Half the Battle: Civilian Morale in Britain during the Second World War by Robert Mackay

Half the Battle: Civilian Morale in Britain during the Second World War by Robert Mackay attempts to cut a path between the mythical "stiff upper lip" and the revisionist view of British morale during the war. The author believes that the traditional view is closer to the reality.

The research for the book is made up of primary source material from the various government agencies which were set up to monitor the morale of the nation. There's an attempt to discuss areas outside of London as well which is nice.

The first half of the book lays out the high and low points of morale during the war. The second discusses different contributors such as propaganda, rationing and the Beveridge report.

The only minor criticism is that there is talk of the evacuations of children but no real mention of the groups that were sent to Canada and the other dominion's.

Highly recommended excellent well thought out analysis.

Available through Questia Online Library.

Or available through Abebooks.




For more WWII book reviews take a look at My World War II bookshelf.