Britannia Calls Foreword Dr David Nunn has made a major contribution to history with this very well researched study of the impact of the First World War on elementary education in Nottingham. In doing so, he goes beyond a discussion of teaching to a sensitive examination of the ways in which the war affected the lives of teachers and the taught. He is especially effective in recovering the stories of former teachers and pupils who died, making the ‘glorious dead’ very specific and thereby their ends more harrowing for the reader. As such, part of this book provides a tribute to some of Nottingham’s war dead. More generally, the book is a major contribution to the city’s history in the first half of the twentieth century. Yet it is much more than a very good local history. The book is alert to major themes of writing about the First World War. In providing a detailed assessment of the impact of the First World War in a major British city, he is offering a case study of national significance. It is one which helps to fill a major gap in the social history of 1914-18 Britain. Part of the fascination of the book lies in the wealth of contemporary sources used by David Nunn. Among these sources, the school log books stand out. With skill, he uses extracts to reveal the fostering of imperial and militaristic sentiments before 1914. He also vividly recalls the often great pressures that were placed on the remaining teachers in struggling to continue education in schools deprived of several members of staff and sometimes other resources. This book is a wonderful account of life in war time Nottingham. Chris Wrigley. Chris Wrigley is Professor of Modern History at the University of Nottingham and was president of the Historical Association between 1996 and 1999. Among his many publications are Lloyd George and the Challenge of Labour and acclaimed biographies of Arthur Henderson, Lloyd George, Churchill and A.J.P. Taylor. It is now available from Waterstones in Nottingham, from Amazon or David Nunn directly at david.nunn20@ntlworld.com