Happy Warriors in Waiting? Wykehamists and the Great War – Stereotypes, Complexities and Contradictions

Abstract

Winchester College has always had a reputation for intellectual excellence. Nevertheless, in keeping with contemporary trends it embraced the late nineteenth century cult of games, but with reservations. Winchester is a corrective to simplistic generalisations about the uniform chauvinistic philistinism of the period public school system. It was characterised by encouragement of individuality and intellectual effort and by a restrained attitude to military matters, games and xenophobic conditioning, There was a sobriety about Wykehamist reactions to the Great War which merits attention.