UK Edition
Churchill was PM, JFK was assassinated and we fought against France: How millennials get WW1 wrong
An armed forces charity has revealed its fears that the efforts of brave World War One soldiers may be forgotten after a survey revealed one in five millennials thought Britain fought it against France.
SSAFA, formerly known as the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, polled 2,000 British adults over some of the war’s pivotal moments.
It found that millennials were not aware who the British Prime Ministers were during the War, with nearly half (42 per cent) believing wrongly that Winston Churchill held office.
Less than half (45 per cent) knew that the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, sparked the War, with six per cent alarmingly thinking it was the assassination of US president John F Kennedy. He died nearly 50 years later.
The charity is now calling on the public to keep the nation’s history alive on the centenary of the end of World War One, and encourage families to share their stories of World War One with the younger generations. It came after the baby boomer generation’s knowledge in the poll was far superior.
Justine Baynes, Director at SSAFA, said: “Millennials are the first generation who may not have known a family member who fought in World War One so it’s not surprising that there may be a lack of knowledge about the war.
“The further we move away from the conflict, the more important it becomes to keep the World War One stories of bravery and courage alive and commemorate those who gave up their lives for our country.”
There was also confusion among millennials over who was monarch during World War One, as three quarters were unaware that King George V was on the throne.
A quarter (25 per cent) said ‘Russia’ was who we fought against, and 19 per cent answered France.