The Comrades of The Great War were formed in 1917 as an association to represent the rights of ex-service men and women who had served or had been discharged from service during World War I.[citation needed] Comrades of The Great War was one of the original four ex-service associations that amalgamated on Sunday 15 May 1921 to form The British Legion.[1]

The organisation was founded by John Joseph Woodward who was also secretary and Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby as a right-wing alternative to the National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers (NADSS) and the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Sailors and Soldiers (NFDDSS). In particular, the NFDSS had put a candidate up against Derby's son in the 1917 Liverpool Abercromby by-election.[2] Historian Niall Barr has stated that the movement was intended to "form a buttress against Bolshevism": its leader, Conservative Party MP Wilfrid Ashley was also secretary of the Anti-Socialist Union.[3]

References

  1. ^ "The Royal British Legion – History Pages". Britishlegion Northstaffs. 31 January 2017.
  2. ^ Ian Frederick William Beckett, The Great War, 1914-1918, p.572
  3. ^ Barnett, Marcus; Broder, David (12 November 2018). "Comrades at War". Jacobin. Retrieved 20 November 2018.

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