4th August 4th August 1914 marked the declaration of war by the United Kingdom on the German Empire and the commencement of World War I. When Britain entered the First World War on August 4th 1914, there were reasons to believe that the tide of enthusiasm for the conflict and rush of young men to join the colours experienced elsewhere in Britain might not take place in Wales. Welsh nonconformism and Liberalism were powerful forces with a hostility towards militarism. Working class militancy and class conflict, as recently evidenced in the Cambrian miners’ strike, was another factor which appeared to cast doubt upon the likelihood of a national outbreak of war fever. Yet on the outbreak of war doubts evaporated overnight and Wales was swept by a tide of support for a war in which 280,000 Welshmen served and approximately 35,000 died. The most prominent figure in the campaign for volunteers was Lloyd George, who gave the reason given for Britain entering the war as the German invasion of Belgium. This was a small country like Wales, now apparently defenceless in the face of aggression from its powerful, bullying neighbour. Politicians, union leaders, church ministers, civic leaders, academics and the press also overwhelmingly joined the campaign for recruits. Cheering crowds saw off troops heading to join the British Expeditionary Force to France and there was an outbreak of enthusiastic local meetings. In Briton Ferry virtually every man of eligible age joined the forces, the Tylorstown Silver Band joined en-bloc and in the Rhondda miners’ agent David Watts Morgan promoted the formation of a “pals’ brigade.” The press encouraged competition over recruiting between communities and in August the recruiting offices in Cardiff and Swansea simply could not cope with the numbers coming forward. Lloyd George had envisaged a Welsh Army Corps and a Welsh Division (The 38th) was founded in November 1914, commanded by Liberal MP Sir Ivor Phillips. A National Executive Committee was established to oversee the task and within a year had raised a division plus a further Brigade. This was followed in 1915 by the creation of a Brigade of Welsh Guards. There were a minority of dissenters opposed to the war, Keir Hardie being perhaps the most notable figure. However, Wales was overwhelmingly behind the conflict and there were scenes of mob hostility towards those perceived to be anti-war or have German connections.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:10:01 +0000
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