Even the most intoxicated could not fail to notice how their city had changed by the end of the first complete year of conflict: Manchester was totally given over to war. It felt the impact of the conflict uniquely: not only was the drain on its manpower more acute than in any other city – by December 1915, 100,000 Mancunians had joined up – but it was within easy reach of the great army training grounds, was home to one of the largest military hospitals in the kingdom, was an important centre of munitions production and had through the enormous array of charitable and other voluntary organizations demonstrated a keen interest in the welfare of its troops, their dependants and our Allies. Seventeen months of war had transformed the city.

And bigger changes were about to occur.