Your country needs you
Parliament has for centuries been involved in making sure the state has enough men and women to serve in the armed forces both at home and abroad.
The two world wars of 1914-18 and 1939-45 meant raising armies and defence forces of unprecedented size, as well as mobilising the entire population for a people's war. These demands profoundly affected everyone's lives.
Collections
- Paris 1919: Treaty of Versailles
- Armistice and Memorial
- The Battle of the Somme
- Waterloo, Wellington & Westminster
- Winston Churchill and Parliament
- The Outbreak of the First World War
- From the Parliamentary Collections: Parliamentary staff in the First World War
- From the Parliamentary Collections: Conscription
- The Second World War
- From the Parliamentary Collections: VE Day, 1945
Research
Read more about Parliament's role in raising recruits for the fighting forces and organising the civilian war effort
Overview
Find out how Parliament has called on people to defend the nation and take part in in military operations