Half the battle: Civilian Morale in Britain During the Second World WarManchester University Press, 2013 M07 19 - 288 pages This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. How well did civilian morale stand up to the pressures of total war and what factors were important to it? This book rejects contentions that civilian morale fell a long way short of the favourable picture presented at the time and in hundreds of books and films ever since. While acknowledging that some negative attitudes and behaviour existed—panic and defeatism, ration-cheating and black-marketeering—it argues that these involved a very small minority of the population. In fact, most people behaved well, and this should be the real measure of civilian morale, rather than the failing of the few who behaved badly. The book shows that although before the war, the official prognosis was pessimistic, measures to bolster morale were taken nevertheless, in particular with regard to protection against air raids. An examination of indicative factors concludes that moral fluctuated but was in the main good, right to the end of the war. In examining this phenomenon, due credit is accorded to government policies for the maintenance of morale, but special emphasis is given to the ‘invisible chain’ of patriotic feeling that held the nation together during its time of trial. |
Contents
September 1939May 1941 | |
194145 | |
Persuading the people | |
Protection | |
Beveridge and all that | |
CONCLUSION | |
Bibliography | |
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Common terms and phrases
air raids areas attack attitude Battle of Britain became behaviour better Beveridge Blitz bombers bombing Britain British broadcasts Brown’s campaign cent Churchill Churchill’s cinema citizens Civil Defence civilian morale Daily Daily Mirror deep shelters diary effect effort enemy evacuation evidence factory fear feel fighting File Report film forces Gallup George Orwell German Government Government’s Harold Nicolson Harrisson Hitler HMSO home front Home Intelligence Ibid increase industrial invasion J. B. Priestley June Labour Party less living London War Notes Lord Woolton mass Mass-Observation mental military million Ministry of Information months Nella Last never November official Orwell patriotic people’s Phoney War Picture Post Plan political popular population pre-war problem production programme propaganda radio reconstruction recorded Second World Second World War September showed social spirit survey thought Tom Harrisson University Press victory wartime week women Woolton workers