From the publisher:
The powerful, evocative story of the Football League’s return after the Second World War.
From acclaimed sportswriter Brian Halford – author of The Real Jeeves: The Cricketer Who Gave His Life For His Country and His Name to a Legend, among other titles.
After seven years of makeshift, regional competitions, almost a million people poured through the turnstiles on 31 August 1946 – a momentous day not just for football, but for a nation taking its first tentative steps towards normality after years of hardship and horror.
This enthralling and moving book includes:
- Chapters on each of the 44 matches from 31 August 1946, the day the Football League resumed after the Second World War
- Exhaustively researched accounts of every game, alongside vivid portraits of the clubs and communities they represented in a turbulent post-war Britain
- Stories of the many great managerial and playing careers that were launched on that historic day
- Insight into how clubs, supporters and local communities found the strength and resilience to survive the war’s tragedy and hardship and move forward into a new era
- Humorous – and sometime wonderfully surreal – stories drawn from newspapers of the time
A must-read for lovers of football and social history, Kicking Off Again is a tribute to the fortitude of the people who rose to the many challenges of life in late-1940s Britain.
The author:
Brian Halford is a highly regarded sports journalist from Warwick who has covered football and cricket for newspapers, radio and online since 1995. He has written ten books including The Real Jeeves: The Cricketer Who Gave His Life For His Country and His Name to a Legend, Past Imperfect: The History of Lincoln City Football Club, Warwickshire CCC: On This Day and Remembering Mary: A Story of Love, Laughter and Inspiration.
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