Welcome to the course. To begin, course leader Mario Draper provides a brief introduction, then we'll start to explore the relationship between Britain and the colonies & dominions.

Here we examine the lead up to the Great War, looking at the reforms made in the British Army following the Boer War, and the Imperial Army Project. We'll also consider the specific case of Britain’s largest colony – India.

In this activity we'll consider the recruitment and mobilisation of Imperial and Dominion forces, and introduce the concept of "martial races".

Here we examine the contribution made by labour contingents (in particular, Chinese and South African labourers) on the Western Front, considering the differences in experiences of Imperial labourers compared to fighting troops.

In this activity we'll look at the challenge of raising manpower for the Western Front, and how and why this challenge was met either by volunteersim or conscription.

We round off our first week with a brief summary of the topics we've covered and a chance to reflect.

Mario Draper starts our second week with a brief overview of the topics we'll cover.

Here we consider the contribution of Indians, particularly at Neuve Chapelle, and South Africans, at Delville Wood.

Here we consider the contributions of Canadians, particularly at Vimy Ridge, and Newfoundlanders at Beaumont-Hamel.

Here we consider the contributions of Australians and New Zealanders on the Western Front.

To round off our second week, we'll engage with academic texts relating to Colonial and Dominion Forces on the Western Front, before Mario Draper provides a brief summary of what we've covered this week.

Mario Draper starts our third week with a brief overview of the topics we'll cover.

In this activity we'll look at the ways in which Imperial troops were used, including how they were invovled in new approaches to warfare and the specialist roles they took on.

here we'll consider issues related to discipline, including court martials and use of the death penalty, and morale, including the importance of sports and other social activities.

To round off our third week, Mario Draper provides a brief overview of the topics we've covered.

Mario Draper introduces our fourth and final week with a brief overview of the topics we'll cover. In this activity we also consider the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission.

Here we look in detail at a number of memorials and cemeteries, including the Menin Gate in Ypres and sites related to particular Imperial contributors.

In this activity we consider the legacy of the Great War, thinking about the idea of 'pilgrims' and 'tourists', visiting one of the most recently built war cemeteries, and investigating the idea of the 'unknown soldier'.

We conclude our fourth week - and our course overall - with a brief look back at all the topics we've covered.