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| Great War Ex-Servicemen's Association | |
|---|---|
| Name | Great War Ex-Servicemen's Association |
| Formation | 1918 |
| Dissolution | 1930s |
| Type | Ex-servicemen's association |
| Headquarters | London |
| Region served | United Kingdom |
| Leader title | President |
| Leader name | Field Marshal Douglas Haig |
| Affiliations | Royal British Legion, British Legion, Comrades of the Great War |
Great War Ex-Servicemen's Association The Great War Ex-Servicemen's Association was a British veterans' organization formed in the aftermath of the First World War to represent former British Army personnel who served in the conflict, engage in welfare work, and influence public policy on pensions and employment. It operated alongside contemporaneous bodies such as the Comrades of the Great War, the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers, and later the Royal British Legion, and worked within a milieu that included figures like Field Marshal Douglas Haig and institutions such as the Ministry of Pensions and the War Office. The association engaged with issues emerging from events like the Battle of the Somme, the Gallipoli Campaign, the Third Battle of Ypres, and the broader settlement of the Paris Peace Conference.
The association was founded in 1918 amid demobilization debates after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, drawing founders from regimental organizations such as the Royal Fusiliers, the Coldstream Guards, the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), and the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and from former staff of the British Expeditionary Force. Early leadership included veterans associated with the British Legion (1917), veterans of the Battle of Loos, and officers who had served in the Mesopotamian campaign and the Salonika campaign. The interwar period saw interaction with policymakers involved in the Addison Act debates, with lobbying around the War Pensions Act 1921 and the Unemployment Insurance Act 1920. The association's timeline intersected with public controversies like the Maurice Debate and the political careers of figures such as David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Ramsay MacDonald, and Stanley Baldwin.
Membership drew veterans from units including the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, the Royal Army Medical Corps, the Royal Engineers, the Tank Corps, the Machine Gun Corps, and the Territorial Force, as well as former members of the Royal Flying Corps and colonial units like the Indian Army and the West African Frontier Force. Organizational structure featured regional branches in cities such as London, Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool, and local committees comprised ex-officers from the Coldstream Guards, non-commissioned officers from the Lancashire Fusiliers, and veterans of the Royal Scots. Officers included chairmen drawn from veterans associated with the Order of St Michael and St George and the Order of the British Empire, and the association coordinated with trade unions such as the Transport and General Workers' Union and political groupings like the Conservative Party (UK) and the Labour Party (UK) for employment initiatives.
The association provided services including assistance with claims under the War Pensions Act 1915, advocacy for reconstructive surgery pioneered by surgeons associated with the Queen's Hospital, and support for employment schemes linked to the Ministry of Labour (United Kingdom). It campaigned on housing issues influenced by the Housing and Town Planning Act 1919 and supported memorial projects like those by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and sculptors such as Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Reginald Blomfield. The association organized remembrance ceremonies connected to Remembrance Day observances, participated in marches alongside groups from the Peace Pledge Union to veterans from the Royal British Legion, and coordinated welfare work with charities like St Dunstan's (Blind Veterans UK) and the Not Forgotten Association.
The association lobbied Parliamentarians including Arthur Henderson, Bonar Law, Herbert Asquith, and Andrew Bonar Law on pension reform, unemployment relief, and medical care, engaging with commissions such as the Shaw Commission and inquiries tied to the Royal Commission on the Private Manufacture of and Trading in Arms. It contested policy proposals debated in the House of Commons and worked with legal channels influenced by judgments from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The association's political stance intersected with campaigns by the National Union of Ex-Servicemen and drew comment from journalists at organs like The Times, Daily Mail, Manchester Guardian, and Daily Express, and from public intellectuals such as H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw.
The association produced bulletins and periodicals that circulated news to members, drawing contributors from journalists with experience at Reuter's, the Press Association, and writers associated with publications like The Spectator and Punch (magazine). It issued pamphlets on benefits rights referencing legislation like the Pensions (Appropriation) Act and reports responding to inquiries by bodies such as the Ministry of Health (UK), and maintained correspondence with international veterans' organizations including counterparts in France, Belgium, Canada, Australia, and the United States. Public meetings featured speakers connected to institutions such as the Imperial War Museum, the London County Council, and the Salvation Army.
The association's legacy influenced successor bodies including the Royal British Legion and informed commemorative practices at sites like the Menin Gate, the Thiepval Memorial, and local war memorials in towns such as Ypres, Verdun, Amiens, and Arras. Its advocacy contributed to reforms in veterans' medicine associated with figures like Sir Harold Gillies and institutions like the King's Fund, and its records were later consulted by historians working on the Interwar period (1918–1939), social historians researching the British Home Front, and biographers of leaders such as Douglas Haig and David Lloyd George. Monuments and archives related to the association survive in repositories including the Imperial War Museum, the National Archives (United Kingdom), and municipal archives in Bristol, Sheffield, and Plymouth.