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Leadership in the Trenches pp 61–78Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Officer-Man Relations: the Disciplinary and Social Context

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Part of the book series: Studies in Military and Strategic History ((SMSH))

Abstract

The hierarchical structure of the wartime army strongly resembled that of the prewar Regular army. A temporary officer believed that ‘Between officers and men there was a great gulf fixed’.1 An American who enlisted in 1914 had to come to terms with ‘the class distinctions of British army life’:

The officer class and the ranker class are east and west, and never the twain shall meet, except in their respective places upon the parade-ground.2

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Notes

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. King’s College, London, UK

    G. D. Sheffield (Senior Lecturer)

  2. Joint Services Command Staff College, UK

    G. D. Sheffield (Senior Lecturer)

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  1. G. D. Sheffield
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© 2000 G. D. Sheffield

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Sheffield, G.D. (2000). Officer-Man Relations: the Disciplinary and Social Context. In: Leadership in the Trenches. Studies in Military and Strategic History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230596986_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230596986_5

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-39696-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-230-59698-6

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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