First World War.com - Vintage Video - Cheering Crowds at Buckingham Palace, 1914

First World War.com - A multimedia history of world war one

Crowds cheering outside Buckingham Palace, August 1914 Vintage Video: Cheering Crowds at Buckingham Palace, 1914
Updated - Saturday, 29 November, 2003

With Germany's demand to neutral Belgium to allow passage through her territory for German troops en route to France, Britain's uncertainty regarding its own role - France had urgently pressed Britain to come to her aid, while Britain wavered - ended.

The British government declared that Belgium's neutrality was protected by treaty, to which Britain was a signatory. Any military violation of Belgian territory was, therefore, a matter for war. Consequently when Belgium formally rejected Germany's demands, and German troops invaded Belgium, Britain declared herself at war with Germany - a highly popular stance with the British public.

Click here to view film footage of crowds cheering outside Buckingham Palace in London once news of Britain's entry into the war had become known (Windows Media, 9 seconds, 118KB).

A "conchie" was slang used to refer to a conscientious objector.