"A Man's Lot": Marriage, Military Service, and the First World War

Author(s)
Davis, Cody
Publication Date
2022-09
Abstract
<p>The study of personal experiences of British and Australian soldiers during the First World War can be further developed through a discrete analysis of married men’s interactions with wartime masculine ideals. This article seeks to provide a preliminary insight into such interactions through the case-study of two officers serving on the Western Front in 1916 and the correspondence they wrote to their wives throughout their military service. British Lieutenant Max Shaw and Australian Lieutenant Cecil Mills both voluntarily enlisted and served in France in 1916. Once they departed their homes to commence training, they immediately began corresponding with their wives, which can be seen as attempts to mediate a clashing sense of domestic and military loyalties. As these men transitioned from a civilian to a military lifestyle, their lingering domestic identities and the importance of their marriage within their sense of manhood continued to influence their adoption of a military identity.</p>
Citation
Australian Journal of Politics and History, 68(3), p. 359-375
ISSN
1467-8497
0004-9522
Link
Language
en
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Title
"A Man's Lot": Marriage, Military Service, and the First World War
Type of document
Journal Article
Entity Type
Publication

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