The British Home Front 1914-1918

© IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/8844

The centenary of the First World War has been and continues to be commemorated at national level with events to mark the major military and political waypoints, from the outbreak of war by way of Gallipoli, the Somme and Ypres to the armistice. And yet the war’s scale demanded more than just a major military effort: it required the mobilisation of British society as a whole. Industry was converted to munitions production, and the state intervened directly in fresh areas, from chemicals to forestry, from agriculture to fisheries. This economic effort has not attracted recent scholarly attention, despite its scale and importance. In recognition of the effort made by all the people of Britain and the Republic of Ireland, both the United Kingdom and Scotland Governments are supporting a major conference on the British home front during the First World War, to be held in St Andrews between 20 and 22 June 2018. It will be accompanied by a wider festival addressing the war in its final centenary year.

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