My latest completed railway proofreading project for Pen & Sword Books was a book on a hitherto neglected subject, that of travel on the domestic railway system during the Second World War. Author Peter Steer has drawn on many different sources in order to write a book challenging what has been the accepted view about railway travel and other, wider issues from this moment in history. As an example, many people still chose to take summer holidays, despite the Government policy to limit what it saw as ‘unnecessary’ travel. Working through the manuscript, there appeared to always be conflicting requirements between the Government and the Railway Executive Committee (REC), the body overseeing railway activity, on this policy. Any downturn in so-called leisure travel was more than offset by rising passenger numbers for three main reasons: those serving in the armed forces, those visiting evacuated children and those working at dispersed factories. Mr Steer has including a cross-section of unfamiliar illustrations and a series of graphs underlining various points as back-up information. An unusual work which should appeal both to railway enthusiasts and historians.
