Today's question

To coincide with Rebellion, the annual Punk Rock gathering at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool, I have

a question:

"To what extent do Punk Rockers identify with those who served at the Fronts during the First World War?"   

I do not exclude women, as there were many who served, albeit not in the trenches, at the different Fronts. However, having said that, Flora Sandes from Suffolk joined the Serbian Army, fought on the Eastern Front and was wounded and there were many Russian women who fought during WW1.

Food for thought?

Queen Victoria's Daughters

Having seen a television documentary about Queen Victoria's daughters and how strong and independent they were, in spite of their mother's attempts to control them, I have begun to revise my thinking about the situation of women in the early part of the 20th Century.

As I mentioned previously, the play "Hindle Wakes" was written in 1910 and deals with the story of a young lady who works as a weaver in a Lancashire mill.   She goes on holiday with a girl friend to Blackpool.   I had never imagined that young, single ladies living with their parents would have been allowed to go on holiday alone at that time.

However, reading Katherine Scott's biography has also been an eye-opener.  Katherine travelled extensively alone and lived in Paris in 1905, where she studied sculpture with Rodin.

So it seems to me now that it was not the First World War that began to set women free but the Industrial Revolution and the discarding of the distaff.

Something Different again

I explained to Dave of the WW1 Aerodrome Stow Maries in Essex that Grandfather was an 'Old Contemptible' and that I was dedicating my exhibitions to his memory and to that of Great Uncles James Yule who was killed at Arras in 1917 and William P. Yule who survived but died early in WW2.

Dave asked me if I had a photograph of my Grandfather, so I decided to introduce him to you.

MAJOR LEWIS JACKSON, TD, RA (18th April 1888 - 30th September 1948)

Grandfather, Lewis Jackson TD, RA, was an 'Old Contemptible'.  He joined the Royal Field Artillery in 1905 at the age of 16.  He was a Sergeant when his Regiment was sent as part of the British Expeditionary Force to Belgium on 22nd August 1914.   By 29th November 1914, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.   After service in France, Belgium, Mesopotamia and India, he ended the War with the Dunsterville Column (Dunsterforce).  

He became a temporary Captain in January 1918, survived the War, returning home at Christmas 1919.  In 1923, the British Government reduced the Armed Forces and to his great disappointment because he 'only knew soldiering', he lost his job.   He joined the TA the same day with the rank of Honorary Captain, Regular Army Reserve of Officers.  

Grandfather also served during WW2.   While he was in command of 208 Battery at Green Street Green, they made headline news when they shot down two Dornier 17s with one salvo on 8th September 1940. 

He retired from the Army on the grounds of ill health in 1942 and died on 30th September 1948.

He was a past president of the Royal British Legion Crayford Branch, a member of the Old Contemptibles, Woolwich and of the Royal Field Artillery Old Comrades.  He was a Freemason and had a military funeral with pall bearers from the RA Depot, Woolwich, with the gun carriage being accompanied by members of RFAOCA, Q Battery, 458 Heavy AA Regiment and Old Contemptibles Association, Woolwich.   

In the photo Grandfather is a Major - the one in the middle holding a baton - which he became in 1929.

Lucy London, August 2013 

The play "Hindle Wakes" (1910) as a backdrop to the situation of women in the UK during WW1

Having watched the 1950s version of the play "Hindle Wakes" by Stanley Houghton, which was written in 1910, I was curious to have a look at the original work.  The play was performed on stage in Manchester for the first time in 1912.

For those who have not seen the play or the film, the story is about a young, unmarried woman who works as a weaver at a mill in Lancashire and the scandal caused when, instead of staying with her girl friend in Blackpool on their annual holiday, she goes to Llandudno with a gentleman.

Fanny, the central character is a strong-willed young woman who lives with her parents.

It is a fascinating insight into what life was like for working class people before the First World War and will be very useful in helping me put into perspective the situation of women in the UK at that time for my project.

Conference: "War Horses of the World"

WAR HORSES OF THE WORLD"

A weekend Conference at the School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS], London.

DATES: Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th May 2014

VENUE: Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS Main Building, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1H 0XG

AGENDA: This conference is part of an exciting ‘stable’ of biennial conferences first initiated on the Greek island of Hydra and are now held at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London – the Donkey Conference (2005, 2007, 2012), the Camel Conference @ SOAS (2010, 2011, 2013) and the Elephant Conference @ SOAS (forthcoming 2015). Working quadrupeds, studied in social and historical context, and from all disciplinary viewpoints.  

This year we turn our attention to War Horses of the World.

PARTICIPATION: We are concerned to cover the widest possible range of topics, geographical regions and historical periods. In particular, we are keen to right the balance between the 'West' and the 'Rest'. For this conference we welcome papers that include mules as well as horses.

THEMES: The conference will be cross-disciplinary, and our approach is critical rather than celebratory. We are particular interested in what happens at interfaces, in areas of in-betweenness and transition. For instance, the affective relations between fighting people and their mounts; or what happens when horse cultures meet camel or elephant cultures in war; or the change from chariot warfare to cavalry and mounted archers; or horses meeting motorised armoury; or how the horse operates at the cutting edge of colonialism, fighting the as-yet unhorsed; or where the horse as embodiment of power meets the subaltern horse; or how 'martial horseness' is created as socio-cultural practice in given societies.

We invite contributions in that spirit.

SUBMISSIONS: If you wish to propose a paper for this conference, please send your proposal by e-mail to the conference organiser:

ed.emery@soas.ac.uk

The proposal should include a provisional title for the paper; an abstract of the paper (200 words maximum); and a CV of the author(s) (100 words maximum). 

Deadline for submissions: Monday, 4th November 2013.

REGISTRATION: The conference is open to the academic community and to members of the general public. Registration for presenters of papers is free.

_____________________________________________________________________

William Gervase Clarence-Smith [SOAS, Conference chair]

Ed Emery [SOAS, Conference organiser]

1.viii.2013

"The Bob"

Searching the Internet for biographical details of French Feminist, poet and writer Henriette Sauret, I came across a very interesting book entitled "Civilization without Sexes:  Reconstructing Gender in Post War France, 1917 - 1927" by Mary Louise Roberts, published by the University of Chicago Press, London and Chicago, 1994.

An initial perusal shows up a very interesting discussion about the 1920s short hair cut known as "The Bob"- "Unlike Sampson … quipped Sauret, we may gain total power in shorting our hair" - Roberts, p. 87

I remember years ago a hairdresser suggested a short style for me.   This came with a warning - "short hair seems to empower women". . .  Would you believe it, he was right where I was concerned.

Edith Cavell

I had assumed that pretty well everyone knew about Edith Cavell - who, along with Florence Nightingale, Grace Darling and Elisabeth Fry is one of my all-time star heroines - but looking on the Facebook Group WW1 Buffs, I see this is not the case.

Edith was a British nurse who was working in a Brussels hospital when WW1 broke out.  She helped hundreds of British soldiers to escape after the Battle of Mons.  Edith was arrested by the Germans, tried and shot.  

It seems a little odd to me that Marthe McKenna, who was a secret agent working for the British during WW1, had her death sentence commuted to imprisonment, whereas Edith Cavell who was not a spy did not.