With Remembrance Day at the weekend, we selected 17 images which reveal the conflict closer to home.
They focus on everything from houses which were damaged in the two world wars to an example of how life went on in spite of all.
1. Such devastation
The factory of Tin Boxes Ltd was partly demolished when a direct hit in an air raid also caused a fire. Photo: Hartlepool Mail
2. Clearing up
The bombardment of Church Street in 1940. For 41 years,the Penny Bank had stood unharmed but on August 27, 1940, a Nazi air raid lasting from night fall until dawn targeted Hartlepool and the bank was among the buildings which were damaged. Photo: Hartlepool Mail
3. Evacuees in 1941
It was a part of life in the war that children were evacuated to the country. Here are three West Hartlepool evacuees pictured 'somewhere in the country' in July 1941. Photo: HM
4. VE Day and here's the news in the Mail
The front page of the Northern Daily Mail on VE Day. Photo: LH