Leicester in the Great War

This WWI history shines a light on the contributions and sacrifices made by the English city Leicester through vivid firsthand accounts.

When the Great War broke out in 1914, Leicester was represented in Parliament by Ramsey MacDonald, one of the founders of the Labour Party. His anti-war stance sharply divide his constituents, and while the city was slow to provide troops for Kitchener's Army, it had no lack of patriotism. Leicester's three main industries—footwear, hosiery and engineering—...