Description
This book offers a groundbreaking exploration of the military welfare history ‘perspective,’ a vital yet often overlooked aspect of welfare studies. It centres and defines military welfare history as an important sub-discipline, and in doing so, makes a significant contribution to scholarly debates, publications and teaching. It also delves into the intricate web of welfare, care, and medical provisions designed exclusively for armed forces personnel and their families, across different eras and regions. Comprising fifteen unique essays, this volume illuminates the diverse and evolving landscape of military welfare from the mid-eighteenth to late-twentieth centuries, spanning geographical contexts from Britain and the USA, to Zimbabwe and Russia.
Key concepts such as social justice, citizenship, and the intersection of military and civilian welfare are critically examined. The chapters explore how military welfare was connected to broader societal themes like disability, gender, and state policy, offering fresh insights into the historical and contemporary dynamics of welfare provision. This book is a must-read for scholars and practitioners alike, providing a comprehensive understanding of the military's unique welfare needs and contributions to social policy. Ideal for historians, social scientists, and policy-makers, this volume serves as an essential resource for anyone interested in the complex interplay between military service and welfare systems.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction; Paul Huddie, Amy J. Rutenberg, and Emma Huddlestone.- Part I: Mixed Economies of Public and Private in Military Welfare Provisions.- 2. “Widowed Wretches and Pitiable Orphans”: Philanthropy and Irish Military Families in the Long Eighteenth Century; Karen Sonnelitter.- 3. Assisters and Assisted: Helping Soldiers’ Wives During the Crimean War; Lynn MacKay.- 4. Employing the British Army Wife in Clothing Manufacture from the Crimean War to the First World War; Paul Huddie.- 5. When Charities Unite: The Cooperative Activities of the United Services Fund and SSAFA on Behalf of Ex-Servicemen’s Families, 1919-23; Paul Huddie and Mike Hally.- 6. The “Super-Cultural USO”: The Intersection Between Identity and Morale at the National Gallery of Art, 1942-46; Abby Whitlock.- 7. “Be a Good Neighbor”: Veterans’ Information Services and the Associational Veterans’ Welfare State in 1940s America; Shoji Nakamura.- Part II: Citizenship, Status, and Reward in Military Welfare.- 8. “The Disquieting of the Inhabitants of This Continent”: Struggles Over Soldiers’ Accommodations During the American War of Independence; Steven Elliott.- 9. The Welfare of New Zealand Army Nurses During the First World War: The Chasm of Welfare Provision; Wendy Maddocks.- 10. The Response of the Irish Free State Government to National Army Military Dependents; Jack Kavanagh.- Part III: Empire, Decolonization, Nationalism, and Military Welfare.- 11. Shell Shock, the Great Depression and the Provision of Military Welfare in Australia in the Inter-War Years; Michael Tyquin.- 12. The Forgotten Men: Military Welfare, Identity Politics and African Nationalism in Southern Rhodesia c.1945-1970s; Anotida Chikumbu.- 13. Demobilization in the “Time of Contempt”: The Battle for Algerian War Veterans’ Recognition in France, 1957-74; Anndal Narayanan.- 14. “Bad Paper”: Vietnam Veterans and the Discharge Upgrading Project; Colin Moore.- 15. From Outsiders to Heroes: The Relations Between War Veterans, the Russian State, and Society; Elena Racheva.
