Leicester in the Great War

Leicester had a strong radical tradition, and was represented in Parliament during the Great War by the outspoken Labour MP Ramsay MacDonald. MacDonald's anti-war views divided opinion in Leicester sharply, but whilst it was slow to provide troops for Kitchener's Army, this was not through lack of patriotism. Instead, Leicester's three main industries footwear, hosiery and engineering all had bulging order books as a result of government war contracts.Bravery on the battlefield, strikes at home,