ABSTRACT
Historiography of First World War veterans retains disproportionate emphasis upon the invalided and their care, treatments and lives after the war. Although such research is extremely important, it serves to diminish both the notion and the fact that many able-bodied British and Irish veterans also required State assistance, charitable help and public attention after the war. Such men often struggled to return to civilian society and employment following their discharge or demobilisation. This chapter builds upon the studies of invalided ex-servicemen and their welfare and care, as well as the broader social impacts of the Great War on British and Irish society, by highlighting and analysing the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA) in its provision of welfare to ex-servicemen and their families between 1919 and 1921. In doing so it assesses SSAFA’s relationship with ex-servicemen in the immediate post-war years; how that relationship was manifest in the associations’ activities; and where this post-war work fitted within SSAFA’s pre-war relationship with the British Armed Forces as established prior to and during the First World War.
