Manchester University Press
8 The unsung heroines of radical wartime activism
Abstract
Drawing on wartime press articles and photographs, post-war memoirs and oral history interviews, Krisztina Robert identifies two main strategies, both actual and discursive, through which the women constructed the meaning of their work in the British Women’s Corps. The first one, militarisation, entailed working under martial discipline at military sites, wearing service uniforms of khaki (controversial for some) and performing duties previously done by soldiers, sailors and airmen. The second strategy included a strong emphasis on occupational training and/or previous experience as an entry condition into the Corps, with emphasis on the mental and physical difficulty of the jobs and the use of modern technology in the work processes
Abstract
Drawing on wartime press articles and photographs, post-war memoirs and oral history interviews, Krisztina Robert identifies two main strategies, both actual and discursive, through which the women constructed the meaning of their work in the British Women’s Corps. The first one, militarisation, entailed working under martial discipline at military sites, wearing service uniforms of khaki (controversial for some) and performing duties previously done by soldiers, sailors and airmen. The second strategy included a strong emphasis on occupational training and/or previous experience as an entry condition into the Corps, with emphasis on the mental and physical difficulty of the jobs and the use of modern technology in the work processes
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- List of abbreviations xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Peace, but not at any price 17
- 2 At the crossroads 35
- 3 ‘One of the most revolutionary proposals that has ever been put before the House’ 56
- 4 Labour and socialism during the First World War in Bristol and Northampton 73
- 5 A stronghold of liberalism? The north-east Lancashire cotton weaving districts and the First World War 91
- 6 Living through war, waging peace 108
- 7 ‘Industrial unionism for women’ 126
- 8 The unsung heroines of radical wartime activism 145
- 9 Charlie Chaplin’s war 166
- 10 Irish Labour and the ‘Co-operative Commonwealth’ in the era of the First World War 182
- 11 Russia’s war and revolutions as seen by Morgan Philips Price and Arthur Henderson 201
- 12 The Stanford connection 220
- 13 The problem of war aims and the Treaty of Versailles 240
- Index 257
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures and tables vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- List of abbreviations xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 Peace, but not at any price 17
- 2 At the crossroads 35
- 3 ‘One of the most revolutionary proposals that has ever been put before the House’ 56
- 4 Labour and socialism during the First World War in Bristol and Northampton 73
- 5 A stronghold of liberalism? The north-east Lancashire cotton weaving districts and the First World War 91
- 6 Living through war, waging peace 108
- 7 ‘Industrial unionism for women’ 126
- 8 The unsung heroines of radical wartime activism 145
- 9 Charlie Chaplin’s war 166
- 10 Irish Labour and the ‘Co-operative Commonwealth’ in the era of the First World War 182
- 11 Russia’s war and revolutions as seen by Morgan Philips Price and Arthur Henderson 201
- 12 The Stanford connection 220
- 13 The problem of war aims and the Treaty of Versailles 240
- Index 257
