Pubs and Patriots: The Drink Crisis during the First World War - 21 November 2012

In the midst of the First World War, concern arose about drunkenness at a time of national emergency. As the military front was supposedly let down by drinkers and shirkers at home, attention quickly turned to British drinking practices. Britain, it seemed, was under the duress of a widespread addiction to boozing.

Prohibition was deemed too extreme and nationalisation too impractical, so the government created an organisation known as the Central Control Board (CCB) which set about reforming the nation's drinking habits. Loved by a few, but disliked by most, this group was responsible for the most radical and unique experiment in alcohol control ever conducted in Britain. The story of the CCB, including how and why it was formed, is discussed here by Robert Duncan.