Sport and the Military
The British Armed Forces 1880–1960

A fascinating insight into the history of organised sport from the Victorian army and navy to the National Service years.

Tony Mason (Author), Eliza Riedi (Author)

9780521700740, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 November 2010

298 pages, 20 b/w illus.
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.48 kg

'Mason and Riedi have made a significant contribution to the literature and provided a locus classicus on the development of sport in the British military.' Sport in Society

On battleships, behind the trenches of the Western Front and in the midst of the Desert War, British servicemen and women have played sport in the least promising circumstances. When 400 soldiers were asked in Burma in 1946 what they liked about the Army, 108 put sport in first place - well ahead of comradeship and leave - and this book explores the fascinating history of organised sport in the life of officers and other ranks of all three British services from 1880–1960. Drawing on a wide range of sources, this book examines how organised sport developed in the Victorian army and navy, became the focus of criticism for Edwardian army reformers, and was officially adopted during the Great War to boost morale and esprit de corps. It shows how service sport adapted to the influx of professional sportsmen, especially footballers, during the Second World War and the National Service years.

Introduction
1. The growth of service sport, 1880–1914
2. Officer sports and their critics, 1880–1914
3. Sport in the great war
4. The amateur era, 1919–39
5. Soldiers, sailors and civilians
6. A different kind of war
7. The National Service years: the summit of military sport?
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]