Chapter 1
There were many ways that the British government got young men to join the army. One of the ways that they got men to join the army is propaganda posters, these were very helpful to the British government also men gave out incorrigible speeches and many men joined. Propaganda posters were very effective in ww1 because they persuaded you to join up and fight in the war
Women also played a major part in getting man to fight. The Whit Feather campaign was a way of trying to shame men into joining up. Groups of women would patrol high street and town centres handing out white feathers- a symbol of cowardice – to any man who seemed fit enough to fight and who was not in military uniform. This sort of public humiliation was enough to see Some men join immediately.
The government also agreed to keep friends together who joined up at the same time. These units were called pals battalions and sometimes whole football team’s orchestras, cricket teams or bus deports would sign up together sadly most all friends would watch each other die.
In 1914, at the start of the First World War, Lord Kitchener became Secretary of State for War, a Cabinet Minister. One of the few to foresee a long war, he organised the largest volunteer army that Britain, and indeed the world, had seen and a significant expansion of materials production to fight Germany on the Western Front. His commanding image, appearing on recruiting posters demanding “Your country needs you!” remains recognised and parodied in popular culture to this day. Despite having warned of the difficulty of provisioning Britain for a long war, he was blamed for the shortage of shells in the spring of 1915 – one of the events leading to the formation of a coalition government – and stripped of his control over munitions and strategy.
Lord Kitchener the secretary of war promised that it would be over by Christmas so all soldiers joined up knowing they would be back for their family for Christmas.