Scotland And The First World War

On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as 'the workshop of the Empire'. Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain's total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies. Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli - young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called 'the vanished generation'. In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes - the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarization of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; and the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women's role in society following on from wartime employment.

What did war look like in the cultural imagination of 1914? Why did men in Scotland sign up to fight in unprecedented numbers? What were the martial myths shaping Scottish identity from the aftermath of Bannockburn to the close of the nineteenth century, and what did the Scottish soldiers of the First World War think they were fighting for? Scotland and the First World War: Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Bannockburn is a collection of new interdisciplinary essays interrogating the trans-historical myths of nation, belonging and martial identity that shaped Scotland’s encounter with the First World War. In a series of thematically linked essays, experts from the fields of literature, history and cultural studies examine how Scotland remembers war, and how remembering war has shaped Scotland.

The author of Culloden details the effects of World War I on Scotland. On the brink of the First World War, Scotland was regarded throughout the British Isles as “the workshop of the Empire.” Not only were Clyde-built ships known the world over, Scotland produced half of Britain’s total production of railway equipment, and the cotton and jute industries flourished in Paisley and Dundee. In addition, Scots were a hugely important source of manpower for the colonies. Yet after the war, Scotland became an industrial and financial backwater. Emigration increased as morale slumped in the face of economic stagnation and decline. The country had paid a disproportionately high price in casualties, a result of huge numbers of volunteers and the use of Scottish battalions as shock troops in the fighting on the Western Front and Gallipoli—young men whom the novelist Ian Hay called “the vanished generation.” In this book, Trevor Royle provides the first full account of how the war changed Scotland irrevocably by exploring a wide range of themes: the overwhelming response to the call for volunteers; the performance of Scottish military formations in 1915 and 1916; the militarization of the Scottish homeland; the resistance to war in Glasgow and the west of Scotland; and the boom in the heavy industries and the strengthening of women’s role in society following on from wartime employment. “Royle has done First World War History a great service.” —Gary Sheffield, military historian “His exceptional talents at narration produce a work that is both through-provoking and engaging . . . A vivid, solidly-written book.” —International Review of Scottish Studies

The First World War was the largest and deadliest war the world had ever seen. A century on, it can be difficult to understand the enormity of the conflict which tore Europe apart.This compelling book tells the story of the First World War through Scotland's people and places. It explores the buildings where, one hundred years ago, men and women enlisted, where they trained, where they stood up for their rights, and where they defended their country against the enemy. It also looks at the places where major industries emerged to supply the war effort, where men recovered from their wounds before returning to the front, and where some of them were finally laid to rest.Illustrated with forgotten and previously unpublished wartime plans, historical imagery and specially-commissioned modern photography, this book is one of the first to focus on Scotland's home front as a whole - from coast and air defences to hospitals and prisoner of war camps. Using new research, the book covers the well-known sites of Scapa Flow and the Forth Defences, but also highlights some of the lesser known aspects, including inland defences and the Edinburgh invasion plans.There are no longer any living men or women who played a part in the First World War, and there are very few people remaining who were alive at the time who remember the conflict. It has now passed from personal experience into the pages of history. Yet there is also a physical legacy of the Great War that can still be found in Scotland - often faded by time and slowly being reclaimed by nature. Scotland's First World War uses the remains of our century-old architecture - along with letters, diaries and poems - to tell an untold story of the role our nation played in one of the most devastating conflicts in human history.

This text highlights the variety of literary, social, political and philosophical reverberations of the war in Scotland writing.

The Scottish soldier has been at war for over 2000 years. Until now, no reference work has attempted to examine this vast heritage of warfare.A Military History of Scotland offers readers an unparalleled insight into the evolution of the Scottish military tradition. This wide-ranging and extensively illustrated volume traces the military history of Scotland from pre-history to the recent conflict in Afghanistan. Edited by three leading military historians, and featuring contributions from thirty scholars, it explores the role of warfare in the emergence of a Scottish kingdom, the forging of a Scottish-British military identity, and the participation of Scots in Britain's imperial and world wars. Eschewing a narrow definition of military history, it investigates the cultural and physical dimensions of Scotland's military past such as Scottish military dress and music, the role of the Scottish soldier in art and literature, Scotland's fortifications and battlefield archaeology, and Scotland's military memorials and museum collections.

A study of the impact of the Great War in Scotland. Topics include: conscientious objection; voluntary recruitment; press coverage; gender and the war; and the Scottish Highlands and the war.