Half the battle : civilian morale in Britain during the Second World War /
Mackay, Robert, 1940-,
Half the battle : civilian morale in Britain during the Second World War / Robert Mackay. - 1 online resource (vi, 282 pages)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-274) and index.
CONTENTS; INTRODUCTION; 1 War imagined; 2 War experienced: September 1939-May 1941; 3 War experienced: 1941-45; 4 Persuading the people; 5 Easing the strain; 6 Beveridge and all that; CONCLUSION The invisible chain; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX. INTRODUCTION -- PROSPECT AND REALITY -- War imagined -- The prospect of total war -- again -- A united nation? -- Preparing for the storm -- The view from below -- War experienced: September 1939-May 1941 -- The Phoney War -- The Emergency -- May-September 1940 -- The Big Blitz -- War experienced: 1941-45 -- A different sort of war -- Separations -- Restrictions, restrictions -- Working and not working -- EXPLANATIONS -- Persuading the people -- Controlling the news -- The propaganda of reassurance -- Stimulating patriotism -- Easing the strain -- Protection -- Food -- The cost of living -- Working conditions -- Health -- Recreation and leisure -- Some essential inessentials -- Beveridge and all that -- Thinking about the future -- The impact of Beveridge -- Another sign of things to come? -- CONCLUSION -- The invisible chain. Part I. 1. 2. 3. Part II. 4. 5. 6.
Electronic resource (access conditions).
"How well did civilian morale stand up to the pressures of total war and what factors were important to it? In this important work, Robert Mackay offers a robust rejection of recent 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. Whilst acknowledging that some negative attitudes and behaviours existed - panic and defeatism, ration-cheating and black-marketeering, looting, absenteeism and strikes - the author 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 failings of the few who behaved badly. This book shows that before the War the official prognosis was pessimistic but that measures to bolster morale were taken nevertheless, in particular with regard to protection against air raids. An examination of a range of indicative factors concludes that morale fluctuated but was in the main good, right until the end of the War. In explaining 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. This book will give students of the Second World War new insights into how and why ordinary people coped with the intolerable"--Publisher's description.
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.
http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212
English.
9781526137425 1417574763 9781417574766 9781847790200 1847790208 1526137429 9781781700143 1781700141
9781526137425
JSTOR purchased
2002033374
GBC1D9246 bnb
018370738 Uk 2002033374 Uk 020285320 Uk
1918-1945
World War, 1939-1945--Great Britain.
World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Great Britain.
Humanities.
History.
Regional and national history.
European history.
HISTORY--Military--World War II.
Manners and customs.
Social aspects.
Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Thuisfront.
Great Britain--Social life and customs--1918-1945.
Great Britain.
War Britain Civilian
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
D759 / .M24 2002eb
940.53/41
Half the battle : civilian morale in Britain during the Second World War / Robert Mackay. - 1 online resource (vi, 282 pages)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-274) and index.
CONTENTS; INTRODUCTION; 1 War imagined; 2 War experienced: September 1939-May 1941; 3 War experienced: 1941-45; 4 Persuading the people; 5 Easing the strain; 6 Beveridge and all that; CONCLUSION The invisible chain; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX. INTRODUCTION -- PROSPECT AND REALITY -- War imagined -- The prospect of total war -- again -- A united nation? -- Preparing for the storm -- The view from below -- War experienced: September 1939-May 1941 -- The Phoney War -- The Emergency -- May-September 1940 -- The Big Blitz -- War experienced: 1941-45 -- A different sort of war -- Separations -- Restrictions, restrictions -- Working and not working -- EXPLANATIONS -- Persuading the people -- Controlling the news -- The propaganda of reassurance -- Stimulating patriotism -- Easing the strain -- Protection -- Food -- The cost of living -- Working conditions -- Health -- Recreation and leisure -- Some essential inessentials -- Beveridge and all that -- Thinking about the future -- The impact of Beveridge -- Another sign of things to come? -- CONCLUSION -- The invisible chain. Part I. 1. 2. 3. Part II. 4. 5. 6.
Electronic resource (access conditions).
"How well did civilian morale stand up to the pressures of total war and what factors were important to it? In this important work, Robert Mackay offers a robust rejection of recent 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. Whilst acknowledging that some negative attitudes and behaviours existed - panic and defeatism, ration-cheating and black-marketeering, looting, absenteeism and strikes - the author 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 failings of the few who behaved badly. This book shows that before the War the official prognosis was pessimistic but that measures to bolster morale were taken nevertheless, in particular with regard to protection against air raids. An examination of a range of indicative factors concludes that morale fluctuated but was in the main good, right until the end of the War. In explaining 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. This book will give students of the Second World War new insights into how and why ordinary people coped with the intolerable"--Publisher's description.
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.
http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212
English.
9781526137425 1417574763 9781417574766 9781847790200 1847790208 1526137429 9781781700143 1781700141
9781526137425
JSTOR purchased
2002033374
GBC1D9246 bnb
018370738 Uk 2002033374 Uk 020285320 Uk
1918-1945
World War, 1939-1945--Great Britain.
World War, 1939-1945--Social aspects--Great Britain.
Humanities.
History.
Regional and national history.
European history.
HISTORY--Military--World War II.
Manners and customs.
Social aspects.
Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Thuisfront.
Great Britain--Social life and customs--1918-1945.
Great Britain.
War Britain Civilian
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
D759 / .M24 2002eb
940.53/41