This lecture analyses the causes, developments and consequences of three themes in Southend’s history 100 years ago: women, air raids, and civilian detainees and POWs.

We will examine how the role of women dramatically changed locally during the war years, from munitions work to driving trams. What were the perceptions at the time and were women applauded or ridiculed? The nature of aerial warfare will also be examined, the consequences on the ground, and the local developments that revolutionised warfare to this day. What happened to the “baby killers” and was the first blitz really a prelude for 1940? Finally, the 4900 civilian and military prisoners in Southend between 1914 and 1915 will be explored: the conditions in which they were housed and how the local population regarded them.