ABSTRACT
The declaration of war in August 1914 had a remarkable effect, at least for a time, on the various discordant factions of pre-war Britain. Political parties, trade unions, the Irish and the suffragettes saw the war as a transcendent cause to unify and direct their energies against a common enemy. In time of war the course of action became for men quite simple and straightforward: the state summoned them and organised them. The sense of disquiet was further compounded by the Pankhursts’ new and public commitment to recruiting for the armed services. Some feminists in fact refused to involve themselves at all in the war effort, believing pacifism to be inherent in feminism. Some feminists in fact refused to involve themselves at all in the war effort, believing pacifism to be inherent in feminism.
