Local War History
The Home Front in Wartime Leicestershire
Leicestershire’s home front between 1939 and 1945 reflected the county’s place at the centre of England, its combination of industry and farming, and its busy road and rail connections. Leicester supplied clothing, footwear, engineering goods and processed food. The coalfield around Coalville provided fuel,…
Leicestershire During the Second World War
When war began in September 1939, Leicestershire combined a densely populated industrial centre with market towns, mining communities and a broad agricultural hinterland. Leicester was known for hosiery, knitwear, footwear and engineering. Loughborough, Hinckley, Coalville, Market Harborough and Melton Mowbray supported manufacturing, mining, food…
Leicestershire During the First World War
When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, Leicestershire was a county of factories, mines, farms and expanding market towns. Leicester, then a county borough administered separately from the county, remained the region’s commercial and manufacturing centre. Railways, roads, employment and family…