THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF DISCHARGED AND DEMOBILIZED SOLDIERS AND SAILORS, 1917-1921: A VIEW FROM THE MARCHES.

The National Federation of Discharged and Demobilized Soldiers and Sailors has hitherto been neglected by historians of the Great War. This paper examines this radical ex-service organization in the context of working class communities and mentalities. This account of its rise and fall focuses on rural areas, especially the Welsh Marches. Here, while there were early and close links with local trade unions, by 1919 the Federation had become more conservative and soon declined. Although its decline mirrored the general history of this organization, the local cultural background, in particular the gentry paternalism of the Marches. ensured that the NFDDSS in this region was a short-lived phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]