The Great War and the British People

Estimates of mortality and population changes in England and Wales over the two World Wars

“…Winter (1976Winter ( , 2003 gives a comprehensive overview of the official statistics available on British military losses during the First World War. The author argues that neither census/vital statistics nor military reports provide precise figures on population loss in times of war operation (Winter, 1976).…”

“…The General Annual Report of the British Army 1913-1919(Army Council, 1921, Statistics of Military Effort of the British Empire during the Great War (The War Office, 1922), and Casualties and Medical Statistics of the Great War (Mitchell andSmith, 1931, 1997) are the most widely used official military data sources on British casualties during the First World War (see Urlanis, 1971, and Winter, 1976, 2003 for more details). Reports published by military authorities (including those mentioned above) are incomplete and provide only approximate data (Winter, 1976(Winter, , 2003.…”

“…Reports published by military authorities (including those mentioned above) are incomplete and provide only approximate data (Winter, 1976(Winter, , 2003. To our knowledge, detailed data on military loss, such as on the age structure of the dead, have not been collected or published.…”

“…First, it seems that historians and historical demographers have been attracted to British population losses in the First World War much more so than to loss in the Second World War. Second, complete official demographic data on the civilian population are available, but data on the combatant population are missing, questionable, or very approximate only (Winter, 2003). Most of the official data on combatants (coming from vital statistics or military reports) must be evaluated critically as they are affected by different types of errors (Winter, 1977(Winter, , 2003.…”

“…Winter, which are probably the best known. His estimates are based on mortality rates drawn from life tables of the Prudential Life Insurance Company (Winter, 1976(Winter, , 2003.…”