Specialisation and Military Identity in British Infantry, 1916–1918

British infantrymen were drawn to anything that offered them something in return for their work. This was especially true when it came to their specialisation. Men identified with roles that offered some sort of material benefit. This paper examines how British ‘late-war’ soldiers’ self-interest determined their choice of specialism and informed their specialist identities. It explores how the material privileges; the mental stimulation; and moral purpose afforded by specialist jobs drew soldiers to them. It examines how these ‘benefits’ varied in and out of the trenches, and why being interested in and inspired by their role motivated and reinforced men’s connection to that role. Lastly, it assesses how a specialism’s reputation as hazardous, and the visceral and emotive nature of some professions, dissuaded some from joining them.

Joshua Bilton is a PhD candidate in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, completing his doctorate on ‘Military Identities of ‘late-war’ British Soldiers on the Western Front, 1916–1918’.

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