British Society at War 1914-1918: Myth, Rumour and the Search for Meaning

British Society at War 1914-1918: Myth, Rumour and the Search for Meaning A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of Master of Arts in History at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Kimberley J. Searle University of Canterbury May 2009 2 Contents List of Illustrations 3 Abstract 4 Acknowledgements 5 Chapter 1 Introduction 6 Chapter 2 Atrocity Stories and the myth of the ‘Bestial Hun’ 16 The German invasion of Belgium and Northern France 19 Real-life atrocities and the British press 29 The myth of the ‘Bestial Hun’ 35 The Bryce Report 57 The political, social and psychological significance of atrocity stories 65 Chapter 3 Enemy Agents: Spies, Saboteurs and Traitors 80 Pre-war backdrop to spy mania 81 The outbreak of war: government responses to the spy menace 94 Enemy agents in the popular imagination 98 The popular reception and function of spy rumours 122 Chapter 4 The Supernatural: Angels, Ghosts and Prophecies of War 130 Three types of supernatural story 131 The origins of supernatural reports 138 Dissemination 160 Reception of stories of the Supernatural 166 Chapter 5 Conclusion 184 Bibliography 191 3 List of illustrations Chapter 2 Atrocity Stories and the myth of the ‘Bestial Hun’ See the Conquering Hero Comes 16 The Baby Killers 37 Submarine Bags 47 The Satyr of the Seas 47 The Triumph of Kultur 48 Gott Strafe Everybody 50 The Zeppelin Raider 50 A German Victory 50 The Hun and the Home 71 Men of Britain! 71 4 Abstract The myths and rumours that circulated during the First World War originated with soldiers and the general public, excepting atrocity stories. The British population used these myths and rumours to construct a discourse to explain its involvement in the First World War. This discourse reconciled the experience and understanding of civilians with the new era of Total War, offering hope and consolation in a time of crisis. It also acted as a form of mass, popularly produced propaganda which promulgated pro-war views that supported the British and Allied causes, while demonising the Germans and their methods of warfare. Belief in myths and rumours was equated with patriotism, and criticism decried as pro-German and un-British. The myths were widely disseminated and widely believed by important sections of the population. They drew on concepts palatable to British civilians: ideas of ‘just’ war and a moral cause; the nobility of their sacrifices; the bestiality of the enemy; and the necessity for the subordination of all else to the war effort. Myths about atrocities, spies and the paranormal helped the British public to survive a war that surpassed previous human and disquietude, but also experience. They also hinted at vulnerability, while expressing the unequivocal support which the majority offered the British war effort. 5 Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support, guidance and input of my supervisors Dr. C. N. Connolly and Dr. G. Pritchard. I would also like to thank my family, and particularly my parents Janice and Alister, for the tolerance and support they have shown. In memory of my nana, Elsie Sloane, who passed away shortly before this thesis was completed. 6 Chapter 1. Introduction ‘Swift through the Libyan cities Rumor sped. Rumor! What evil can surpass her speed? In movement she grows mighty, and achieves Strength and dominion as she swifter flies. Small first, because afraid, she soon exalts Her stature skyward, stalking through the lands And mantling in the clouds her baleful brow… Feet swift to run and pinions like the wind The dreadful monster wears; her carcase huge Is feathered, and at the root of every plume A peering eye abides; and, strange to tell, An equal number of vociferous tongues, Foul, whispering lips, and ears, that catch at all… …She can cling To vile invention and malignant wrong, Or mingle with her word some tidings true’.1 Throughout history myth and rumour have been politically and socially significant. Nero’s rumoured involvement in the fire that destroyed Rome in AD 64 has become immortalised in proverb.2 Since the twelfth century, Jews have been accused of ritually murdering Christian children and desecrating the host – a myth that sparked the massacre of twenty-one Jews in Röttingen in 1 Aeneid, Book IV, quoted in G. Allport and L. Postman, The Psychology of Rumor (New York, 1948), p. i. 2 Allport and Postman, p. 160. 7 1298.3 In the fourteenth century, rumours abounded that Jews were responsible for the outbreak of the Black Death in an attempt to wipe out Christendom.4 The Indian mutiny of 1857 was sparked by rumours among the sepoys that rifle cartridges to be issued to soldiers were greased with a mixture of pork and beef fat. This offended both Muslim and Hindu religious doctrines, leading to accusations that the British officers were trying to subvert Indian beliefs in order to force Christianity on the Indian soldiers.5 In the twentieth century ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ was used as a tool by anti-Semites to justify the persecution of Jews, most infamously by the Nazis. Despite having been exposed as a blatant forgery, this work and its myth of a Jewish conspiracy of world domination is still promulgated today, most notably in the Middle East where it is a component of the Hamas charter.6 In 2003 the United States and her allies invaded Iraq on the pretext that ‘the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised’.7 Protests from several other countries pointedly remarked that the evidence overwhelmingly suggested Iraq no longer possessed such weaponry, and it is now generally accepted that she did not. These myths and rumours did not exist in a vacuum, nor were they simply ‘stories’. There were discourses that surrounded each. Ritual murder and 3 R. S. Levy, Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution (California, 2005), p. 602; W. Brustein, Roots of Hate: Anti-Semitism in Europe before the Holocaust (Cambridge, 2003), p. 57; S. Jacobs and M. Weitzman, Dismantling the big lie: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (New Jersey, 2003), p. xiii. 4 J. Marcus and M. Saperstein, The Jew in the medieval world: a source book, 315-1791 (New York, 1999), p. 49. 5 G. Fremont-Barnes, The Indian Mutiny, 1857-58 (Oxford, 2007), p. 28. 6 Brustein, p. 142. 7 D. Dionisi, American Hiroshima: The Reasons Why and a Call to Strengthen America’s Democracy (Victoria, 2006), p. 59. 8 the ‘protocols’ justified anti-Semitism, persecution and even murder. Rumours of Jewish responsibility for the outbreak of the plague explained the disease in a manner contemporaries could understand, as well as drawing on the prevailing stereotypes of the time. These myths and rumours were latent exhibitions of hidden emotions and attempts to understand potentially threatening situations. At the same time the myth about weapons of mass destruction provided justification for an invasion that was arguably being fought for reasons that neither the American public nor the international community would have found acceptable. This study will demonstrate how myths and rumours were used to construct political and social discourses on the British home front during the First World War. These discourses reflected the fact that British society in this period was a dyslexic mix of tradition and modernity as industrialised societies transitioned into the era of Total War. Traditional ideas of ‘gentlemanly conduct’ and the ‘laws of war’ were abandoned as modern methods and tactics shattered conventional perceptions of conflict. In the domestic sphere the evolution heralded by the First World War invariably dragged civilians into the battle. On the one hand their participation and support was vital to national success, whether by voluntary enlistment or buying war bonds; on the other, civilians found themselves systematically targeted by the enemy. As governments recognised the importance of the home front, morale became an essential commodity. Popular support was not inexhaustible and had to be cultivated to ensure the collaboration between state and the masses could be sustained for the duration of the conflict. The most effective method of 9 mobilising popular sentiment was through propaganda to convince people on the domestic front of the importance of the cause for which they were fighting. Historians, though, have largely conceded that British propaganda on the home front in the First World War was piecemeal and disorganised and Gerard DeGroot has concluded that propaganda efforts of the government had no discernible impact.8 The fortitude and stoicism displayed by the population is better explained by their ‘steadfast patriotism’ and an ‘unquenchable faith in eventual victory’ than by a ‘propaganda effort so chaotic [it] could not have contributed to mass mind control’.9 It will be the contention of this thesis that myth and rumour, seldom sponsored by the government, played a vital role in maintaining this will. It acted as a form of mass propaganda by creating discourses that demonised the Germans, marginalised dissenters and took for granted the virtues of the British and the justice of their cause. Some myths and rumours were omnipresent for much of the war, while others circulated for only a few weeks or months. Because of this, it is necessary to restrict this thesis to the study of a selection of these myths. A complete assessment would prove too extensive and would not allow for detailed examination. This study will focus on three of the most prevalent types of myth and rumour: atrocity rumours linked to the myth of the ‘Bestial Hun’; myths and rumours about enemy agents and spies; and finally, myths about the supernatural.

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