ABSTRACT

For a war fought almost entirely on foreign soil, the ‘Great War’ has had a remarkable impact on British society, no section of which was immune from its repercussions. Manners and morals changed as a result of the War. The working class and the nation came closer together, though this was due to what the ruling class now considered to constitute the nation rather than to a change of attitude among the working class ( Bourne 1989: 227). And there were other more obvious and visible changes to British life. For example, smoking increased in popularity, and men and women smoked more publicly than before. Swearing became more socially acceptable. For women, hemlines shortened and hair styles became more practical; more ‘mannish’ (ibid.: 235). More women worked, and there was a change in the nature of the work that women undertook. More important still was women’s belief in what they could do, and society’s belief in what they might be required to do. The consequences of all of this remain with us (ibid.: 198).