This is the first in-depth and comparative study of the experience of colonial encounters for troops from the British Empire during the First World War. Drawing on a rich variety of textual and visual material, Anna Maguire explores new contact zones that materialised beyond the battlefield, on troopships, in ports, in military camps and hospitals, in cafes and city streets. She reveals how the colonial mobilisation of troops during the conflict prompted the emergence of spaces for interactions, fleeting moments or ongoing relationships. Through their personal experiences, she uncovers how men from New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies viewed themselves and their identities during a time of global conflict, simultaneously asserting the strength of the existing colonial order and challenging its enactment, through contact, conflict and collaboration. In spaces away from the frontlines, Maguire uses these cultural encounters of colonial troops to offer a more intricate understanding of imperial power relations.

Honourable Mention, Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Prize, World War One Historical Association

‘Anyone wondering how soldiers experienced the First World War beyond the battlefield will rejoice in this rich and beautifully narrated account of the cultures of colonial encounter at the heart of the conflagration. Maguire has given us not just a history of how the war was lived but how it was felt as well.'

Antoinette Burton - University of Illinois

‘In her lucid and evocative book, Anna Maguire takes us on a journey through the intimate 'contact zones' of the British Empire during the First World War. Maguire's insightful analysis of the diverse encounters between men and women beyond the battlefield reveals how violence, inequalities and war displacement left their mark on people's everyday lives, bodies and emotions.'

Alison Fell - University of Leeds

‘Anna Maguire has written a powerful and moving history of the ways that the First World War created new encounters between men mobilised from different parts of the British Empire. Based on meticulous research, this fascinating book reveals how the conflict both consolidated and challenged cultures of racism and of imperialism at the intimate level of human contact.'

Heather Jones - University College London