Crime in the British Army during the Great War: Violence, drunkeness and theft

Abstract

This thesis investigates criminal activity by British military personnel during the Great War. While much has been written on crime committed by British soldiers in other conflicts and periods, there has hitherto remained a significant dearth of knowledge covering the period 1914-18. This research seeks to further the limited pre-existing studies, and bases an analysis of Great War offending within the context of British socio-cultural frameworks, wider military offending historically, and indeed combat-related psychological factors influencing behaviour. The investigation focuses on violent crime, drunkenness, and property offences, which are explored by chapter.

Chapters begin with a discussion of the relevant social and militaristic contexts, before a detailed examination of offences, primarily on both Home and Western Fronts. This examination utilises material extracted from diary entries, postwar interviews, newspaper accounts, and official court-martial records – the latter being used to provide quantitative analyses of offence occurrence and punishment trends. The study highlights evidence that a considerable amount of offending was rooted in either pre-existing standards of socially acceptable behaviour, or was the direct result of the experience of war. It contends that civilian courts frequently overlooked or downplayed heinous criminal acts if context allowed, and military courts typically regarded offences threatening wider discipline more seriously than others. Through statistical analysis, this thesis contends that military punishments decreased in severity throughout the war in order to mitigate manpower demands, and that British authorities adapted and lowered disciplinary standards based on this context and an acknowledgment that military personnel were increasingly conscripted.

This study’s findings question the view that violence was in decline in Britain by 1900, and argue that the nineteenth-century ‘civilising offensive’ was a measured success at best. It is hoped that this research will further understanding of military offending in the Great War, as well as early twentieth-century Britsh society more generally.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English