The Cotswolds at war

These might be peaceful hills and vales, but our contribution to the war effort was considerable

- Stephen Roberts

It was the most destructive war in human history. It lasted for six years and cost a conservative estimate of 60 million lives, the majority of them non-combatants. It’s easy to understand why politicians were keen to avoid a WW3 once WW2 had finally been put to bed. It was also easy to understand why those who’d survived wanted to celebrate the end of that conflict. No doubt those revelries went on long into the night in the Cotswolds, as everywhere else.

Two years ago, we marked a century since the end of the Great War. With Remembrance Sunday (November 8) and Armistice Day (Wednesday, November 11) around the corner once more, I’m turning the clock back to the 1939-45 war, which finally came to an end 75 years ago this year. I want to consider not just what a shattering experience it was and therefore why we should never forget it, but also what effect it had on the Cotswolds.

As I began writing this in April, we’re in the midst of the Corona Virus epidemic, which is already looking like it could be the greatest crisis facing this country since the war, one of those extremely rare occasions when normal life is swept away. I’ve sometimes wondered what living through a war must be like. It feels like we’re getting an inkling right now.