Details

Subject(s)

• World War, 1939-1945—Veterans—Great Britain [Browse]
• Great Britain—Armed Forces—Demobilization—History—20th century [Browse]
• World War, 1939-1945—Veterans—Great Britain—Social conditions [Browse]
• Great Britain—Social conditions—1945- [Browse]
• War and society—Great Britain [Browse]

Summary note

"Snapshots of gaiety and celebration - the street parties, the victory speeches - are how some people today think of Britain in 1945. But the years following the end of World War II were far from a 'golden age' of pride and self-confidence. The country was troubled though triumphant, subject to continued rationing and political change. Wracked by social disorder, austerity and disillusion, Britain was exhausted - and it was the return of those men who had fought for their country who seemed to be a root cause of the trouble. Demobbed is the real story of what happened when millions of ex-servicemen returned home. Most had been absent for years, and the joy of arrival was often clouded with ambivalence, regrets and fears. Returning soldiers faced both practical and psychological problems, from reasserting their place in the family home to rejoining a much-altered labour force. Civilians worried that their homecoming heroes had been barbarized by their experiences and would bring crime and violence back from the battlefield. Problem veterans preoccupied the entire country. Alan Allport draws on their personal letters and diaries, on newspapers, reports, novels and films to illuminate the darker side of the homecoming experience for ex-servicemen, their families and society at large."--Jacket.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Source of description

Print version record.

ISBN

• 9780300170160 ((electronic bk.))
• 0300170165 ((electronic bk.))

OCLC

880959814

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