ABSTRACT
Perceptions of the Jewish soldier in wartime Britain had their foundation in the decades before 1914. Since the Napoleonic wars, Britain had been unique among the combatant nations of the First World War in maintaining its military manpower on a voluntary basis until early 1916.1 Few British Jews had been attracted to join the Regular Army in this period, although a considerable number had fought as Reservists in the Boer War to confirm their patriotism. Acknowledging their contribution, Lord Roberts, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, encouraged more young Jews to enter military service in order to raise their standard of ‘manliness’ and ‘manly duty’, and bring them into closer touch with the general population.2 In 1914, when the Jewish population in Britain was estimated to be between 250,000 and 300,000, there were 400 Jews in the Regular British Army of just under a quarter of a million men.3
