Following the start of the First World War in 1914 Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of Stated for War, launched a mass-recruitment effort to meet the demand for more soldiers on the Western Front. This unprecedented military mobilisation meant men travelled across the country for training and recruitment.
In Whitchurch, Shropshire, an autograph book belonging to a local girl provides a poignant memento of the meeting of different groups that occurred in Britain during the war through the signatures and messages left by the soldiers. The book is now held by the Whitchurch Heritage Centre, where curator Dr Judith Hoyle
