The Path To World War
By 1901, the Boer war had completely shocked the British public and humiliated their military. Three years of war, 450,000 British deployed, and 20,000 dead had disenchanted the public and lead many to believe that the British were woefully unprepared for a European war. The first part of the 20th century, between the Boer War and World War I, would be defined by a fear that the British military and its people were not prepared for battle. Fear would define a nation and citizens would do everything they could to prepare the nation for war and shed the stigma that Britain was weak.
The Edwardian Era, following the death of Queen Victoria, left a Britain concerned about the future of their great empire. The massive coverage of the Boer war had left the British public painfully aware of the struggle that a group of guerrilla fighters had given the Imperial might of the British army. “The war in South Africa owed its impact in part because it was the first major British war since the advent of mass literacy after the 1870 Forster Education Act.” (Morgan 2). People such as Emily Hobhouse had exposed the violent lengths that the army had to go through and questions arose as to why Britain was so unprepared. The answer it seemed was that the British military was outdated, and its men were physically weak and unprepared for war.
The Edwardian Era, following the death of Queen Victoria, left a Britain concerned about the future of their great empire. The massive coverage of the Boer war had left the British public painfully aware of the struggle that a group of guerrilla fighters had given the Imperial might of the British army. “The war in South Africa owed its impact in part because it was the first major British war since the advent of mass literacy after the 1870 Forster Education Act.” (Morgan 2). People such as Emily Hobhouse had exposed the violent lengths that the army had to go through and questions arose as to why Britain was so unprepared. The answer it seemed was that the British military was outdated, and its men were physically weak and unprepared for war.
The Report of The Interdepartmental Committee on Physical Deterioration in 1904 had cemented the idea that British men were physically inept, citing a 60% rejection rate of fighting aged men into the British armed forces. What was even more shocking in the Edwardian context of invasion fear was the stark contrast that statistics on Germany presented. According to the report, in 1901 only 8.1% of German men were unqualified for service. This was a stark contrast that lead to a rethinking of values in Britain and specifically the idea of “Muscular Christianity”, “that focused more explicitly on physical activity as preparation for war rather than moral superiority” (Nauright 121).
The strength of the male body, domination in sports, and groups centered on military values became commonplace in the interwar period. One of the most influential and representative was the League of Health and Strength. The League was one of many groups that sought to promote health and the importance of a strong male body, “for members of the League, the solution to poor physique was exercises designed to encourage muscular development, ‘Health was Strength”. In sports this shift in policy was apparent as well as the gauge for masculinity switched from the gentleman’s sport of cricket to the violence of the Rugby pitch. The boy scouts, founded in 1910 by Boer War veteran Sir Baden Powell was the culmination of a shift in British policy towards wartime preparedness. Baden Powell sought to prepare the British to be disciplined, strong, and ready for a life of hardship and conquest. All of these ideas would eventually culminate in the idea of Tommy Atkins, “the ideal-typical British soldier, was characteristically brave, cheerful, martial, and fair”, at the outbreak of the war. The era from 1901-1914 was defined by the idea of unpreparedness. This blame was not place on the nation as a whole forever, but on the individual. In fact, “the British real military (spending) ratio was about 50-75 per cent than that of the continental powers during the period of 1870-1913” (494 Science Technology Imperialism and War). The Boer war had merely reaffirmed British notions that wars were won not by technology but by individual strength and valor.
This focus on physicality would be ever present from 1914-1918. While the rape of Belgium would lead to a shifting back towards a focus on morality the idea that physical strength was an integral part of a strong soldier continued to be present. This was seen in the language of recruitment and the veneration of soldiers. Being rejected from service due to inadequate fitness was a difficult thing for soldiers to face in a culture enamored with "Khaki Fever". Many soldiers described their frustration at being humiliated by white feathers. In Gullace's book entitled "The Blood of Our Sons" she references a story by Mrs John UpJohn who describes her fathers reaction to receiving a feather, "it was one of the only times I remember my father crying" (79 Gullace). Although not as bad as being branded a "shirker", being physically inept for service was a shameful occurrence. This emphasis on physicality was seen throughout the armed forces as essential to the making of a good soldier. On a pamphlet for civilian soldiers (unable to be shown here as we no longer have rights to the website) physical fitness was rated as one of the three most important things that a soldier could exhibit, rated equally with Loyalty and Obedience. Just like during the Boer War the individual strength of the soldier, especially at the beginning of the war was thought to be the key to victory. This idea would end up being catastrophic and it would take up to the last months of the war for the British people to shed their Boer war fears and adapt to a large scale, industrial, European War.