'We Will Never Forget You': Christian Charities and the Rehabilitation of Disabled ex-Servicemen in Inter-War Leeds

Abstract

The unprecedented number of disabled ex-servicemen is one of the evident, but often forgotten, legacies that the First World War left to Britain. For these men, and the organisations created to rehabilitate and reintegrate them back into civil life, the war did not end with the 1918 armistice. By using parish records, this paper will argue that disabled veterans were largely forgotten by religious charities within inter-war Leeds, despite attempts made by clergymen to help servicemen during the war. The impact that this had on male and religious identity is also examined, as any help available disappeared with distance from the conflict. This lack of Christian aid in Leeds challenges the wider historiographical perspective that the Great War favourably altered social attitudes to disability and disability care, whilst supporting the narrative that disabled ex-servicemen were overlooked by the nation they fought to protect.