Philanthropy and Voluntary Action in the First World War

Mobilizing Charity

Bibliographic Data

ID19895998
AuthorsPeter Grant (0000-0003-1350-7508, corresponding author)
Year2014
Pages254
Publication date2014-02-18
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenuePhilanthropy and Voluntary Action in the First World War (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781315890210
OpenAlexW4248285724
Open LibraryOL33530133M
ISBN9781315890210
LanguageEN
Citations received11

This book challenges scholarship which presents charity and voluntary activity during World War I as marking a downturn from the high point of the late Victorian period. Charitable donations rose to an all-time peak, and the scope and nature of charitable work shifted decisively. Far more working class activists, especially women, became involved, although there were significant differences between the suburban south and industrial north of England and Scotland. The book also corrects the idea that charitably-minded civilians’ efforts alienated the men at the front, in contrast to the degree of negativity that surrounds much previous work on voluntary action in this period. Far from there being an unbridgeable gap in understanding or empathy between soldiers and civilians, the links were strong, and charitable contributions were enormously important in maintaining troop morale. This bond significantly contributed to the development and maintenance of social capital in Britain, which, in turn, strongly supported the war effort. This work draws on previously unused primary sources, notably those regarding the developing role of the UK’s Director General of Voluntary Organizations and the regulatory legislation of the period

Action (physics) · Physics · Political science · Voluntary action · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Neuroscience · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Psychology · 1914-1918 · 1939-1945 · 20th century · Charities · Civilian relief · Civilian war relief · Europe · Great britain · Guerre mondiale · History · modern · Secours aux civils · Social aspects · Social history · War work · Western · World War · World war, civilian relief · World war, war work

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