Over the Top by Bernard Hugh

The demobilisation of the army at the end of World War I was a slow process as this picture, from January 1919 confirms. Some units remained to police the Rhineland region, and were topped up by regulars, but the rest would be divided up for demobilisation according to priority. Civil servants - the ones who would administer the return of so many men to the workforce - went first, followed by pivotal men (the job creators) and then slip men (who had notes from employers promising work). The system was flawed, allowing more recent recruits to demob earlier than longer serving soldiers, but after the 1918 General Election, the process became speedier

Demob Demobbed Demobilisation Homecoming Metaphor Workforce

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