Ex-Servicemen after the Great War, People’s History Museum, 31 January 2015

31 January 2015, 13:00 – 17:00, People’s History Museum.

Come and join historians and members of the Royal British Legion to discuss this forgotten legacy of the First World War.

Overview

At the end of the First World War a number of distinct new political voices emerged. Famously, reform in 1918 brought a female voice to the electorate. Less well known is the growth in ex-servicemen’s organisations. Some were Radical in nature, and these groups provided a voice for hundreds of thousands of men who served in the conflict. With strong allegiances to class as well as nation, their political credentials were confirmed by running candidates in the 1918 election. The political dimension only came to an end with amalgamation to form the British Legion in 1921.

Schedule

1:30 -2:15: John Borgonovo (University College Cork): Ex-Soldiers in Revolutionary Ireland: The Cork Branch of the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers and Sailors, 1918-1922

2:15 – 3:00: Niall Barr (King’s College London) Title to be confirmed

3:00-3:30: Paul Burnham The ex-servicemen’s organisations and the ex-servicemen’s movement

3:30-3.55: Tea and Coffee (provided)

3: 55 – 4.25: David Swift (UCLan) “For Class and Country” – Labour Patriots and the First World War

4.25-4.45: Vaughan Kent Payne (Royal British Legion) The Royal British Legion after WWII

4.45-5.00: Open Session

Further Details

This event is in partnership with the University of Kent First World War Engagement Centre, the Everyday Lives in War Centre led by the University of Hertfordshire, and the Royal British Legion.