Mr. Brown's War : Day by Day Through the Second World War

Richard Brown - a 'member of the public' if ever there was one - kept a personal diary throughout the whole of the Second World War. In it he recorded the war news as he perceived it, gleaned from newspapers, the wireless and hearsay. Concurrent with this narrative of events he recorded a fascinating image of life in wartime Britain - rationing, blackout restrictions, interrupted sleep, the prospect of evacuation and the enormous burden placed on those civilians coping with a full-time job and the extra demands of war work. In addition to his reserved occupation as a draughtsman Richard Brown also 'did his bit' for the war effort as an air-raid warden, member of the Home Guard and occasional Fire.