A personal collection of newspaper cuttings provides insights into the local effects of WWII

William Emmett, Mayor of Lyme Regis from 1937-1945, kept scrapbooks of press cuttings that mentioned his activities for the entire 8 years. As he was also a local Justice of the Peace, these provide interesting insights into many aspects of the life of the town. The first two books for instance, show the build-up to the outbreak of war, starting with the Council receiving the appeal for ARP volunteers in March 1938 - they were still short of the desired number by May 1939, when the town was advised that it was likely to be allocated 700 evacuated children.

A black-out practice scheduled for August 10th 1939 was vociferously opposed as an unreasonable request at the height of the holiday season, so the Council asked for it to be postponed to mid September. Once war was declared and the black-out regulations were in force, the local police and courts were kept busy dealing with those reported to have been letting lights be seen. Browse here to see what intrigues you.