‘Total war’ in Britain during 1914–18 meant total war for everyone, not just men and women, but children too. The phrase describes the way war permeated every aspect of daily life on the home front, and this included both the physical and mental mobilisation of children. Children were not shielded from the war but were encouraged and expected to ‘do their bit’ for the war effort through acts of both physical participation and mental commitment. Their mobilisation was achieved through a variety of state, commercial and voluntary means, and encompassed most aspects of their daily lives from their school experience and youth group activities to their leisure time through reading and play.1