Newark in the Great War

Newark-on-Trent's position at the crossroads of the Great North Road and Fosse Way plus the Great North Eastern and Midland railway lines left inhabitants endlessly fearful that it would be a prime target when rather than if the Germans attacked England from the North Sea. The East Midlands town had been besieged during the Civil War; and the Vicar of the Parish Church lost no time in August 1914 urging the menfolk to keep the enemy far from the town's boundaries. Thousands left their rat-invest