The body in the British Military Culture before the Outbreak of the Second World War

My grandmother was born, and raised in Liverpool, England, and she always cites her hero to be her father, NCO Ernst William Harrison, her father. He was a non-commissioned officer in the Second World War. In the old photo albums there are pictures of his “tour of duty” in India. By looking at a few of these pictures one can attempt to understand how the military culture he was engulfed in viewed certain aspects of the body, and even discern a few of their ideals of masculinity. The first picture is one of the NCO relaxing in a lawn chair of sorts, he has a mongoose by his feet, and he is reading. The second image is of NCO and one of his comrades with two Indians, they are at a train station, and the two men are posed under a sign. These two images will be the vanguard in an assessment of the view of Masculinity in the British military before the outbreak of the Second World War.

The NCO relaxed in a chair with a mongoose by his foot gives a very usual picture of pre-conflict military culture. Before the outbreak of war and before the initiation of conflict a certain mythology of military life is brought up. People believe joining the ranks of the army will allow them to see foreign, new, and exciting places, the prospect of actual conflict is treated with the man laying down relaxing with a mongoose on his shoe. The picture here would make a great poster for propaganda, “Join the King’s Army, and See the World”. The idea that military life was relaxed and easy was what that picture seemed to get across, whether it was the photographer, or the photographed’s intent to show it that way, that picture portrayed the rich explorer mentality. The appeal was to a gentleman’s club of men who got to see new world, and exotic animals.

The Second photo, depicting the four men at the railroad is one that shall be the focus here. Two of the men are British soldiers, and two are native men of India. The one soldier (not NCO) is leaning on the railing of the sign they are standing under. The two Indians are standing around, but not under the sign. NCO is standing next to his fellow soldier under the sign. The first soldier, leaning in a very comfortable and relaxed pose is giving off a well maintained and confident aura. The uniform he wears is clean and well taken care of. He has no hat, and his sleeves are rolled up. NCO is holding his hat, and he seems a little less relaxed than his comrade. His uniform is well maintained, and his sleeves are down. The two men appear very upbeat, with the soldier seeming more confident than his NCO friend. The two natives appear to be in good spirits as well. The symbolism of the railroad might be well to be taken into account, since even as aviation was taking dominance the rails were one of the most important means of conveyance for the men. The rails were also a symbol of commercial and military power. Men and merchandise could be run from one end of the colony to the other through these rails. It can not be inferred if the men understood the symbolism of these rails, but it can be assumed that the rails were a symbol for the modernity of the empire.

The dominant idea in this military culture before the war was one of a club, and a sporting military life. The men in the pictures were never vastly uncomfortable, and the usual photograph showed them enjoying the few remaining moments of imperial prosperity, before the world plummeted into crisis, and their lives would be put on the line for crown, colony, and country. A pragmatic masculinity is what they had made for themselves. My great-grandmother would never go to India to live with the NCO, because during the night “The Mountain Men”, as her, and my grandmother called them; would come down to raid the camps, and villages. The men like this got to be soldiers when necessary, but at this time could still relax, and have a good time.

Maybe this pragmatic aggression is what allowed them to win when war finally came. It is known that the Germans in particular emphasized hyper-masculine ideas, the German Soldier was supposed to be a new man, emphasizing the role of aggression in their ideals. I see this pragmatic masculinity of the British as a great balance to this recklessness of their opponents. The British held their line so to speak, much like Agincourt, were the haughty French hurled their cavalry to ruin against the British during the Hundred Years’ War. This ability to be aggressive when needed seems to be a predominant idea in the British view of masculinity, and has lead to the preservation of their culture since the fall of Rome through today.