004 commemorations and to initiate and maintain a long-term working relationship between British WWII re-enactment groups and the communities close to Gold Beach.
"The event was such a great success for all concerned that we were persuaded to keep the organisation together and run future events for re-enactors of British WWII units. Which we did - elsewhere on this site you'll fiind photos from our 60th Anniversary Liberation of Jersey event in May 2005."
An excellent website GOLD BEACH 60 YEARS ON enables a cyber-visit.
As an appetiser you may care to visit our own GREAT GALLERY where, in Room 49, we display some of the activities of our Member M1CCF in connection with Gold Beach.
On 26th February 1935 in a field near Daventry, a simple experiment by
Robert Watson-Watt, a direct descendant of James Watt, and Arnold Wilkins
conclusively demonstrated that an aircraft up to 8 miles away could be
detected by radio. In May 1935 Watson-Watt, Wilkins and a small team of
scientists moved to Orfordness to conduct a series of historic experiments
over the sea that would lead to the world's first working 'RADAR' system. It
soon became apparent that Orfordness was inadequate for further research and
Bawdsey Manor Estate was purchased for £24,000.
In February 1936 the research scientists occupied Bawdsey Manor House and
the stables and outbuildings were converted into workshops. 240ft wooden
receiver towers and 360ft steel transmitter towers were built and Bawdsey
became the first Chain Home Radar Station. In May 1937 the site was handed
over to the RAF.
By the outbreak of World War 2 a chain of radar stations was in place around
the coast of Britain. These radar stations were to prove invaluable during
the war and particularly during the Battle of Britain. With 2,600 Luftwaffe
planes to the RAF's 640, it was the use of radar that saved the day.
The website of Bawdsey Radar Group is dedicated to the memory and history of these activities and all those who served there.
The Radar Pages website is dedicated to preserving the memory of R.A.F. air defence radar personnel and equipment. The web site attempts to capture the esprit
de corps of R.A.F. radar past and present and presents a catalogue of R.A.F.
equipment from the earliest days to the present. The site includes a Radar
Theory section for educational purposes and Oral History, a growing archive
of anecdotal accounts of R.A.F radar orientated life experiences. The website is also designed to provide a one-stop source for researchers,
historians and casual enquirers seeking information about R.A.F radar,
personnel and equipment. To aid this aim there are comprehensive lists of
contact addresses, websites and reading references.
The links from this site:
are in themselves a virtual library of fascinating material.
The right of Dick Barrett is identified as author of much of the content of
this website.
The many pages of early days of the Signal Service, Cryptography, the Telegraph Service, Spies, Scouts and Raiders, coupled with sections for the Young Signalists and a Signal Forum make the Signals Corps Association 1860 - 1865 website a delight to visit. We are grateful to Walt Mathers for this opportunity to link.
Michael Duffey presents FIRST WORLD WAR (The War to end all Wars): the purpose of this website is to provide an overview of the First World War. Necessarily a long-term undertaking - and approaching six years into the process - much remains to be covered.
He tells us that : "Whole aspects of the conflict are light on material at present - rest assured, this is not deliberate: in time it should all find its place on the site.
A word of caution however; this is by no means a professional website. It's authored as spare time permits and is intended at a general rather than academic readership.
Given this, it is not recommended that this site be used for academic reference purposes for school or university papers. This is not so much a lack of confidence in the overall accuracy of the site's content as an acknowledgement that material on the site has not been submitted for formal peer review."
There is much to be found under the headings of The Somme, Passchaendale, Verdun, Poison Gas, Poetry, Trench Warfare, Christmas Truce, Machine Guns, Commanders, Songs, Battlefield Tours, Battles, How it began, Maps, Memoirs & Diaries, Primary Documents, Vintage Photographs and much more.
WW2 PEOPLE'S WAR is a highly successful continuing website of the BBC. Wartime stories or those of one's family are being solicited for this ever-growing portal. Here you can track your family's military history,
uncover events in your area during WW2,
post a question to the Research Desks, read about
Calls to action,
become a volunteer and help run the site,
respond to members' questions and
catch up with the "People's War Herald"
Your stories are categorised by
World War Two was perhaps one of the most traumatic times in recent history. The fighting and hardships affecting the whole of Europe, the Pacific and having a knock on effect through out the world. Recently it was suggested that a project should be begun to collect the memories of people who have lived through the war. Not just the dramatic events which are usually recorded, but also the everyday memories. Another website WARTIME MEMORIES aims to be a collecting point for the project. If you lived through the war years please leave your memories on the form provided or send an e-mail. If you were born after the war and know someone who would like to share their stories, please ask them and add their tale to the collection.
MARCONI CALLING For the first time Marconi have opened their Archive to the public through the world wide web. MarconiCalling is a fascinating exploration of Guglielmo Marconi's life, his scientific discoveries, the impact of wireless and the development of modern communications. You will need Flash v.4 (or above) to view the site. The HTML, non-Flash version provides quick access to the online archive onlySo much data is now available online that genealogists and historical researchers are very well provided for - none more so than through the LONDON GAZETTE which (along with the Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes) have 350 years of history easily accessed. The site includes a search facility that takes users to the exact place in a PDF edition where a particular entry is printed. You may check the Awards of Gallantry medals, the promotion of officers and other fields simply by typing in a surname and bracketed dates.
The Commonwealth War
Graves Commission offers relatives of personnel killed in the 1914-18 War the opportunity to discover information from their database which has been available since mid-November on the Internet.
Alternatively, the postal address is 2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead,
Berkshire SL6 7DX
(Tel: 01628 634221).
Under the Royal Charter of
1917, the Commission is tasked with maintaining records of all those
who died whilst serving with Commonwealth Forces during the First
and Second World Wars. Staff are available to help enquirers
locate a particular grave or a name on a memorial - the service is
carried out free of charge for relatives of the casualty concerned,
but other enquirers have to pay a small fee.
Details required are
Surname, Rank, Forenames, Unit/Service, Date of Death, Age, Home Town,
Place of Death.
There are two other, similar, organisations who have websites which ought also to be visited -
and both are very efficient in their coverage.The Hohne ~ A Witness to Infamy website gives excellent coverage of what is known to many as "Belsen Concentration Camp" and Keith Williams is to be congratulated on his dedication and expertise in compiling this essential record.
In May 2004 he added the penultimate article to this brilliant website - 'An Uncertain Journey - Bergen-Belsen 1947' the deep link to which is http://historyofhohne.ghgrafix.co.uk/page_part6.htm. The next article, the last in the series looking at the Camp during the Displaced Persons era of 1945-1950, will look at the life in the Camp during those last two years before the gates of Bergen-Belsen were finally shut as a refugee camp.
We are grateful to Keith who also notifies us of an excellent article about the Russian POW Camps located on Lueneburger Heide during World War II. The well illustrated article can be found at http://www.lostplaces.de/sowjet
It is in German but it is well worth studying.
The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority also has a very strong website: "Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, is the Jewish people’s memorial to the murdered Six Million and symbolizes the ongoing confrontation with the rupture engendered by the Holocaust."
Old BBC EQUIPMENT and MEMORIES from contributors all of whom are retired from the Corporation are awesome in the nostalgic atmosphere they so clearly conjure in one's mind - a truly fascinating website - and there are links back to Alexander Palace 1952 etc. A lovely site to browse and thoroughly recommended.
If you'd like to see a 200ft "Jimmy" (and others including the Australian Imperial Force badge) - then go to the FOVANT BADGES website. Here are excellent copies of actual badges etched into the chalk hillside to catch the eye and the attention of modern travellers along the ancient road we call the A30 near Fovant in Wiltshire. Five are originals from the 1914-18 period but three were since added - the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry and the Wiltshire Regiment in the early 1950s and the Royal Corps of Signals in 1970. These hillside figures symbolise thousands of men who wished not to be forgotten - but were realistic about their own probable sacrifice. We already have lost many of the monuments. If we forget our past we jeopardise our own future.