Conscription and the British World

Macleod, Jenny

Abstract

A key concern in Carl Bridge’s work has been to explore the relationship between the Dominions and the British Empire, frequently drawing comparisons through the lens of wartime. Through a series of articles, conferences and an edited book exploring the British World, Professor Bridge championed a fresh look at the British diaspora, their culture and identity. Inspired by these themes, this essay will use the issue of conscription during the First World War to explore the bonds of service inspired by a sense of shared Britishness – and its limits. Famously, Australia rejected conscription through two fractious referenda. Among those who opposed it most vigorously were Irish Australians. Within the United Kingdom, conscription was never imposed upon Ireland, but was strongly contemplated in the desperate last phase of the war, thereby accelerating Irish alienation from the Union. In Canada, French Canadians were the most vociferous critics of conscription, but the issue reveals interesting dynamics between the state and the country’s indigenous peoples, just as it did in New Zealand, ostensibly the most loyal and rapid adopter of conscription. Questions of military service amidst total war thus vividly reveal important patterns of belonging and of disaffection within the British World.

Citation

Macleod, J. (2024). Conscription and the British World. In J. Mann, & B. Zielinski (Eds.), Reflecting on the British World: Essays in Honour of Carl Bridge (79-94). Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b20648

• Online Publication Date: Sep 30, 2024
• Publication Date: Sep 30, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 1, 2025
• Publisher: Peter Lang
• Pages: 79-94
• Series Title: Studies in Transnationalism
• Series Number: 7
• Series ISSN: 2578-9317
• Book Title: Reflecting on the British World: Essays in Honour of Carl Bridge
• ISBN: 9781636672342
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3726/b20648
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4790871
• Publisher URL: https://www.peterlang.com/document/1314099
• Contract Date: Jan 17, 2023