For nearly 50 years, from 1914 to 1963, the majority of able-bodied British men at some time in their lives underwent military service. How effective were these temporary (and often reluctant) conscripts as a fighting force? How did they respond to the rigours, irrationalities, discomforts and dangers of military life? How wide was the gulf between officers and Other Ranks? Overall, to what extent was military service – in both peace and war – a positive experience? How did it affect the self-understanding, political views and subsequent lives of those who experienced it? These are just some of the questions Alan Allport addresses in this impressive and sensitively written social history of the British army in the first half of the twentieth century.Do not be misled by the boo