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Book on wartime Portsmouth hits record sales

A book about Portsmouth during the Second World War has exceeeded all expectations for sales since it was published last year.

On sale since April 2007, 'Portsmouth at War' gives a vivid pictorial account of events in the city from 1939 to 1945 and the effect on people living there at the time.

Part of a series that typically sells around 900 copies per book in the first year following publication, so far 3,700 copies of 'Portsmouth at War' have been sold - more than four times as many as the publishers expected.

Illustrated with around 200 original photographs and historical documents from the archives of the city's museums and records service, the book includes many pictures never before seen by the public. All royalties from the book go towards the supporting the work of the museums and records service.

Author Andrew Whitmarsh said: "I'm very pleased at how well the book is doing. It shows what a significant part the Second World War played in local people's lives - and also what an important role Portsmouth played in wartime events. The book has been enjoyed by people who lived through the wartime years, and also younger generations who want to find out more about that time."

Covering all aspects of wartime life, from major events like the Blitz and the city's contribution to the D-Day landings, the book highlights the impact of war on individual people - such as rationing, evacuees, air raid shelters, and family members serving overseas or being killed, through to the end of the war and the reconstruction of the city.

The museums service has been collecting this material over the past six decades, and while some of it has been used in exhibitions and displays, much of it is now being made available for the first time. Many of the photographs are local people's personal snapshots, so the book is very much about what the war was like for them, as well as events in the city as a whole. The book also uses some photographs from the archives of The News.

The book was researched and written by Andrew Whitmarsh, Portsmouth Museums & Records Service's Military History Officer and curator of the D-Day Museum.

Published by The History Press Ltd (formerly Tempus Publishing) in their 'Images of England' series (www.thehistorypress.co.uk), ISBN: 9780752442969.

The book is available from the City Museum & Records Office and the D-Day Museum, as well as local bookshops.

Date : 18 April 2008