250 Pages | over 200 b&w illustrations

297x210mm, Paperback

99780956380418

At least 83 men from New Milton failed to return from the Great War.

This book aims to explain how and why they died and to record where they are buried or remembered. 

According to Correlli Barnett, 744,702 men and women from the United Kingdom died as a direct result of the Great War.  To put these 83 local casualties into context a description of New Milton immediately before the Great War is offered, as the world in which they were raised was vastly different from that of the present day.  Society was structured, patriotism was endemic, Empire Day was an important event and the local vicar had influence.  Wages were low, employment was not always secure and life was mainly hard for the working man.  Families were large and there were pressures for eldest daughters to go into service – often facilitated by the vicar’s wife – and for a son to go into the Army or Royal Navy.  This eased accommodation problems and brought in extra money for the family budget. 

Kitchener’s call to arms in 1914 struck a chord and the response fuelled the military manpower requirements of 1914-1915.  These volunteers were fit, well-motivated and made good recruits.  But this manpower stream was running dry by the end of 1915 and the introduction of conscription in January 1916 changed the profile of recruits.  By 1918 they were generally younger, less mature and were often physically challenged by the roles demanded of them.  The engagement of women to fill jobs traditionally the domain of men changed society and added to post-war social turbulence. 

Given these changes we have also tried to sketch in the social background of those who did not return and to explain their wartime experiences and the actions in which they died.  It is difficult not to assess them in accordance with modern values.  The aim has therefore been to try to describe them in the context of their times and to offer illustrations – e.g. troop transports – of sights they would have seen and experienced. 

This book will ensure that the deaths of these 83 men are given point and focus so that their sacrifice will not be forgotten by future generations.