Simon Fowler

Why were there so many missing in the First World War? And what happened during the Second World War and in the other wars of the twentieth century? Both world wars produced casualties on an unprecedented scale. The missing were the victims of increasingly mechanised warfare. One minute they were there, the next they had vanished, vaporised by a shell.Known Unto God describes the exhaustive hunt for missing servicemen. It looks at how individual families reacted to the shocking news that their husband, son or brother was missing and how many mothers and wives could never accept the loss of their loved ones.This book reveals the bureaucratic process behind the hunt for the missing and demonstrates how vital information gathered from the Red Cross and other sources was carefully pieced together to discover the fate of these men.Simon Fowler considers the way we memorialise the missing through the Cenotaph, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the Menin Gate, Thiepval and many other monuments to the missing across the world.

It has never been easier to research what your parents and grandparents and family members did in the Second World War – whether they were in the armed forces, the Home Guard or worked in factories on the home front. For anyone looking to learn more about their family’s past, this book provides all the tools and information to get started, explains what is available online (as well as what is not) and outlines the pitfalls to avoid. A wide range of background information on the war itself will also help place your ancestors’ experiences within the wider context of the Second World War.This book provides a comprehensive review of all the available resources, where they are to be found and how to make the best use of them; not just for the United Kingdom, but also for the Commonwealth, Europe and the United States.An essential guide, it makes an increasingly important aspect of family history both interesting and accessible to anyone looking to learn more about their past.