Description:
Non-uniformed voluntary action during the First World War continues to be a blind spot in the historiography of the war. The scale and extent of charitable activity has not yet been fully appreciated, despite amounting to well over £100 million and involving more than a million regular volunteers, many from working-class backgrounds. Drawing on extensive new primary research, this book tells the story of the volunteers and their causes, and how their actions cemented social capital in the UK. The book also examines the increasing role of the state in regulating charities during the war.
Review Quotes:
"Peter Grant has written a pioneering work. Packed with figures, interesting examples from case studies, and analysis linking wartime charities to social cohesion, Grant has shown that civil society and philanthropy were vital parts of Britain's wartime effort."
Matthew C. Henley, State University of New York Oneonta in American Historical Review