Troop morale and popular culture in the British and Dominion armies, 1914-1918

This is a study of the factors which sustained men through the ordeal of trench warfare. It examines how the means of maintaining morale in the British and Dominion armies differed from those used among their allies and opponents, which were more susceptible to mutiny and defeatism.

The soldiers on the front line in the First World War endured appalling conditions in the trenches and suffered unprecedented casualties in battle. Drawing on a variety of contemporary sources, including over a hundred magazines produced by soldiers themselves, this is the first scholarly analysis of the trench journalism which played an important role in the lives of the ordinary soldiers. Other themes that are explored include the nature of patriotism, discipline, living conditions, and leisure activities such as sport, concert parties, and the music hall. Fuller's vivid and detailed study throws new light on the question of what sustained men through the ordeal of trench warfare, and in particular how the British and Dominion armies differed from those of their allies and opponents, which were wracked by mutiny or defeat as the war went on.

Frontmatter Introduction (page 1) 1. Trench Journalism (page 7) 2. Morale (page 21) 3. Patriotism and the Place of the Army in British Society (page 32) 4. Organization of the British and Dominion Forces (page 41) 5. Discipline and Relationships Between the Ranks (page 47) 6. Life in the Line (page 58) 7. Behind the Lines (page 72) 8. Leisure (page 81) 9. Continuity in the Soldiers' Lives (page 114) 10. Homogeneity of the British and Dominion Forces (page 160) Conclusion (page 175) APPENDIX A: TROOP JOURNALS (page 181) APPENDIX B: CONCERT PARTIES AND CINEMAS (page 186) BIBLIOGRAPHY (page 194) INDEX (page 215)