Physical control, transformation and damage in the First World War : war bodies

About the Author

Simon Harold Walker is Research Associate at University of Glasgow, UK.

Product Description

From enlistment in 1914 to the end of service in 1918, British men's bodies were constructed, conditioned, and controlled in the pursuit of allied victory. Physical Control, Transformation and Damage in the First World War considers the physical and psychological impact of conflict on individuals and asks the question of who, in the heart of war, really had control of the soldier's body.

As men learned to fight they became fitter, healthier, and physically more agile, yet much of this was quickly undone once they entered the fray and became wounded, died, or harmed their own bodies to escape. Employing a wealth of sources, including personal testimonies, official records, and oral accounts, Simon Harold Walker sheds much-needed light on soldiers' own experiences of World War I as they were forced into martial moulds and then abandoned in the aftermath of combat.

In this book, Walker expertly synthesizes military, sociological, and medical history to provide a unique top-down history of individual soldiers' experiences during the Great War, giving a voice to the thousands of missing, mutilated, and muted men who fought for their country. The result is a fascinating exploration of body cultures, power, and the British army.

Review

"Simon Harold Walker has written a discerning account of the British soldier's experience in the Great War. He has also contributed to the broader face of battle historiography by connecting gender studies and Foucauldian analysis with the physical experiences of ordinary citizen soldiers. Though jargon and specialist analysis may put off some general readers, undergraduate students of Britain in the First World War or the bodily experience of military service, will find War Bodies both absorbing and instructive." - Michigan War Studies Review

“Physical Control, Transformation and Damage in the First World War provides a clear argument about an important aspect of wartime experience for British servicemen, namely control over the body. It does so through the use of extensive archival research to tell a number of engaging stories.” ―Jessica Meyer, Associate Professor of Modern British History, University of Leeds, UK

“Steeped in archival research and personal accounts, this is a necessary book about the experience of soldiers in the British Army during the First World War. Simon Harold Walker skillfully and expertly demonstrates how men conceptualized their time in uniform and physically endured life at the front. This will be a lasting contribution to the field.” ―Ian Isherwood, Assistant Professor of War and Memory Studies, Gettysburg College, USA