ABSTRACT
In August 1921, wrote Elie Halevy, 'capitalism emerged the victor from a crisis that had lasted for two years'. 'Homes fit for heroes' was one of the main weapons adopted by the state in order to secure that victory. Although it was prematurely brought to a halt, the 'homes fit for heroes' campaign had important lasting consequences for public housing in Britain. In terms of both the scale and the quality of municipal housing, it created a precedent to which subsequent reformers could refer and, to some extent, a standard from which departures had to be justified. In mounting the housing campaign, the state had the benefit of the experience in emergency house-building gained at the Ministry of Munitions during the war. It was from the munitions programme that the 1919 campaign derived its subsidy system, its chief administrators and architects, and its doctrines on housing design.
