Table Of ContentQ QUEEN
U
gENDERinHISTORY E
E AND COUNTRY
N
Using a rich array of oral histories and previously
A
unseen archival sources, Queen and country provides
the first detailed academic study of the complex intersection N SAME-SEX DESIRE IN THE
between same-sex desire and military authority in the British D
Armed Forces between 1939 and 1945. It illuminates how men BRITISH ARMED FORCES,
and women lived, loved and survived in an institution which, C
at least publicly, was unequivocally hostile towards same-sex O 1939–45
activity within its ranks. Queen and country also tells a story of
U
selective remembrance and the politics of memory, exploring
specifically why same-sex desire continues to be absent from N
the historical record of the war. In examining this absence, and T
the more intimate minutiae of cohesion, homosociability and R
desire, it pushes far beyond traditional military history in order Y
to cast new light on one of the most widely discussed conflicts
of the twentieth century. It makes a significant and original
contribution to debates concerning the British experience of war
••
and introduces new ways of understanding the Second World
War. Amongst other issues, the book examines contemporary
understandings of homosexuality in relation to the entrance of
V
queer recruits and explores the experiences of those that served.
i
c
It also highlights how the military authorities responded to
k
same-sex activity. e
r
s
Queen and country is aimed at general readers and academic
readers alike.
••
Emma Vickers is Senior Lecturer in History
at Liverpool John Moores University
front cover
© Imperial War Museum (B 7332)
• Emma Vickers •
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Vickers ppc.indd 1 28/09/2013 14:28
GENDER in HISTORY
Series editors:
Lynn Abrams, Cordelia Beattie, Pam Sharpe and Penny Summerfield
••
The expansion of research into the history of women and gender since the 1970s
has changed the face of history. Using the insights of feminist theory and of his-
torians of women, gender historians have explored the configuration in the past
of gender identities and relations between the sexes. They have also investigated
the history of sexuality and family relations, and analysed ideas and ideals of
masculinity and femininity. Yet gender history has not abandoned the original,
inspirational project of women’s history: to recover and reveal the lived experi-
ence of women in the past and the present.
The series Gender in History provides a forum for these developments. Its
historical coverage extends from the medieval to the modern periods, and its
geographical scope encompasses not only Europe and North America but all
corners of the globe. The series aims to investigate the social and cultural con-
structions of gender in historical sources, as well as the gendering of historical
discourse itself. It embraces both detailed case studies of specific regions or
periods, and broader treatments of major themes. Gender in History titles
are designed to meet the needs of both scholars and students working in this
dynamic area of historical research.
Queen and country
also available
in the series
••
Myth and materiality in a woman’s world: Shetland 1800–2000 Lynn Abrams
Destined for a life of service: Defining African-Jamaican womanhood, 1865-1938 Henrice Altink
Gender and housing in Soviet Russia: private life in a public space Lynne Attwood
Love, intimacy and power: marital relationships in Scotland, 1650–1850 Katie Barclay
History, patriarchy and the challenge of feminism (with University of Pennsylvania Press)
Judith Bennett
Modern women on trial: sexual transgression in the age of the flapper Lucy Bland
Gender and medical knowledge in early modern history Susan Broomhall
‘The truest form of patriotism’: pacifist feminism in Britain, 1870–1902 Heloise Brown
Artisans of the body in early modern Italy: identities, families and masculinities Sandra Cavallo
Women of the right spirit: paid organisers of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
1904–18 Krista Cowman
Modern motherhood: women and family in England, c. 1945-2000 Angela Davis
Masculinities in politics and war: gendering modern history
Stefan Dudink, Karen Hagemann and John Tosh (eds)
Victorians and the Virgin Mary: religion and gender in England 1830–1885
Carol Engelhardt Herringer
Living in sin: cohabiting as husband and wife in nineteenth-century England Ginger S. Frost
Jewish women in Europe in the Middle Ages: a quiet revolution Simha Goldin
Murder and morality in Victorian Britain: the story of Madeleine Smith
Eleanor Gordon and Gwyneth Nair
The military leadership of Matilda of Canossa, 1046–1115 David J. Hay
The shadow of marriage: singleness in England, 1914–60 Katherine Holden
Women police: gender, welfare and surveillance in the twentieth century Louise Jackson
Noblewomen, aristocracy and power in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm Susan Johns
The business of everyday life: gender, practice and social politics in England, c.1600–1900
Beverly Lemire
Women and the shaping of British Methodism: persistent preachers, 1807–1907 Jennifer Lloyd
The independent man: citizenship and gender politics in Georgian England Matthew McCormack
Women, travel and identity: journeys by rail and sea, 1870-1940 Emma Robinson-Tomsett
Infidel feminism: secularism, religion and women’s emancipation, England 1830-1914 Laura Schwartz
The feminine public sphere: middle-class women and civic life in Scotland, c.1870–1914 Megan Smitley
Being boys: working-class masculinities and leisure Melanie Tebbutt
Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy and the Victorian feminist movement: the biography of an insurgent
woman Maureen Wright
QUEEN AND COUNTRY
SAME-SEX DESIRE IN THE
BRITISH ARMED FORCES, 1939–45
• Emma Vickers •
Manchester University Press
Manchester and New York
distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
Copyright © Emma Vickers 2013
The right of Emma Vickers to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK
and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY 10010, USA
Distributed in Canada exclusively by UBC Press
University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 0 7190 8294 8 hardback
First published 2013
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
For Corinna, Steve, Sarah, Fran, Kellie and my students at
Lancaster and Reading.
Contents
list of figures page ix
list of tables xi
acknowledgements xiii
abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
1 Inclusion 24
2 Keeping up appearances 50
3 Playing away 75
4 Make do and mend: military law and same-sex desire 104
Conclusion 151
Epilogue 162
biographies of interviewees 165
bibliography 167
index 195
• vii •
List of figures
1 ‘Some seafaring gentlemen may be particular’. Caption:
‘Good looks are to be taken into consideration in
the choosing of recruits for the American Navy. Our
cartoonist thinks that “Sailors don’t care” will be an
out- of- date saying before long.’ © The British Library
Board. All Rights Reserved. 31
2 ‘Our beautiful women athletes’. Caption: ‘We are told
that women athletes are now of the graceful feminine
type. / We presume the manly ones keep to drawing
rooms.’ © Mirrorpix, Solo Syndication. 32
3 Radclyffe Hall and Una Troubridge, 1927. © Fox
Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images. 35
4 Ronald Niebour’s satirical take on medical testing.
Caption: ‘That will be about all – now goodbye and
good luck to you.’ © Mirrorpix, Solo Syndication. 38
5 Sailors of HMS Duke of York relax in a canvas bath,
date unknown. © Imperial War Museum. 54
6 Hula- Hula ‘girls’ rehearsing their Christmas act on
board a destroyer depot ship, Scapa Flow, 18 December
1942. © Imperial War Museum. 96
• ix •
