Queen and Country ─ Same-Sex Desire in the British Armed Forces, 1939-45

Using a rich array of oral histories and previously unseen archival sources, Queen and country provides the first detailed academic study of the complex intersection between same-sex desire and military authority in the British Armed Forces between 1939 and 1945. It illuminates how men and women lived, loved and survived in an institution which, at least publicly, was unequivocally hostile towards same-sex activity within its ranks. Queen and Country also tells a story of selective remembrance and the politics of memory, exploring specifically why same-sex desire continues to be absent from the historical record of the war. In examining this absence, and the more intimate minutiae of cohesion, homosociability and desire, it pushes far beyond traditional military history in order to cast new light on one of the most widely discussed conflicts of the twentieth century. It makes a significant and original contribution to debates concerning the British experience of war and introduces new ways of understanding the Second World War. Amongst other issues, the book examines contemporary understandings of homosexuality in relation to the entrance of queer recruits and explores the experiences of those that served. It also highlights how the military authorities responded to same-sex activity.

Queen and Country is aimed at general readers and academic readers alike.

Emma Vickers is Senior Lecturer in History at Liverpool John Moores University