FOR A seemingly interminable time, the centenary of the start of the First World War has been heralded and now, almost suddenly, it is upon us. Around the UK and the rest of the world, the centenary will be marked by an incalculable number of organisations and groups, and, of course, individuals. My generation has never witnessed such a momentous event as the beginning of the First World War. I can just about recall the Argentine invasion of South Georgia and Prime Minister Thatcher's decision to recapture the Falklands. The mood was one of considerable tension, but there was also an element of great excitement and national pride - just as it was in August 1914. It is something of that tension and excitement 100 years ago that we have tried to portray in this edition of Britain at War Magazine. We have a Cabinet insider's account of the immense burden of responsibility that lay on the shoulders of ministers faced with the most important decision of their lives. There is also the remarkable story, told by a Foreign Office official, of the terrible mistake that was made when, in the anxious moments of the evening of 4 August 1914, the German Ambassador was handed a premature declaration of war. The young official, one of the most junior members of staff in the Foreign Office, was given the job of quickly retrieving the letter before its contents had been read!
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