Exploding the Myths of Sport and the Great War: A First Salvo |
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Authors: | Wray Vamplew |
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Institution: | 1. School of Sport, University of Stirling, Stirling, UKwray.vamplew@stir.ac.uk |
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Abstract: | This article examines the connection between sport and the First World War. It challenges the conventional wisdom that the athleticism associated with a public school education made a significant contribution to the British war effort. Additionally it argues that athleticism had a negligible influence on elementary school pupils who comprised the bulk of the military forces. It also suggests that while army authorities eventually accepted that sport had a positive role to play and made it a compulsory element of military training, it also existed as an escape from hostilities rather than just preparation for them. |
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Keywords: | myth war public school sport military sport research method |
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