This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Officer-man relations, morale and discipline in the British Army, 1902-22. Sheffield, Gary David The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 08. Oct. 2021 'Officer-Man Relations, Morale and Discipline in the British Army, 1902-22' by Gary David Sheffield Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, King's College, London 1994 -].- BIBL LONDON UNPJ Abstract In Chapters 1 and 2, it is argued that inter-rank relations in the Regular army of 1902-14 were characterised by paternalism, deference, discipline, formality and mutual respect. Relations in the auxiliary forces were more relaxed. Officers' attitudes towards their men evolved in this period, influenced by a lively debate on discipline. In Chapter 3, the British army's attitude to morale, and the morale of the British Expeditionary Force, which remained remarkably resilient, is considered. Chapters 4 and 5 examine the wartime officer corps: its social composition, methods of selecting and training officers, and influences on concepts of officership. It is argued that officers drawn from non-traditional sources were inculcated with the 'public school' ethos of the Regular officer. In Chapter 6 the disciplinary regime of the wartime army, which generally followed the pattern of the Regular army, is examined and placed into the context of Edwardian society. It is argued that factors such as paternalism and deference alleviated harsh discipline and some wartime units operated an 'auxiliary' style of discipline. In Chapter 7 the inter-rank relationship is analysed from the perspective of the officer. Particular attention is paid to the affection felt by many officers for their men, and the institutionalising of paternalism. Chapter 8 examines the rankers' view of the relationship. It concludes that they tended to judge officers on their individual merits, but the concept of a 'comradeship of the trenches' remains valid. Chapter 9 ties together many of the threads of the argument by concluding that the officer-man relationship played a crucial role in maintaining British military morale in the First World War. Comparisons are offered with the wartime French army and Dominion contingents, and the postwar British army. - 12. - Table of Contents Page Abstract 11. Contents 1].1 Abbreviations iv Introduction ix Chapter 1: Officer-Man Relations in the British Army, 1902-14 1 Chapter 2: Officer-Man Relations in the British Army, 1902-14 (continued) 24 Chapter 3: The British Army and Morale in the Era of the Great War 63 Chapter 4: The British Officer Corps, 1914-1918 96 Chapter 5: British Military Leadership 1914-1918: Influences and Training 116 Chapter 6: Officer-Man Relations: the Disciplinary and Social Context 151 Chapter 7: Officer-Man Relations: The Officer's Perspective 181 Chapter 8: Officer-Man Relations: The Ranker's Perspective 220 Chapter 9: Officer-Man Relations, Morale and Discipline 268 Conclusion 334 Appendix 1: British Army Conscripts 337 Appendix 2: Discipline and Continuity in Small Units 340 Appendix 3: Published Guides to Officership 343 Sources and Bibliography 347 List of Tables Table I Officers serving in the British army at the beginning and end of the Great War 100 Table 2 Principal occupations of officers demobilised, 11 November 1918 to 12 May 1920, as expressed as a percentage of those returns analysed 100 - 1.11 - Abbreviations used in text and footnotes 2/Lt. Second Lieutentant AA and QMG Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General AAG Assistant Adjutant-General Ad j . Gen. Adjutant General AIF Australian Imperial Force AOC Army Ordnance Corps ANZAC, Anzac Australian and New Zealand Army Corps AP & SS Army Printing and Stationary Services APM Assistant Provost Marshal Appx. Appendix A and Q Adjutant-General's and Quartermaster General's Branches AO Army Order Army Quarterly Argylls Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders AR Army Review AROs Army Routine Orders ASC Army Service Corps Aus. Australian BAR British Army Review BCNH British Commission for Military History Bde. Brigade Beds. Bedfordshire BEF British Expeditionary Force Berks. Berkshire BJS British Journal of Sociology Blackwood 's Blackwood' s Naazine LPES British Library of Political and Economic Science Brig. Gen Brigadier-General BSM Battery Sergeant Major Bucks. Buck inghamsh ire Buffs Buffs (East Kent Regiment) BW Black Watch Camerons Queen 's Own Cameron Highlanders Can. Canadian Capt. Captain CEF Canadian Expeditionary Force CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff CJ Cavalry Journal CJH Canadian Journal of History CMP Corps of Military Police Cpl. Corporal CO Commanding Officer Co 1. Colonel Coldm. Gds. Coldstream Guards Coy. Company C SM Company Sergeant Major DAC Divisional Ammunition Column DCLI Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry DERR Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment Div. Division DLI Durham Light Infantry - iv - DPM Deputy Provost Marshal DSO Distinguished Service Order Dvr. Driver DWR Duke of Wellington's Regiment ed. editor, edited edn. edition EHR English Historical Review EKY East Kent Yeoman E. Lancs. East Lancashire E. Lothian East Lothian ERM Essex Regiment Museum E. Surreys East Surrey Regiment E. Yorks. East Yorkshire Regiment FGCN Field General Court Martial FlI French History FO Foreign Office FSR Field Service Regulations Gds. Guards Gen. General GHQ General Headquarters Gloucesters Gloucestershire Regiment GOC General Officer Commanding Gordons Gordon Highianders Gnr. Gunner Gren. Gds. Grenadier Guards GSO General Staff Officer GRO General Routine Orders GW The Great War HAC Honourable Artillery Company Hants. Hampshire HJ Historical Journal HLI Highland Light Infantry HN His Majesty's HMSO His Majesty's Stationary Office IGC Inspector General of Communications IHS Irish Historical Studies IWM Imperial War Museum JAWM Journal of the Australian War Memorial JCH Journal of Contemporary History J. Mil . Hist. Journal of Military History JP Justice of the Peace JRA Journal of the Royal Artillery JRAMC Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps JRUSI Journal of the Royal United Services Institution JSAHR Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research King's King's (Liverpool) Regiment King's Own King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment KOSB King's Own Scottish Borderers KOYLI King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry KRRC King's Royal Rifle Corps KRS Q K.R. Simpson's Questionnaires KSLI King's Shropshire Light Infantry -v-- L/Cpl. Lance Corporal LF Lancashire Fusiliers LHCNA Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives Lincs. Lincolushire Londons London Regiment LOOB Left Out Of Battle Loyal s Loyal North Lancashire Regiment Lt. Lieutenant Lt.Col. Lieutenant-Colonel Lt.Gen. Lieutenant General LRB 1/5 Londons (London Rifle Brigade) LULLC Leeds University Library, Liddle Collection MA Military Affairs Naj. Major Maj . Gen. Major General MC Military Cross MEF Mediterranean Expeditionary Force MGC Machine Gun Corps MG Coy Machine Gun Company MP Member of Parliament NA New Army (also known as Kitchener's Army) NA1! National Army Nusuem NCO Non-Commissioned Officer nd not dated NF Northumberland Fusiliers NLS (in) National Library of Scotland (microfilm) Northants. Northamptonshire Notts. Nottinghamshire N. Staffs. North Staffordshire Regiment NZ New Zealand NZEF New Zealand Expeditionary Force OBLI Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry OC Officer Commanding OCA Old Comrades' Association OCB Officer Cadet Battalion OH Official History OTC Officer Training Corps P and P Past and Present PP Parliamentary Papers PRO Public Record Office Pte. Private PWYG Princess of Wales' Yeomanry Gazette QMS Quartermaster Sergeant Quarterly Review Queen ' S The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) RA Royal Artillery RA11C Royal Army Medical Corps R. Bde. Rifle Brigade R. Berks. Royal Berkshire Regiment RDF Royal Dublin Fusiliers - vi - RE Royal Engineers RFA Royal Field Artillery RF Royal Fusiliers RFC Royal Flying Corps RGA Royal Garrison Artillery R. Glos. Royal Gloucestershire RHA Royal Horse Artillery R.Innis. Fus. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers RIIIM Revue Internationale D'Histoire Militaire R.t. Rif. Royal Irish Rifles RA Royal Military Academy RMASA Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Archives RMASL Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Library RMC Royal Military College RMCR Royal Military College Record RMO Regimental Medical Officer RI1PA Royal