A NEW book which details the sacrifices of miners in the First World War is to be launched at Barnsley Town Hall in June.

Miners and the Great War, written by mining historian Brian Elliott, shares the untold stories sampled from around half a million coal miners, some of whom worked in Barnsley when war broke out in 1914.

Brian said: “I was a bit reluctant when I started writing the book because it’s such a huge task, but I’ve had plenty of help from military historians.

“Miners made up a huge home front during the Great War, from Scotland right down to the south coast.”

Brian went through over 800 case studies to bring the book together, the first to study miners’ roles in the war in depth.

The book also covers lesser-known aspects of the Great War, including conscientious objectors, prisoners-of-war and the ‘empty promises’ and Spanish flu pandemic that affected post-war mining communities like Barnsley.

Brian added: “I decided to find as many case studies as possible while researching, to make it as connective as possible for the people reading.

“I managed to get information on individuals that I could weave into the book, whilst also writing chapters on subjects that haven’t been talked about as much in the past.”

The book will have two launches this year - at the National Mining Museum for England on May 10, and in the Barnsley Council chamber on June 13.

The foreword for the book was written by the late Sir Michael Parkinson, who became friends with Brian during the writing and research process.

Brian added: “I’m really looking forward to coming back to Barnsley, I’ve written lot about the town so I guess I’m still well known locally.

“It feels ideal and the right place to be, as the book takes so many case studies of people from the town.”

You can order copies of the book directly from the Barnsley based publisher Pen & Sword Books here.