Juliette Pattinson
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781526145659
- eISBN:
- 9781526155580
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526145666
- Subject:
- History, Social History
Women of War is an examination of gender modernity using the world’s longest established women’s military organisation, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, as a case study. Formed in 1907 and still ...
More
Women of War is an examination of gender modernity using the world’s longest established women’s military organisation, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, as a case study. Formed in 1907 and still active today, the Corps was the first to adopt khaki uniform, prepare for war service, staff a regimental first aid post near the front line and drive officially for the British army in France. It was the only British unit whose members were sworn in as soldiers of the Belgian army, and it was the most decorated women’s corps of the First World War. Bringing both public and personal representations into dialogue through an analysis of newspaper articles, ephemera, memoirs, diaries, letters, interviews, photographs and poetry, this book sits at the crossroads of British, social, gender and women’s history, drawing upon the diverse fields of military history, animal studies, trans studies, dress history, sociology of the professions, nursing history and transport history. It reconstructs the organisation’s formation, its adoption of martial clothing, increased professionalisation, and wartime activities of first aid and driving, focusing specifically upon the significance of gender modernity. While the FANY embodied the New Woman, challenging the limits of convention and pushing back the boundaries of the behavour, dress and role considered appropriate for women, the book argues that the Corps was simultaneously deeply conservative, upholding imperial, unionist and antifeminist values. That it was a complex mix of progressive and conservative elements, both conformist and reformist, gets to the heart of the fascinating complexity surrounding the organisation.Less
Women of War is an examination of gender modernity using the world’s longest established women’s military organisation, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, as a case study. Formed in 1907 and still active today, the Corps was the first to adopt khaki uniform, prepare for war service, staff a regimental first aid post near the front line and drive officially for the British army in France. It was the only British unit whose members were sworn in as soldiers of the Belgian army, and it was the most decorated women’s corps of the First World War. Bringing both public and personal representations into dialogue through an analysis of newspaper articles, ephemera, memoirs, diaries, letters, interviews, photographs and poetry, this book sits at the crossroads of British, social, gender and women’s history, drawing upon the diverse fields of military history, animal studies, trans studies, dress history, sociology of the professions, nursing history and transport history. It reconstructs the organisation’s formation, its adoption of martial clothing, increased professionalisation, and wartime activities of first aid and driving, focusing specifically upon the significance of gender modernity. While the FANY embodied the New Woman, challenging the limits of convention and pushing back the boundaries of the behavour, dress and role considered appropriate for women, the book argues that the Corps was simultaneously deeply conservative, upholding imperial, unionist and antifeminist values. That it was a complex mix of progressive and conservative elements, both conformist and reformist, gets to the heart of the fascinating complexity surrounding the organisation.
Juliette Pattinson
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781526145659
- eISBN:
- 9781526155580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526145666.00007
- Subject:
- History, Social History
Textual narratives and visual images of this period were positively saturated with notions of the modern. The ‘New Woman’, a powerful cultural icon constantly linked to modernity, was the archetypal ...
More
Textual narratives and visual images of this period were positively saturated with notions of the modern. The ‘New Woman’, a powerful cultural icon constantly linked to modernity, was the archetypal female figure at the fin de siècle, most frequently a fictional character drawn in the minds of journalists and novelists, both celebrated and despised. She was a discursive response to changes to women’s lives in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, often regarded as imperilling the status quo. The opening chapter examines the construction of the ‘New Woman’ and explores more broadly discourses of modernity, which are always diverse and multifaceted. It reveals the myriad ways that the Corps can be considered modern. The chapter also analyses contemporaneous and retrospective sources drawn upon in the book. The FANY’s unprecedented trespassing on male terrain and members’ status as witnesses to and co-participants in war gave members narrative authority, enabling them to chronicle their experiences in memoirs, novels, diaries, letters and poetry, as well as interesting journalists enough to write about them.Less
Textual narratives and visual images of this period were positively saturated with notions of the modern. The ‘New Woman’, a powerful cultural icon constantly linked to modernity, was the archetypal female figure at the fin de siècle, most frequently a fictional character drawn in the minds of journalists and novelists, both celebrated and despised. She was a discursive response to changes to women’s lives in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, often regarded as imperilling the status quo. The opening chapter examines the construction of the ‘New Woman’ and explores more broadly discourses of modernity, which are always diverse and multifaceted. It reveals the myriad ways that the Corps can be considered modern. The chapter also analyses contemporaneous and retrospective sources drawn upon in the book. The FANY’s unprecedented trespassing on male terrain and members’ status as witnesses to and co-participants in war gave members narrative authority, enabling them to chronicle their experiences in memoirs, novels, diaries, letters and poetry, as well as interesting journalists enough to write about them.
Juliette Pattinson
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781526145659
- eISBN:
- 9781526155580
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526145666.00013
- Subject:
- History, Social History
The book concludes with a short epilogue, reviewing the evidence of the contradictions, ambiguities and paradoxes of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. It considers how members pushed the parameters of ...
More
The book concludes with a short epilogue, reviewing the evidence of the contradictions, ambiguities and paradoxes of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. It considers how members pushed the parameters of gender and class to forge modern new identities.Less
The book concludes with a short epilogue, reviewing the evidence of the contradictions, ambiguities and paradoxes of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. It considers how members pushed the parameters of gender and class to forge modern new identities.
