Scarlet and Khaki, Fire and Steel: Representations of Warfare in British Mass Culture, 1870-1914
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SCARLET AND KHAKI, FIRE AND STEEL: REPRESENTATIONS OF WARFARE IN BRITISH MASS CULTURE, 1870-1914 by Christopher B. Leach B.A., Simon Fraser University, 1987 M.A., Simon Fraser University, 1993 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Christopher B. Leach 2009 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Approval Name: Christopher B. Leach Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (History) Title of Thesis: Scarlet and Khaki, Fire and Steel: Representations of Warfare in British Mass Culture, 1870-1914 Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Mark Leier Professor of History ________________________ Dr. John Stubbs Senior Supervisor Emeritus Professor of History ________________________ Dr. Roxanne Panchasi Supervisor Associate Professor of History ________________________ Dr. John Craig Supervisor Professor of History ________________________ Dr. Ilya Vinkovetsky Internal Examiner Assistant Professor ________________________ Dr. Patrick A. Dunae External Examiner Date Defended: July-22-2009 Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the “Institutional Repository” link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 iii Abstract In the late-nineteenth century, Britain saw the development of a mass culture consumed by a new public. It was a culture of diverse forms each seeking commercial success. Part of that success came through a celebration of empire that, after 1870, was rapidly expanding. Embedded in this dynamic cultural context was a similarly new regard for the British army as the Continent destabilized and empire seemed increasingly part of the definition of power. Formerly maligned and distrusted, the army enjoyed a prominent place in the commercial culture as it fought incessant imperial wars against diverse and unusual opponents whose demise served to entertain while the empire grew. Considering these varied stimuli affecting the British public, this dissertation examines how the discourse on warfare was formulated by the adult and juvenile mass culture defined by the illustrated press, paintings, juvenile novels and toy soldiers between 1870 and 1914. It argues that there was a representational convergence on a set of forms drawn from British military history, the contemporary manifestation of soldiers participating in parades and the volunteer movement, and from the colonial wars regularly fought and reported in the press. These sources of discourse promised accuracy and often provided it in the superficial form of equipment details and broad battle narratives. However, in revealing the experience of warfare the discourse was false. The culture confirmed a normative and anachronistic vision of war based predominantly on the peculiarities of colonial wars and the displays and war games of weekend volunteers. It was a vision that suited the conservative army officer elite and those who were rendering it for sale, but it was a time when the character of warfare was rapidly changing. Expanding in scale and technological sophistication, modern war was iv becoming ever more distinct from the controlled and familiar image of it. Even the experience of the Anglo-Boer War failed to fundamentally narrow the gap between reality and representation. By occupying an analytical middle ground, this study is distinct from most cultural and military histories. It considers the origins and characteristics of the representation warfare, but does so without allowing the campaign narratives and technical details, common to military history, to obscure their abstract meaning. It does, however, guard against drifting too deeply into the well-tilled ground of cultural history that reveals how that manifestation of warfare came to shape other social values. In this work, how the vision of warfare was formulated and why it was significant in the context of British culture prior to the Great War remain the central concerns. A note on spelling The spelling of foreign names (places, peoples and artifacts like weapons) is inconsistent in the mass cultural media used in this work. In fact, some of these vagaries of spelling persist. However, never is the spelling so unusual as to obscure its intended meaning. For example, the Battle of Isandlwana is spelled “Isandula,” and “Isandhlwana”; Sudan is typically spelled “Soudan”; Ghurkha is spelled “Goorka” and “Gurkha.” So, instead of repeatedly using “sic” I have generally left the spelling unchanged in its original context without additional notation. Keywords: Victorian Britain; British Army; popular culture; imperialism; militarism; The Illustrated London News; The Graphic; The Boy’s Own Paper, G. A. Henty Subject Headings: Popular culture – Great Britain – History – 19th century; Popular culture – Great Britain – History – 20th century; Imperialism – Public opinion; War – Public opinion; Imperialism in art; Imperialism in literature; Great Britain – History, Military – 19th century; Great Britain – History, Military – 20th century v Dedicated to the memory Dr. Ian Dyck vi Acknowledgements Completing this dissertation relied on the help and inspiration from many people. I must first recognize the Simon Fraser University History Department faculty who formed my committee. Dr. Ian Dyck had long supported my academic and professional pursuits, and his enthusiasm for my return to studies at the doctoral level provided the confidence I needed after a lengthy absence. Ian recognized my interest in military history but encouraged me to take a cultural approach to the subject. This spoke to Ian’s confidence in me and also revealed his sensitivity to my particular family and professional responsibilities that would have made lengthy overseas research impossible. Sadly, Ian passed away before seeing the completion of this work. Taking over as my senior supervisor, Dr. John Stubbs revealed an exemplary commitment to his colleague and friend, Ian, and a generosity to me by seeing my work through the final and most difficult stages. His penetrating questions and repeated close readings of my text improved it both for its intellectual rigor and clarity. Dr. Roxanne Panchasi’s creative commentary similarly pushed me to consider unexplored themes that added dimension to this dissertation and the avenues to expand its assertions in future research. The other members of my examining committee, Dr. Mark Leier (Chair), Dr. John Craig, Dr. Ilya Vinkovetsky, and Dr. Patrick Dunae, I thank for their engagement with my work and for making the examination process enriching and collegial. Various libraries and institutions made available the primary and secondary sources used in this work, but the staffs made the mining of these sources more efficient and pleasurable. The British Library, the National Army Museum, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Victoria provided the majority of the textual and vii graphic sources. Those not directly available were procured by the inter-library loan services of the University of the Fraser Valley and Simon Fraser University. The Vancouver Museum houses an impressive collection of toy soldiers viewed early in my research and this inspired further investigation into this aspect of British culture. Images of toy soldiers were generously provided by Leigh Gotch, Toy Soldier Department, Bonhams Auctioneers, UK. Finally, I must thank certain individuals. Dr.