An examination of the lifecycle of soldiers, including enlistment, experiences of military life, the soldier's place in society and in politics, and military identity, memory and representation. This book surveys and examines the history of Britain's soldiers from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It focuses on the lifecycle of a soldier, including enlistment and experience, and on identity, representations and place in society. It covers the diverse military forces of the British crown - the regular army, home defence forces, part-time soldiers, auxiliaries, officers, non-commissioned officers and rank and file - across times of conflictand peace and their wider relationship to families, communities, government and society. Additionally, it considers both British troops, and, recognising Britain's soldiers as a transnational phenomenon, forces raised outside ofBritain and Ireland. By assessing the evolution of Britain's soldiers across three centuries, the book highlights continuity and change and gauges how far the basic fundamentals, principles and priorities of army life have endured or been transformed during the existence of a continual standing army. The book includes up-to-date research from a new generation of early-career researchers and reflections from established scholars. CONTRIBUTORS: Ian Beckett, Timothy Bowman, Gavin Daly, Peter Doyle, Edward Gosling, George Hay, Kevin Linch, Matthew Lord, Eleanor O'Keeffe, Adam Prime, Michael Reeve, Jacqueline Reiter, Robert Tildesley, and Christina Welsch.

This volume represents the first dedicated study of the British Yeomanry Cavalry, delving into the institution's history from the cessation of hostilities with France in 1815 through to the eve of the First World War in 1914. This social history explores the Yeomanry's composition and place within British society, as well as its controversial role in policing before and after Peterloo, and its unique contribution to the war in South Africa. Overturning or challenging many enduring myths and accepted truths, this book breaks new ground not just in our understanding of the Yeomanry, but the wider amateur military tradition.

This volume represents the first dedicated study of the British Yeomanry Cavalry, delving into the institution's history from the cessation of hostilities with France in 1815 through to the eve of the First World War in 1914. This social history explores the Yeomanry's composition and place within British society, as well as its controversial role in policing before and after Peterloo, and its unique contribution to the war in South Africa. Overturning or challenging many enduring myths and accepted truths, this book breaks new ground not just in our understanding of the Yeomanry, but the wider amateur military tradition.

The Covid pandemic has put all modern societies to a serious test of resilience. The interdisciplinary research on which this book is based examined how four European governments behaved in these circumstances. During the months of the crisis, the team of experts coordinated by the editors of this volume took a close look at the decision-making processes in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia – the so-called Visegrad Four. The inquiries focused on experiences from the academic, health, economic and social fields. The methods of comparison included surveys, interviews, discourse analysis, for which the adaptive leadership theory provided the conceptual framework. The conclusions are both academic and practical. Aside the description of the pandemic responses, the research had a formative dimension: how can an adaptive leadership approach better help societies manage the health and societal impacts of similar challenges? The spectrum of emerging anti-democratic tendencies in the region provided the specific context of the exercise. The four states face varying degrees of democratic backsliding as well as illiberal influences that have affected their response to the pandemic, which gives this research on the Visegrad Four a worldwide resonance.