In 1915 a British newspaper printed a letter from a

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In 1915 a British newspaper printed a letter from a “Lady Reader” who claimed: “The women of Britain will tolerate no such cry as Peace”.

Do you think that the young men of Britain would have agreed with the Lady Reader during the Great War, 1914-1918?

In August 1914, Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, saw that the conflict would be long and hard fought, and proposed a revolutionary plan for new armies of millions of volunteers, as Britain previously only relied on a small professional force.  His own grim face, over the slogan “Your Kind and Country Need You’’, appeared in the first poster appeal for recruits.  Until conscription was introduced in 1916, young men were subjected to relentless social pressures, both official and unofficial, to join the army.

In 1915 a British newspaper printed a letter from a “Lady Reader” who claimed “the women of Britain will tolerate no such cry as Peace.”  This negative statement emphasizes that they would not be satisfied with peace and wanted the war to continue.  In the early years of the war, this would not have been met with resistance among the young men of Britain.

Pre-war propaganda and advertising led to the great excitement and hype among Britain’s young men ready to enlist.  All young men wanted to be involved in the war movement, believing it was their duty – as many of the propaganda posters had emphasized.  But many young volunteers felt compelled to take up arms by the public.  As one man remembers “It is the feeling that you are wanted and being sent – it’s not your choice – it was decided on behalf of ‘your King and Country.’’’  The use of women and children took many forms in the propaganda of this time as they were seen as the weak and vulnerable who relied on these brave young men to defend them.  This served as a great incentive for many young men to join the army.

This extract from Matthew Cooper’s diary highlights the feeling of many young men at this stage of the Great War:

“I enlisted in the infantry in September 1914 with the many other volunteers who were mobilized shortly after the outbreak of war.  The stirring reports of the Great Retreat in France were making a deep impression on us, in particular the heroic stand of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons and its part in halting the German move to seize the Channel ports.  It was something more profound than patriotism, as though an hereditary instinct of nationhood had swept aside other considerations, daring our manhood and impelling us subconsciously to the battlefield.  Whatever it was, many of us felt we must take up the challenge….We were confident victory waited for us across the Channel, sure that this was to be the greatest event in our lives, in our country’s history, making our peace-time activities seem insignificant in comparison with a call to defend our country….I proudly showed off my new uniform…This did not mean that I was unfeeling of the tragedy of men being trained to fight against other men, but I saw our cause as compelling, provoked by Germany’s ruthless onslaught against the helpless Belgians.  My friends and I found something selfless, virtuous and even noble in our response.”

This extract emphasizes the opinions, feeling and expectations of war which Cooper shared with many other men in his position.  It is evident, from numerous sources, that the war was expected to be “over by Christmas’’ or “done in six months’’.  This may have contributed to the overwhelming readiness to enlist and also for the “Lady Reader’s’’ persistence that the war should continue even after this pre-determined deadline was not met.

As the young men were pressured to enlist, with songs with lyrics such as “We don’t want to lose you, but think you ought to go – your King and country need you’’ often from the women, they became the heroic figures of soldiers fighting for their country and there was a ‘carnival atmosphere’ as the soldiers marched off – this adding to their heroic status.

In 1914 there was a strong sense of patriotic war fever among the younger generations of men as they thought of war to be like “The Thin Red Line” and “The Light Brigade’’ – to them, the idea of war was “almost romantic’’.  Their enthusiasm to join, often spurred on by the pressuring propaganda campaigns, forced many to lied about their ages, as Private Reginald Haine remembers:  “He said ‘Well, how old are you?’ I said ‘I am 18 and 1 month.’ He said, ‘You mean 19 and 1 month?’ So I thought a moment and said, ‘Yes Sir.’”

The majority of the young men of Britain would have agreed with the Lady Reader in 1914 as the soldiers were ready and eager to fight a war they believed would be over by Christmas.  They volunteered to beat the Germans, to fight for King and Country, to protect their land and families and they believed it was their duty.  The huge public pressure also added to the number of volunteers enlisting as any young men who hadn’t enlisted were given white feathers and publicly ridiculed.  Friends egged each other on and rushed to join up together – these were known as ‘pals battalions’.  The young men were “honoured to be involved in the greatest military operation in history.’’  They were “proud to be a patriot and a volunteer who was willing to defend and die for their country’’ and they were “determined to do what was necessary to push the Germans back’’.

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Matthew Cooper explains how being involved in the Great War would be an adventure that few wanted to miss out on – are British  soldier remembers hearing that he was to be stationed in England instead of being sent to France in 1914:  “We felt that time was slipping away.  At any moment there might be a decisive battle on land or sea, the war would end and we would be late for the hunt.”  But soon the adventure of war would become reality – and for many of the ‘adventurers’, their adventure would result in death.  As one ...

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