With the large number of troops stationed in and around the area and its position as a major industrial city, which focused on armaments production, shipbuilding and heavy engineering, the realities of the war were always prominently felt in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The city played a key role in the nation's war effort, as it was a key port and the nation's major exporter of coal _ a vital link in keeping the war effort going.??The proud tradition of military service in the region was reflected in the huge numbers of Newcastle men and women who came forward to serve in the military or in roles such as nursing. The city was the recruitment centre and driving force for the formation of numerous 'Pals' Battalions and the Northumberland Fusiliers, which raised more battalions than any other regiment during the war.??For many of those left behind the war was a time of fear and hardship. This book documents the struggle that many suffering families faced in coping with rising wartime prices, longer working hours, endless worry, wartime policies and severe shortages. These issues are brought to light throughout, with a view to how they affected the people of Newcastle and how, with audacity and courage, Newcastle's citizens overcame them. ??By the end of the war so many Newcastle men had been killed, and others faced an uncertain future in a shattered post-war economy. Despite this, the workers of Newcastle continued to provide incredible charitable support until the end of the war in addition to their already momentous efforts. These efforts are considered greatly in this enlightening book, which is a testimony to the bravery, self-sacrifice and determination of the people of Newcastle-upon-Tyne during the Great War.

First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Tyneside offers an intimate portrayal of the area and its people living in the shadow of the 'war to end all wars'. A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it describes local reaction to the outbreak of war; the experience of individuals who enlisted; the changing face of industry; the work of the many hospitals in the area; the effect of the conflict on local children; the women who defied convention to play a vital role on the home front; and concludes with a chapter dedicated to how Tyneside and its people coped with the transition to life in peacetime once more. The Great War story of Tyneside is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated with evocative images from the collections of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and other archives across the region.

This interdisciplinary account explores how English infantrymen in Belgium and France experienced and coped with war between 1914 and 1918.

This book analyzes the world of 1914 by combining the approaches of traditionalist hermeneutics and 20th century geopolitics. The juxtaposition of these two frameworks, incorporated in the principles of Sacred Geography and Sea Power, allows for a Traditionalist perspective on the choices facing the Ten Great Powers on the eve of the Great War. The book’s multifaceted approach follows the iconoclastic “culture critique” method of the Traditional School that was developed by René Guénon, Frithjof Schuon and Julius Evola; it shows the pre-war world as essentially different from the post-war world. Thus, the Ten Great Power protagonists of the Great War may be understood on their own terms, rather than through a backward projection of politically-correct values on the existentially different human life-world of 1914. Dislodging the historical-materialist “progress” premise that underpins contemporary academic historiography, this book reasserts the highest claim of the Art of History: meta-narrative meaning.

The First World War has given rise to a multifaceted cultural production like no other historical event. This handbook surveys British literature and film about the war from 1914 until today. The continuing interest in World War I highlights the interdependence of war experience, the imaginative re-creation of that experience in writing, and individual as well as collective memory. In the first part of the handbook, the major genres of war writing and film are addressed, including of course poetry and the novel, but also the short story; furthermore, it is shown how our conception of the Great War is broadened when looked at from the perspective of gender studies and post-colonial criticism. The chapters in the second part present close readings of important contributions to the literary and filmic representation of World War I in Great Britain. All in all, the contributions demonstrate how the opposing forces of focusing and canon-formation on the one hand, and broadening and revision of the canon on the other, have characterised British literature and culture of the First World War.

As modern football grapples with the implications of a global crisis, this book looks at first in the game’s history: The First World War. The game’s structure and fabric faced existential challenges as fundamental questions were asked about its place and value in English society. This study explores how conflict reshaped the People’s Game on the English Home Front. The wartime seasons saw football's entire commercial model challenged and questioned. In 1915, the FA banned the payment of players, reopening a decades-old dispute between the game's early amateur values and its modern links to the world of capital and lucrative entertainment. Wartime football forced supporters to consider whether the game should continue, and if so, in what form? Using an array of previously unused sources and images, this book explores how players, administrators and fans grappled with these questions as daily life was continually reshaped by the demands of total war. From grassroots to elite football, players to spectators, gambling to charity work, this study examines the social, economic and cultural impact of what became Football's Great War.

Durham was, and still is, one of the country's oldest and best-loved cites. The very name was synonymous with dedication, dependability and determination. Men from the city answered the call to arms with an eerie normality, no matter what their age or social class. Many had been miners before the war and had spent their working life down a pit, but just as many had been teachers. Others were students at the Durham School, one of the most prestigious in the land, going on to further greatness at Durham University. When the announcement of war was made, they all enlisted to do their duty for King and country. They asked nothing in return, despite knowing the inherent dangers of what they were about to do. They carried on regardless, selfless in their readiness to give to a greater cause. There was a similar determination amongst the city's people. For some that meant working for the local Voluntary Aid Detachment or the Durham Volunteer Training Corps, whilst still going about their day job. They knew that no matter how hard things were for them, it was much more trying for their sons, brothers, husbands, uncles and other loved ones who were fighting on the Western Front. Hundreds went off to fight in the war: men who had been born in the city, who lived and were educated in the city, and men who had worked in the city. Some 360 of them never made it home. They are gone, but never forgotten.

Most of the Cypriot population, especially the lower classes, remained loyal to the British cause during the Great War and the island contributed significantly to the First World War, with men and materials. The British acknowledged this yet failed to institute political and economic reforms once the war ended. The obsession of Greek Cypriot elites with enosis (union with Greece), which only increased after the war, and the British dismissal of increasing the role of Cypriots in government, bringing the Christian and Muslim communities closer, and expanding franchise to all classes and sexes, led to serious problems down the line, not least the development of a democratic deficit. Andrekos Varnava studies the events and the impact of this crucial period.

Many troops passed through Southampton on their way to the Western Front and it played a vital role as a staging post for departing troops and those returning badly injured.??Many of men from Southampton also joined up and the enormity of human sacrifice that the families of Southampton were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years was immense. ??The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Meanwhile, men serving in the armed forces were scattered far and wide. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions.

In 1914 almost one quarter of the earth's surface was British. When the empire and its allies went to war in 1914 against the Central Powers, history's first global conflict was inevitable. It is the social and cultural reactions to that war and within those distant, often overlooked, societies which is the focus of this volume. From Singapore to Australia, Cyprus to Ireland, India to Iraq and around the rest of the British imperial world, further complexities and interlocking themes are addressed, offering new perspectives on imperial and colonial history and theory, as well as art, music, photography, propaganda, education, pacifism, gender, class, race and diplomacy at the end of the pax Britannica.