British Society, 1939-1951

“The sheer volume of material available here deserves recognition: this is not a partial nor selective view, but rather a comprehensive catalogue of various aspects of British society during the Second World War."

David Clampin, Liverpool John Moores University

Broad coverage

Students and researchers will find unique statistical and narrative surveys and reports, such as weekly accounts by regional police on morale and crime. Government analysis and suggested actions are documented, as well as actual steps taken and accompanying propaganda. The result is an unfolding picture of how issues were quantified, policy decided, and actions implemented. Document types range from social surveys and statistical analyses to food-offence trials, propaganda film scripts, and wartime advertising.

Content Types

• Social reconstruction surveys

• Surveys on the social impact of bombing

• Records of local wartime organizations and surveys

• Progress reports on the construction, welfare, and living conditions of bomb shelters

• Regional evacuation numbers and progress reports

• Minutes of local Food Control Committees

• Administrative records and progress reports on Records of the Government Evacuation Scheme

• The Home Affairs papers of Churchill's War Cabinet

• Foreign Office policy papers on refugees and internment

• Recruitment, welfare, and administrative records of the Women's Land Army

• Committee on National Service and the wartime workforce

• Civil intelligence reports from the Ministry of Information

• Daily intelligence updates from the Ministry of Home Security

• Headquarters histories and organizational records of Home Guard units

• Transcripts of Axis broadcasts

• Government propaganda, including film production documents from the Ministry of Information and Crown Film Unit, Kitchen Front broadcasts from the Ministry of Food's Public Relations Group

• Advertisements and public notices for a variety of government bodies and initiatives

History of Advertising Trust: O&M Wartime Book No 10

For research

Because the files are digitized, transcribed, and indexed here for the first time, we expect them to make a significant contribution to research.  To speed and facilitate new discoveries, we include summary notes, a table of contents for each file, detailed subject indexing, Boolean operators, proximity and stem searching, and other tools.  

HO 262/7: Regional officers’ and police reports.  Fascist pamphlet advocating a negotiated peace from 1939. HAT OM/3: “A Commonwealth in Arms” campaign to win minds in Britain’s colonies.

Highlight: Race relations

The collection includes personal accounts and surveys on public attitudes about immigrants and racial tension. It includes anti-Semitic pamphlets; reports from police on public racism; documentation of government efforts; and appeals made on behalf of internees, with details on their treatment.

Highlight: Economic and social impact

The collection includes

• Surveys of demographic and industrial changes at a national and local level

• Reports on living conditions, social tensions, and crowd psychology during air raids

• Photographic and narrative surveys of bomb damage

“An exceptional resource which allows students and researchers alike to dive deeply into virtually all aspects of the British home front during the Second World War. From the official and public face of the war to the rumours that spread like fire, from the individual experiences of civilians under aerial bombardment to government effort to manage the total war economy—it’s all here.”
                      Brett Holman, University of New England (Australia)

• Dr Brett Holman,
  University of New England, Australia

• Dr David Clampin,
  Liverpool John Moores University, UK

• Dr Juliette Pattinson,
  University of Kent, UK

• Professor Daniel Ussishkin,
  University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

• Dr Karen Schaller,
  University of East Anglia, UK