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List of contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: ‘A Different Existence’
1. A Fine Body of Men: Recruitment and Enlisting for War 1914 - 1918
2. Forging Bodies: Training and Creating Soldiers
3. Lives on the Line: Active Service
4. Bodies Under Fire: The Frontline
5. Soldiers No More: Death, Debilitation, and Demobilisation
Conclusion: Bodies of War
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Simon Harold Walker is Research Associate at University of Glasgow, UK.
Summary
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.
Foreword
An exploration of the physical and psychological experience of being a soldier during the First World War.
Additional text
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.
