Sent to the front lines, soldiers in the First World War could only communicate home through letters. Although censored, these letters provided comfort to both those at home and those fighting in the trenches, and they were often reproduced by local newspapers. In this special blog, we’ve pulled out extracts from 30 different letters, sent by servicemen throughout the First World War, which were all featured by our newspapers. These 30 letters, sent by 30 different men, all provide a …
conscription
When war broke out in August 1914, and again in September 1939, women across the United Kingdom played a pivotal role in the war effort, taking on jobs that we previously seen as the preserve of men. By July 1916 it was estimated that 750,000 women across Britain had taken up ‘war work,’ working in heavy industries and in munitions factories, working as drivers, as well as nurses and as doctors. This represented a seismic shift in the way that women …