ABSTRACT

Millions of men volunteered to leave home, hearth and family to go to a foreign land to fight in 1914, the start of the biggest war in British history. It was a war fought by soldier-citizens, millions strong, most of whom had volunteered willingly to go. They made up the army that first held, and then, in 1918, thrust back the German Army to win t

chapter 1|14 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|23 pages

The rush to colours, business as usual, and the coming of conscription

August 1914 to May 1916

chapter 3|11 pages

Currents within the flood

Who were the volunteers?

chapter 4|20 pages

‘A sense of the round world’

The workers, Britain, Europe, and the empire

chapter 5|35 pages

‘The monotony of the trivial round’

Enlistment and the escape from domesticity

chapter 7|21 pages

‘We were being patriotic. Or young and silly’

Enlistment and allegiance

chapter 8|7 pages

Conclusion