268:, placed the book in the context of Hickman's earlier works about the BBC and National Service which used the same formula of using personal testimonies to show the variety of experiences of individuals dealing with state institutions. These ranged from workers who died or suffered serious injury to a few who were able to capitalise on the experience, for instance to develop a professional career in mining. There was a risk that relying so much on primary sources might be to accept too much at face value, but the "seductive" appeal of this approach could not be denied. Appell appreciated how the book fostered a discussion of wider issues, such as the different contributions to the war of the Bevin Boys and those fighting in uniform, upon which the conscripts often reflected, and the class and regional divisions in British society which were revealed when the conscripts were posted far from home.
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254:, over the subsequent 17 months more than 20,000 of them were informed that they had been designated to coal mining. Ken Tyre was severely injured in the coal mines. He told Hickman, that "being a Bevin Boy wrecked my life". A broken pelvis from a mining injury left him with lifelong urinary problems. Despite having a National Service Registration number, he had never been enlisted and was therefore not entitled to a war pension. Others felt fortunate not to have been killed in the war and some remained in mining after the war.
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whole mining community including the professional miners who worked alongside the Bevin Boys and remained once they returned home. Indeed, Appell concludes, with the decline of the mining industry in
Britain, one could say the whole mining industry is being forgotten, a theme that Hickman could have explored in the book, thus providing some of the wider context that it perhaps lacks.
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Appell notes that one disadvantage of relying on tightly-focussed personal memoirs is that the book makes little reference to the wider context of the war, perhaps reflecting the isolation of mining workers so that one could say that it was not just the Bevin Boys who were "forgotten" but in fact the
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and
National Service which used the same formula of using personal testimonies to show the variety of experiences of individuals dealing with state institutions. Reviewers have appreciated the insight offered by this approach but also noted that the book therefore neglects the wider context that a
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The first edition has 249 pages in nine chapters. Chapter eight, "On the black side", contains 16 pages of photographs and illustrations. After a page of acknowledgements, there is a list of 68 brief biographies of Bevin Boys, most of whom made written contributions to
Hickman's work, including
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found the book fascinating for revealing a story of which he knew little, noting particularly that the regular miners were not very patriotic which contrasted with the feelings of some of the conscripts who would have preferred to be fighting in the front line. Even if not at the
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The
Warwickshire Industrial Archaeology Society also appreciated how the book draws out the variety of the miners' personal experiences and backgrounds, who were drawn from all areas of life, "from labourers to barristers". Nigel Potter in
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who later became a member of
Parliament. The book ends with the notes for each chapter and an index. The second edition lists those Bevin Boys who had died since the first edition.
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was first published by The
History Press in 2008, with a second edition released in 2010. An ebook edition was published in 2016. The author, Tom Hickman, had previously written on
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is a nonfiction book authored by Tom
Hickman about the more than 20,000 young British men sent to work in coal mines, collectively known as the
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A group of coal miners and 'Bevin Boys' talk to a safety officer outside the colliery at
Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, in February 1945.
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text produced by a single author might offer and relies very heavily on the veracity of the primary sources used.
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The book is about the more than 20,000 young
British boys sent to work in coal mines, known as the
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and the BBC during the Second World War. Hickman was assisted in producing the book by
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and passed as fit were designated to army, navy or air force. At the instruction of
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Warwickshire
Industrial Archaeology Society. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
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The book relies on personal memoirs. James Appell in
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The Forgotten Conscript: A history of the Bevin Boys
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555:. Roundwood Press, Kineton, 1975. ISBN 0900093471
404:Auntie’s War: The BBC During The Second World War
389:, 22 September 2004. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
179:in 2008, with a second edition released in 2010.
421:, 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
562:. Brewin Books, Studley, 2007. ISBN 1858584159
317:. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press.
569:. Athena Press, London, 2004. ISBN 1844013456
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351:Called Up, Sent Down: the Bevin Boys' War
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22:Called Up Sent Down: The Bevin Boys' War
164:Called Up Sent Down: The Bevin Boys' War
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361:, WorldCat. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
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252:Minister of Labour and National Service
210:and the memoirs of former Bevin Boys.
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331:from the original on 14 January 2023
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632:Works about the history of mining
576:. Warwick Taylor. ISBN 1904706029
585:
560:As I Recall: A Bevin Boy's story
460:"Forgotten conscripts no longer"
503:Books. A few recommended reads!
1:
567:Bevin Boy: A reluctant miner
175:. It was first published by
465:The Oxonian Review of Books
265:The Oxonian Review of Books
184:The Oxonian Review of Books
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291:than working down a mine.
208:The Bevin Boys Association
33:Cover of the first edition
612:British non-fiction books
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617:Books about World War II
530:17 December 2022 at the
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357:25 December 2022 at the
16:2008 book by Tom Hickman
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607:2008 non-fiction books
458:Appell, James (2008).
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594:at Wikimedia Commons
406:, by Edward Stourton.
311:Hickman, Tom (2010).
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627:History Press books
538:, 118, pp. 153-154.
289:beaches of Normandy
200:Called Up Sent Down
195:Publication history
156:940.530886223340941
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374:, by Tom Hickman.
324:978-0-7509-7956-6
177:The History Press
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67:oral history
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551:David Day.
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622:Bevin Boys
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592:Bevin Boys
472:(3): 8–9.
418:The Herald
295:References
236:Bevin Boys
169:Bevin Boys
478:1756-3909
402:Review –
335:8 January
244:joined up
81:Publisher
528:Archived
506:Archived
409:Archived
377:Archived
355:Archived
329:Archived
47:Language
488:22 July
258:Reviews
214:Content
55:Subject
50:English
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39:Author
285:front
126:Pages
118:ebook
115:Print
490:2022
474:ISSN
337:2023
319:ISBN
138:ISBN
129:249
96:2008
188:BBC
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