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You are here: Home>Hertfordshire During the First World War Learning Resource>Friend or Foe?

Friend or Foe?

The idea of the enemy was deliberately constructed in order to encourage patriotic feeling and contribution to the war effort.  The enemy needed to seem different: sinister, dangerous and immoral.  Fear gave rise to suspicion and paranoia at home of foreigners, hatred of the enemy abroad, along with a sense that the war was justified.

  • Was he a spy ?
    Was he a spy ?
    On the 25th April 1915, Albert Patrick of the Liberal Club, Bishop’s Stortford, reported that about 5.30 p.m. whilst walking along the Hallingbury Road, near Garden Fields, he saw a man loitering, looking towards the railway line.
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  • Enemy aliens
    Enemy aliens
    As the war started, suspicion of foreigners, particularly Belgians and Germans, began to be reported in the local newspapers.
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  • The boy scout spy
    The boy scout spy
    Spy stories
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  • Friend or Foe? Slide Show
    Friend or Foe? Slide Show
    Primary Sources Slide Show
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  • Friend or Foe? Questions
    Friend or Foe? Questions
    Discussion themes and questions
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  • Belgian Refugees
    Belgian Refugees
    In autumn 1914, thousands of Belgian refugees arrived in the UK
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  • In Case of Invasion
    In Case of Invasion
    Each county made plans to deal with emergencies, such as invasion
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  • Alien Registration and Restrictions
    Alien Registration and Restrictions
    At the outbreak of war all non-UK nationals (aliens) were subject to severe restrictions
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  • Rise of Anti German Feeling
    Rise of Anti German Feeling
    Once the war began it wasn't long before fear and suspicion of Germans was widespread
    Read more
  • Divided Loyalties
    Divided Loyalties
    Some people had no quarrel with the Germans and were forced to make difficult choices when war broke out
    Read more
  • Friend or Foe? Graphic Novels

    Friend or Foe? Graphic Novels (2)

  • Friend or Foe? Transcripts

    Friend or Foe? Transcripts (2)

Hertfordshire During the First World War Learning Resource
  • Strength of the Police Force
  • Food and Farming
  • For King and Country
  • Friend or Foe?
  • Further Learning Resources
  • Soldiers in Town
  • Take Cover!
  • Taking a Stand Against War
  • Women at War
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