Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part 1 The National War Aims Committee
- 1 The Development of Wartime Propaganda and the Emergence of the NWAC
- 2 The NWAC at Work
- 3 Local Agency, Local Work: The Role of Constituency War Aims Committees
- Part 2 Patriotism for a Purpose: NWAC Propaganda
- Part 3 The Impact of the NWAC
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Local Case Studies
- Appendix 2 Card-Index Database
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - The Development of Wartime Propaganda and the Emergence of the NWAC
from Part 1 - The National War Aims Committee
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part 1 The National War Aims Committee
- 1 The Development of Wartime Propaganda and the Emergence of the NWAC
- 2 The NWAC at Work
- 3 Local Agency, Local Work: The Role of Constituency War Aims Committees
- Part 2 Patriotism for a Purpose: NWAC Propaganda
- Part 3 The Impact of the NWAC
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Local Case Studies
- Appendix 2 Card-Index Database
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
On 4 August 1917, the third anniversary of Britain's entry into the First World War, David Lloyd George, the British prime minister, addressed the inaugural meeting of the National War Aims Committee (NWAC) at the Queen's Hall in Westminster. Despite his reservations about the performance of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and Belgium (and more particularly its commander-in-chief, Sir Douglas Haig), he praised the ‘British method of advancing with the least cost in life’ which, he said, took time but was ‘sure’.
But whilst the army is fighting so valiantly let the nation behind it be patient, be strong, and, above all, be united … The strain is great on nations and on individuals, and when men get over-strained tempers get ragged, small grievances are exaggerated, and small misunderstandings and mistakes swell into mountains …
The last reaches of a climb are always the most trying to the nerve and to the heart, but there is a real test of grit, endurance and courage in the last few hundred feet or score of feet in the climb upwards.
By mid-1917, following a revolution in Russia, limited reports of a mutiny in the French Army and a series of strikes in Britain, there was genuine governmental concern that domestic disaffection might make it impossible to continue the war to a successful conclusion. Such concerns had been significant in Lloyd George's attitude to the organisation of the war for a much longer period.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War BritainThe National War Aims Committee and Civilian Morale, pp. 17 - 36Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2012