At the outbreak of World War I the population of Stamford was slightly in excess of 10,000 and at that time the Town was a Borough rather than a Town Council. This meant that the role of the Council was far greater than it is now and the only council higher than the Borough Council was Kesteven County Council.

Documents relating to the Borough Council’s role in World War 1 are far less than one would expect and certainly less than those available for the period of World War II. In many ways the Borough Council acted essentially as a facilitator in various schemes such as the establishment and co-ordination of emergency committees, mainly run from Lincoln, which were established to assist in the war effort. This is in addition to the establishment of a local committee for the Relief of Distress Caused by War which dealt with those families impoverished by their bread-winners being involved in the war effort and included such items as free medical care and medicines. Stamford also took in Belgian refugees and this was dealt with on a town-wide basis involving various bodies and individuals (see above for more details).

The Council also encouraged and were involved in finding employment for the unemployed and to include women and sought to involve unions. There was very little documentation regarding preparation for hostile landings or armed resistance, other than to collect the names and addresses of all bicycle holders in the town and surrounding villages. Author Cllr. M Jalili. This is a summary of documentation.