EVERY year communities across Powys come together to remember the fallen of the great wars of the 20th century.
The County Times shares a handful of pictures from Powys life during 1939 to 1941 as a snapshot of life in the area during these turbulent years.
More than one million British military personnel died during the First and Second World Wars, with the First World War alone accounting for 886,000 fatalities. Nearly 70,000 British civilians also lost their lives, the great majority during the Second World War.
Montgomeryshire War Weapons Week in Welshpool in 1941. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Evacuees in Montgomeryshire in 1939. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Conscription was introduced for all British men between the ages of 18 and 41 from the outbreak of war. Some men were exempt because they were in ‘reserved occupations’ which were important for the war effort.
Montgomeryshire War Weapons Week in Newtown in 1941. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Evacuees in Montgomeryshire in 1939. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
By the end of the war, some five million British men and women were in uniform. Of these, perhaps 300,000 were Welsh.
Wages increased and unemployment virtually disappeared but working hours grew longer, entertainments were curtailed and the blackout cast a gloom over the evenings and there were shortages of everything from food and clothes to beer and paper.
Llanfyllin ARP wardens in 1940. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Montgomeryshire War Weapons Week in 1941. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Propaganda encouraged women to join the war effort in factories, farms and the forces and they were conscripted to do so from 1942. Equally important was their role as mothers, housewives and volunteers, helping with everything from dealing with air raids and evacuees to cooking and cleaning for the troops.
Ian Williams of Trewern with his V for victory potato in 1941. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Montgomeryshire War Weapons Week in Welshpool in 1941. Picture: Geoff Charles Collection.
Many thousands of people, along with vital institutions and priceless historical objects, were evacuated to Wales for safety in the Second World War.
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