HYTHE IN THE GREAT WAR

The book looks at the military aspect of the war, from the town's perspective, looking at such matters as how many men from the town had become casualties, year by year, and the knock on effect that had on their families. It looks closely at those mentioned on the towns War Memorial, and where relevant, their families as well, because many families had more than one son go off to fight in the war. It looks at the part the town actually played in the war, such as the British Armies School of Musketry and the number of men who were trained there before being sent off to fight in the war, and put in to practice what they had learned at Hythe. Also explored is everyday life in Hythe, people simply going about their day to day existence and what constituted normality during war time. On 25 May 1917, 23 German Gotha bomber aircraft carried out raids over numerous Kent towns including Hythe, where a total of 19 bombs were dropped, which by doing so, brought the war directly to the townspeople. If anybody needed reminding that there was a war going on, the events of 25 May 1917 were that and more.