Military Discipline in WW1

A very useful link which looks at the subject of British military discipline in WW1.


British military discipline

A few more links to look at the emotive and controversal issue of military executions in WW1.

A summary from BBC History
Daily Telegraph article on the pardons issued in 2006
Info from the Shot at Dawn campaign - this group campaigned for pardons for all those shot so be aware of that when reviewing their site

Recruiting Britain's Army in WW1

During the First World War, close to 6 million men served in the British Army. Men from all of the British Isles and her Empire answered the mother country's call for men. Roughly half of those were volunteers, the remainder were conscripted. Below are a few links to introduce the key themes involved in the recruitment of Britain's army in WW1.

A short movie from the BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/wwone_movies/index_embed.shtml

An excellent overview from 1914-1918.net - http://www.1914-1918.net/recruitment.htm

Pals Battalions - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwone/pals_01.shtml

The Derby Scheme - http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/derbyscheme.htm

The Military Service Acts - http://www.1914-1918.net/msa1916.html

WW1 Recruitment posters here

Some hints for those doing the January exam

1. Read and analyse the sources carefully, making brief notes by the side to save you time later on. Relate what you have read back to the question.

2. Plan your answers before you start writing.

3. The number of marks is proportional to the time you have (20 marks = 20 minutes)

4. Use the sources as the basis of your answer. This will help keep you focussed. Remeber to give examples from the sources to support your argument.

5. Use contextual knowledge - on Qb 24 of the 40 marks are awarded for your own knowledge! Use this information to put the sources into context.

6. Cross reference individual points, rather than the sources as a whole.

7. Develop inferences (what does the source suggest to you?) and support these with evidence.

8. Analyse the provenance (Nature, Origin, Purpose). Evaluate the significance of the source and its reliabilty, if appropriate.

9. Weight up the evidence, especially if is asks you for a judgement, eg How far...

10. Dont generalise the sources. Judge each source on its own merits, eg, not all private letters are reliable.

National Army Museum website

Some excellent resources and information is available on the National Amy Museum's website

http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/

Some useful links are...

Crimea
Florence Nightingale
Early photography (including Fenton)
Boer War
The Victoria Cross

WW1
Tanks -

Western Front 1918
Finding the Fallen
Specific teacher links for visits and resources - http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk/education/secondary13.shtml

Causes of the Boer War

A really useful summary can be read here - http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/anglo-boer-wars/anglo-boer-war2i.htm

Some key events...

the Witwatersrand Gold Rush - http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/online%20books/all-that-glitters/the-glitter-of-gold.htm

the Uitlander Franchise -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uitlander

The Jameson Raid - http://www.angloboerwar.com/other-information/87-jameson-raid/1754-the-jameson-raid

The Unknown Warrior

Published today on the BBC News website is the story of the Unknown Warrior.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11710660

The story is also told in pictures here...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11713676

Lest we forget.

Remembrance

A couple of links to give some background as to how we commemorate the war dead at this time of year.

Why 11th November?
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/armistice.htm

A history of the Poppy Appeal
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/about-us/history-of-the-poppy-appeal

The Last Post - Why do we sound 'The Last Post'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Post

Search for your own family at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site.
http://www.cwgc.org/

Nursing in the Crimea...

.. a recommendation from one of my students whislt comparing the roles of Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.

Angels and Citizens,  British Women as Military Nurses, 1854-1914 By Anne Summers

Available to read on Google Books - click the title to read the book online. Also looks at the Boer War and WW1 for later parts of the course!

Thanks Isobel!

An interesting article on WW1 aerial photos

Found this on the BBC website. An interesting article and slide show about the role of aerial photography in WW1 based on photographs in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, London.

Article here
Slide show here

I always thought that gardening was bad for you!

The Army of 1854

To understand the nature of the British Army in 1854 it is worth taking a look at the following clip.

British Army at Waterloo, 1815

Although this looks at the Army at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Army of 1854 had not changed much since then. Therefore much can be learnt about how the army was commanded, fought, its tactics etc.

Another issue of the time was to do with the 'Purchasing of Commissions'. Find out more by following these links...
What was it?
How much did commissions cost?
Why was it becoming an issue?