ABSTRACT
The discourse of serving King and Country developed from the outbreak of war. From February 1918 until the end of the war, the journal received increasingly strident correspondence from its readers about young, fit men who were retained in the police. Replacement of men who had been fighting since the beginning of the war was a constant theme. Letter writers also accused men in the Military Police of only serving at home to escape war service. The Police Review told its readers that due to the increased age range, a larger number of policemen and special constables “have become liable to military service, and many will doubtless be called,” saying the police service needed a “greatly increased number of recruits.” The new Act unleashed a torrent of criticism from policemen of their younger colleagues and also of their senior officers in the way those of military age were chosen and released.
