The First World War: The Essential Guide to Sources in the National Archives

The Public Record Office - the National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom - holds the most comprehensive and important collection of official documentary records relating to Britain's involvement in World War I. Here, within thematically arranged sections, this wealth of material is systematically listed and explained. Sources of every conceivable aspect of the war are covered, from government decision making and the military conduct of the war in all arenas to home front issues such as food supply and the management of morale. Some generally unknown or unused records are detailed here for the first time and cover topics such as attitudes to the conflict in British universities, war finance and labour. The thematic arrangement also reveals at a glance all the details available for key areas such as gas warfare, military intelligence, the role of women and strategic bombing.

Ian Beckett is a respected and widely published military historian. Formerly Professor of Military History at the University of Luton and a tutor at Sandhurst, during 2002/3 he will be the Major-General Matthew J. Horner Distinguished Professor of Military Theory at the US Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia. He is also Chairman of the Army Records Society. His other titles include The Oxford History of the British Army, and The Great War 1914-1918.