A scarce and highly collectible post WW2 British Home Front publication, this is It Happened Here – the official story of Civil Defence in Wanstead & Woodford during the years 1939–1945.

Issued in the late 1940s by the Borough Council of Wanstead & Woodford, this fascinating period book records the local wartime experience in remarkable detail. Covering air raids, bomb damage, rescue operations, casualty services, ARP activity, wartime administration and the enormous efforts made by ordinary civilians, it provides a powerful insight into how one London borough endured the war years.

Included within is a fold-out bomb damage map, a particularly desirable feature that helps bring the local Blitz story to life. The book also contains an official message from Winston Churchill, along with photographs, statistics, personnel lists and contemporary records that make this far more than a standard history book. It is an authentic primary-source style Home Front record from the immediate post-war era.

Pieces such as this appeal to collectors of WW2 Home Front material, London Blitz history, Civil Defence memorabilia, ARP items and local wartime ephemera. It is the sort of item that rarely surfaces compared with more common wartime books.

Condition is good overall for age and type, with honest wear and handling marks to the covers, spine wear from use, and age-related signs of storage. There is also a light historic moisture mark visible to one interior page margin, as shown, along with general age toning consistent with period paper stock. The fold-out map is present. Towards the rear personnel listing pages, a number of names have been marked with light pencil check marks by a previous owner. A solid and very displayable original example with excellent research and collector value.