The author would like to thank Joanna Bourke and the journal's anonymous reviewers for their comments and advice. Thanks are also due to the trustees of the Second World War Experience Centre, the Mass-Observation Archive, the council of the National Army Museum and Leeds University Library for permission to reproduce the extracts held in their collections; and to the trustees of the Imperial War Museum for access to each of the copyright holders and the copyright holders’ assent in using their relatives’ material. While every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for the material used in this article, the author and the Imperial War Museum would be grateful for any information which might help to trace the families of Capt. R. L. Angove, Sgt. E. G. Ball, Dispatch Rider L. F. Barter, Greaser C. E. Bloss, Regimental Sgt. Maj. J. F. Dover, Chief Petty Officer J. W. Evans, Gunner J. Glass, Warrant Officer H. M. C. Jarvis, the Revd. J. S. Naylor, Gunner E. E. Parker, Pte. W. Richards and the Revd. R. D. F. Wild. The author would also be grateful for any information which might help trace the family of Regimental Medical Officer T. Gibbens.
Living beyond the barbed wire: the familial ties of British prisoners of war held in Europe during the Second World War†
Version of Record online: 27 SEP 2012
Copyright © 2012 Institute of Historical Research
Volume 86, Issue 231, pages 158–177, February 2013
How to Cite
Makepeace, C. (2013), Living beyond the barbed wire: the familial ties of British prisoners of war held in Europe during the Second World War. Historical Research, 86: 158–177. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2281.2012.00614.x
- Issue online: 11 JAN 2013
- Version of Record online: 27 SEP 2012
All existing histories on the lives of British prisoners of war held in Germany and Italy during the Second World War focus inwards on life in the prison camps. This article looks outwards, beyond the barbed wire. It examines the material exchange of letters and parcels between prison camp and home, as well as how home was conceived in P.O.W.s’ imaginative realms, to demonstrate the importance of loved ones in enabling prisoners to make sense of their captivity. It also shows how this dependence resulted in the reconfiguration of P.O.W.s’ roles within their families.