National identification is always central wartime, and ‘the land’ (and what is built upon it) is always central to such discourse. Initially triggered by the two very different sets of images produced within the ‘Your Britain’ campaign by Games and Newbould in 1942 This chapter considers the posters produced by government that were believed to reflect the ‘Britain’ that people were being asked to fight for. The chapter uses Benedict Anderson’s idea of an ‘imagined community’, where he questions what ‘makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name’.
This chapter focuses particularly upon the use of both urban and rural images in posters, and how each was used as something to be fought for. The urban image in particular appeared to indicate fighting for the future. This will take into account the public calls for the implementation of the Beveridge Report. The rural image appeared to focus more on the conservative idea of a rural idyllic past, and often appears more idealised. It considers the following poster campaigns in particular: ‘Your Britain’, ‘Dig for Victory’, ‘Lend a Hand on the Land’, the Women’s Land Army, evacuation and savings campaigns.
- Anderson, B. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism 1991
- Bishop, P. An Archetypal Constable: National Identity and the Geography of Nostalgia Athlone Press 1995 (Out of Print)
- Black, J.A. AA History of the British Isles 1997/2002
- Burchardt, J. Paradise Lost, 2002
- Cunliffe, B, Bartless, R., Morril, J., Briggs, A., Bourke, J. (eds) The Penguin Atlas of British and Irish History 2001 *Populist
- Healy, S. Town Life 1968 *Populist
- Land, A., Lowe, R., Whiteside, N. The Development of the Welfare State 1939-1951: A Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office 1992
- Lloyd, D.W. The Making of English Towns: 2000 Years of Evolution 1998 *Populist (Out of Print)
- Mackenzie, S.P. Politics and Military Morale: Current-Affairs and Citizenship. Education in the British Army, 1914-1950 1992
- Marwick, A. Britain in the Century of Total War: War, Peace and Social Change 1900-1967 1968 (Out of Print)
- Marwick, A. Class: Image and Reality 1980
- Matless, D. Landscape and Englishness, 2001
- May, T. An Economic and Social History of Britain 1760-1970 1987
- McKay, D. and Cox, A.W. The Politics of Urban Change 1979
- Miles, P. & Smith, M. Cinema, Literature & Society 1987
- Pelling, H. Modern Britain 1885-1955 1960
- Porter, R. Myths of the English Blackwell, 1993
- Powell, D. Nationhood & Identity: The British State Since 1800 2002
- Samuel, R. Island Stories: Unravelling Britain (Theatres of Memory, Vol. 2) 1998
- Smith, M Britain and 1940: History, Myth and Popular Memory 2000
- Stapledon, R.G. The Way of the Land 1942
- Strong, R. Country Life, 1897-1997: The English Arcadia 1996
- Thorns, D.C. The Quest for Community: Social Aspects of Residential Growth [date]
- Waite, C. and Nicolson, A. Landscape in Britain 1984 *Populist
See PhD Proposal and Bibliography
Tweet
Recent Comments