6 - Command and consent in the trenches

Summary

In the years before 1914 British society had attained a remarkable degree of cohesion, despite the obvious inequalities that existed between the social classes in the realms of education, wealth and influence. It was a hierarchical society based on consent and mutual agreement, rather than on coercion. The repressive mechanisms maintained by the state were very weak. The judiciary, although staffed by the upper classes, remained independent, and the government had no standing army with which to impose its views. Moreover, although electoral rights were confined to the better off, those lower down the social scale enjoyed the freedom to express their opinions, and there were labour laws that allowed for collective bargaining. Neither the government nor the employers were free to impose their authority on those below them in the social pyramid. Employers and employees, leaders and led, recognized they were part of a reciprocal relationship. Those in authority received deference only when they fulfilled their obligations to their workforce. At all levels of society, boundaries defining acceptable behaviour were set and bargaining over contentious issues took place within these parameters.

The pre-war regular army also relied on an unspoken bargain between officers and other ranks to operate, but the nature of the bargain was different from that brokered in civilian society. The lower ranks were kept in a position of extreme dependence and social relations within the army were underpinned by a punitive disciplinary system.