Enduring the First World War: British Society, 1914-1918

Abstract

This chapter seeks to explore the degree to which a relatively stable prewar society, such as Britain, was able to face the challenges of war and to what extent it was transformed by these experiences. It explores the impact of the war over its four-and-a-half-year duration contrasting the war’s opening phase (1914–1915) with its second (1916–1918), when the reality of the brutal nature of the conflict and the unprecedented demands it was placing on British society were appearing. Fractures—muffled or masked at the outbreak of war—began to re-emerge as the war got harder. Yet this test of endurance was not necessarily the instigator of fundamental change. This chapter argues that there were several forces working against societal transformation, not least the underpinning forces in British society of conservatism and tradition. The emphasis on “for the duration” ensured that any societal shifts that did take place during the war were generally temporary. The ultimate prize of enduring the war to the point of victory was the preservation of a particular way of life; the only way to honour that sacrifice was maintenance of the status quo.