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WARTIME GALLERY

Welcome to the Wartime Gallery. In this section there are twelve films consisting of hundreds of classic photographs featuring the county during the war years. This is probably the largest collection of such photographs that have ever been published. We hope that you find the Wartime Gallery interesting and informative.

WARTIME GALLERY
Cumbria At War Part 1
07:36

Cumbria At War Part 1

This is the start of a twelve part series that looks at the county on the home front. In this first section we look at the Great War and how total war affected the county from 1914 to 1918.
Cumbria At War Part 2
06:58

Cumbria At War Part 2

In this section we find out how the county started to prepare for the Second World War. We see the ominous German airship, Hindenburg flying over Barrow in 1937 and the early evacuees and air raid precautions.
Cumbria At War Part 3
05:42

Cumbria At War Part 3

This section of the county’s home front concentrates on the threat of invasion, rationing, raising war funds and the fear of poison gas.
Cumbria At War Part 4
07:36

Cumbria At War Part 4

Cinemas provided essential entertainment during the bleak war years, many factories were turned over to help the war effort and housewives were asked to help in the home with the Make Do and Mend campaign.
Cumbria At War Part 5
05:22

Cumbria At War Part 5

Digging for Victory was an important part of the war effort. Many women became Land Girls and also Lumber Jills were enrolled to cultivate the county’s woodlands.
Cumbria At War Part 6
04:43

Cumbria At War Part 6

Cumbria was important to the war effort in all sorts of ways. In part six we find out about the Sunderland Flying Boat factory on the shores of Windermere and the crucial part the aircraft played in the battle against the U-boats.
Cumbria At War Part 7
07:36

Cumbria At War Part 7

Barrow was vital to the war effort as a ship building centre. We see some of the vessels constructed there and also the amazing story of how a captured German U-boat was sent back to sea to fight the Nazis.
Cumbria At War Part 8
05:25

Cumbria At War Part 8

Sadly Barrow was badly blitzed during the war. About a hundred people died in 1941 and many buildings were damaged. The tragedy and aftermath was captured by wartime photographers.
Cumbria At War Part 9
05:07

Cumbria At War Part 9

Although Cumbria was largely away from the front line, the county was scattered with airfields. They played a pivotal role in the war in the air … but not without tragedy.
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