Why they enlisted, served and killed; the experience and motivation of Leicestershire servicemen during the Great War

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines the experience and motivation of Leicestershire men who volunteered, served and fought in the Great War. It surveys the letters, diaries, memoirs and interviews of pre-war Edwardian residents who served in uniform, as well as contemporary newspapers and modern historical studies, to inform the historiography on three aspects of motivation and experience during the conflict. The first considers why men enlisted for military service in 1914-15. The second explores men’s experience of active service and, in particular, what sustained and motivated individuals to endure and cope with the terror and trauma of war. The third discusses the control, scale and rationale for the use of violence by combatants. This paper argues that men were motivated by a multifaceted range of factors to sign-up, cope with daily life on frontline service and, ultimately, fight. These influences were often highly personal, contextual and rooted in the social and cultural norms of the soldiers’ wider civilian lives within pre-war Edwardian society, such as notions of patriotism, duty and stoicism.