Whilst a toxic mixture of nationalism and militarism tore Europe and the wider world apart from 1914 to 1919, there was one factor that united millions of people across all nations: that of a Christian faith. People interpreted this faith in many different ways. Soldiers marched off to war with ringing endorsements from bishops that they were fighting a Godly crusade, others preached in churches and tribunal hearings that war was fundamentally against the teachings of Christ. Whether Church of England or Nonconformist, Catholic or Presbyterian, German Lutheran or the American Church of Christ in Christian Union, men and women across the globe conceptualised their war through the prism of their belief in a Christian God. This book brings together twenty-three individual and family case studies, some of well-known personalities, others whose story has become neglected through the decades. Although divided by nation, social class, political outlook and denomination, they were united in their desire to 'Fight the Good Fight'. AUTHOR: John Broom graduated in History from the University of Sheffield in 1991 and has pursued a career in teaching, firstly in History, and latterly as a Specialist Teacher in Autism. The inheritance in 2006 of 170 letters written by his late father between 1940 and 1946 sparked a passion to discover the links between twentieth-century warfare and religion. After completing an MA in Local and Regional History with the Open University, he is currently studying for a PhD at the University of Birmingham and has conducted research on behalf of the Bible Society for their First World War website. John maintains an active social media presence on Twitter at @johnbroom1970 and blogs frequently at www.faithinwartime.wordpress.com.
