The First World War had a profound impact upon
British society. It swept away much of the old Victorian and Edwardian
order and established many of the features that we associate with
'modern' 20th-century Britain. The scale and duration of the conflict
with the Central Powers was such that, for the first time, the whole
of British society was mobilised for what historians have termed
'total war'.
These changes did not take place overnight in August 1914. It was
a gradual and cumulative process, governed more by reactions to
events than by any grand strategy. The central agent of change was
the British state. In the early stages of the war, its role was
largely confined to security issues such as the Defence of the Realm
Act, censorship and aliens. But from 1915 onwards, state power was
extended into new areas.
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