The Children's War: Britain, 1914-1918 [Hardcover]

British children were mobilised for total war in 1914-18. It dominated their school experience and they enjoyed it as a source of entertainment. Their support was believed to be vital for Britain's present and future but their participation was motivated by a desire to remain connected to their absent fathers and brothers.Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Families at War 3. War Imagined 4. Children in Uniform 5. War in the Classroom 6. Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

It was not only adults who became mentally and physically committed to the war for, as Rosie Kennedy demonstrates in this fascinating study, children were mobilised and, to a large extent, mobilised themselves . . . This study, which . . . is based on extensive research, is an important contribution to our knowledge of British society during the Great War. It is also eminently readable. - Times Higher Education

A fascinating investigation into an overlooked generation. Carefully researched and compiled, this is an excellent source of materials for anyone studying World War One. - Centenary News

It is the achievement of this book that, when recently confronted with a photograph of British children attending the Armistice Day commemorations, their deceased fathers' medals pinned to their coats, my mind turned immediately to Kennedy's invocation of the need to reflect on the emotional and psychological significance of children's participation in the Great War, and of the importance of considering soldiers not just as husbands and sons, but as fathers too. - Dr Rebecca Gill, Reviews in History