The First World War had innumerable consequences for all aspects of society; universities and education being no exception. This book details the myriad impacts of the war on British universities: telling how universities survived the war, their contribution to the war effort and the changes that the war itself brought about. In doing so, the author highlights the changing relationship between universities and government: arguing that a transformation took place during these years, that saw universities moving from a relatively closed world pre-1914 to a more active and open role within the national economy and society. The author makes extensive use of original documentary material to paint a vivid picture of the experiences of British universities during the war years, combining academic analysis with contemporary accounts and descriptions. This uniquely researched book will appeal to students and scholars of the history of higher education, social history and the First World War.

The First World War has left its imprint on British society and the popular imagination to an extent almost unparalleled in modern history. Its legacy of mass death, mechanized slaughter, propaganda, and disillusionment swept away long-standing romanticized images of warfare, and continues to haunt the modern consciousness. Focusing on the lives of ordinary Britons, George Robb's engaging new study seeks to comprehend what it meant for an entire society to undergo the tremendous shocks and demands of total war; how it attempted to make sense of the conflict, explain it to others, and deal with the war's legacies. British Culture and the First World War - examines the war's impact on ideologies of race, class and gender, the government's efforts to manage news and to promote patriotism, the role of the arts and sciences, and the commemoration of the war in the decades since - Synthesizes much of the best and most recent scholarship on the social and cultural history of the war. - Reclaims a great deal of neglected or forgotten popular cultural sources such as films, cartoons, juvenile literature and pulp fiction. Compact but comprehensive, this accessible and refreshing text is essential reading for anyone interested in British society and culture during the turbulent years of the First World War.

The British Empire played a crucial part in the First World War, supplying hundreds of thousands of soldiers and labourers as well as a range of essential resources, from foodstuffs to minerals, mules, and munitions. In turn, many imperial territories were deeply affected by wartime phenomena, such as inflation, food shortages, combat, and the presence of large numbers of foreign troops. This collection offers a comprehensive selection of essays illuminating the extent of the Empire’s war contribution and experience, and the richness of scholarly research on the subject. Whether supporting British military operations, aiding the British imperial economy, or experiencing significant wartime effects on the home fronts of the Empire, the war had a profound impact on the colonies and their people. The chapters in this volume were originally published in Australian Historical Studies, The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, First World War Studies or The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.

The First World War has been mythologized since 1918, and many paradigmatic views of it - that it was pointless, that brave soldiers were needlessly sacrificed - are deeply embedded in the British consciousness. More than in any other country, these collective British memories were influenced by the experiences and the work of writers, painters and musicians. This book revisits the British experience of the War through the eyes and ears of a diverse group of carefully selected novelists, poets, composers and painters. It examines how they reacted to and portrayed their experiences in the trenches on the Western Front, in distant theatres of war and on the home front, in words, pictures and music that would have a profound influence on subsequent British perceptions of the war. Rupert Brooke, Vera Brittain, Richard Nevinson, Paul Nash, Edward Elgar and T. E. Lawrence are amongst the figures discussed in this original exploration of the First World War and British collective memory. The book includes illustrations and maps to aid further study and research.

This second edition of the classic bestseller by J.M. Winter, originally published by Macmillan in 1985, includes a new and up-to-date introduction. This was the first major study to highlight the paradox that a conflict that killed or maimed over two million men, also created conditions which improved the health of the civilian population. Examining both the war and its aftermath, Dr Winter surveys not only trends in population and the impact of the conflict on an entire generation, but also, more profoundly, the meaning of the literature of the period.

A comprehensive new history of the shaping and performance of the British army during the First World War.

World War I was the greatest cataclysm Europe had ever known, directly involving 61 million troops from 16 nations. Yet the history of the war and the reasons it started and spread so rapidly were vastly more complex than the players realized. Written by highly respected authorities, this book discusses the literature on all aspects of the war, making it an excellent starting point for anyone seeking guidance to the immense, and often daunting, body of World War I literature. The struggle mobilized manpower from home, troops from the colonies abroad, and—in most countries-women as well as men. Governments increasingly intervened in everyday life. New weapons and organizational structures were developed. Yet the history of the war and the reasons it started and spread so rapidly were vastly more complex than the players realized. Written by highly respected authorities, this book discusses the literature on all aspects of the war. Dennis Showalter's opening chapter covers the controversial issue of the war's origins—a complex subject that has been much debated by historians. Ensuing chapters consider the literature on each of the participating countries. The broader subjects of the war at sea and the war in the air are also covered. Daniel Beaver's final chapter discusses the mobilization of industry and the new military technology. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone seeking guidance to the immense, and often daunting, body of World War I literature.

This volume comprehensively describes how British farmers coped with the problems of shortage of labour and other factors of production, as well as assessing how well agriculture performed as a supplier of food to the nation. Use of previously neglected records provides much evidence on issues such as the deployment of substitute labour and the introduction of the tractor into British farming for the first time. Challenging accepted view on the period, the author shows that shortages of labour and other factors of production had only a slight effect on farm output and the national food supply.

Overturning decades of scholarly orthodoxies, James Fox makes a bold new argument about the First World War's cultural consequences.

Perceptions of the Great War have changed significantly since its outbreak and children's authors have continually attempted to engage with those changes, explaining and interpreting the events of 1914-18 for young readers. British Children's Literature and the First World War examines the role novels, textbooks and story papers have played in shaping and reflecting understandings of the conflict throughout the 20th century. David Budgen focuses on representations of the conflict since its onset in 1914, ending with the centenary commemorations of 2014. From the works of Percy F. Westerman and Angela Brazil, to more recent tales by Michael Morpurgo and Pat Mills, Budgen traces developments of understanding and raises important questions about the presentation of history to the young. He considers such issues as the motivations of children's authors, and whether modern children's books about the past are necessarily more accurate than those written by their forebears. Why, for example, do modern writers tend to ignore the global aspects of the First World War? Did detailed narratives of battles written during the war really convey the truth of the conflict? Most importantly, he considers whether works aimed at children can ever achieve anything more than a partial and skewed response to such complex and tumultuous events.