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Browned Off and Bloody-Minded: The British Soldier Goes to War 1939-1945
More than three-and-a-half million men served in the British Army during the Second World War, the vast majority of them civilians who had never expected to become soldiers and had little idea what military life, with all its strange rituals, discomforts, and dangers, was going to be like. Alan Allport’s rich and luminous social history examines the experience of the greatest and most terrible war in history from the perspective of these ordinary, extraordinary men, who were plucked from their peacetime families and workplaces and sent to fight for King and Country. Allport chronicles the huge diversity of their wartime trajectories, tracing how soldiers responded to and were shaped by their years with the British Army, and how that army, however reluctantly, had to accommodate itself to them. Touching on issues of class, sex, crime, trauma, and national identity, through a colorful multitude of fresh individual perspectives, the book provides an enlightening, deeply moving perspective on how a generation of very modern-minded young men responded to the challenges of a brutal and disorienting conflict.
395 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2015
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162 people want to read
About the author
Alan Allport
22 books23 followersAlan Allport is a Professor of modern British history at Syracuse University. He previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University. His book Demobbed: Coming Home after the Second World War was published by Yale in 2009 and won the 2010 Longman-History Today Book of the Year Award. In 2015, his book Browned Off and Bloody-Minded: The British Soldier Goes to War 1939-1945 was published by Yale. He is currently working on a two volume history of Britain in the Second World War, the first volume of which, Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War 1938-1941, was published by Profile (UK) and Knopf (North America) in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 11, 2015
If you want the real colour behind those back and white newsreels then read this book.
The story of World War 2 is often told by the battles, but I do find the story of how an army of amateurs was shaped into a war winning machine fascinating.
My father was conscripted at the age of 18 in 1943 and I had always wondered how I would have coped at that tender age with such a life changing event. Alan Allport’s book goes a long way in explaining what it was like.
The book tells the story of the three-and-a-half million plus men served in the British Army during the Second World War with some very surprising and unusual stories. No stone is left unturned from sexuality to socialism and lots in between.
Packed with memoirs, letters, diaries and interviews the book helps you understand what those men felt when the war monopolised their lives.
Don't miss the story of “Dickie” Buckle who joined the Scots Guards in 1940, and won himself the reputation of an exceptionally brave if distinctly unorthodox Scots Guards officer.
The story of World War 2 is often told by the battles, but I do find the story of how an army of amateurs was shaped into a war winning machine fascinating.
My father was conscripted at the age of 18 in 1943 and I had always wondered how I would have coped at that tender age with such a life changing event. Alan Allport’s book goes a long way in explaining what it was like.
The book tells the story of the three-and-a-half million plus men served in the British Army during the Second World War with some very surprising and unusual stories. No stone is left unturned from sexuality to socialism and lots in between.
Packed with memoirs, letters, diaries and interviews the book helps you understand what those men felt when the war monopolised their lives.
Don't miss the story of “Dickie” Buckle who joined the Scots Guards in 1940, and won himself the reputation of an exceptionally brave if distinctly unorthodox Scots Guards officer.
October 5, 2024
Good social history of the British Army in WW2.
February 14, 2015
This fascinating book tells the story of British soldiers in the Second World War. The author admits there are limits to the area he covers – there is no mention of women’s role in the forces, or, indeed, of the air force or navy. Indeed, the author limits himself to soldiers themselves, rather than officers. This is the tale of the ‘ordinary’ soldier; the civilian plucked from jobs, and the life they thought they were going to lead, and asked to serve in a world war that so many in Britain must have hoped they would never see again . Even with those, self-imposed, limitations, this is a huge and complex subject. However, the author tells the story of those men – some little more than boys – and does it in a sensitive way; allowing the men’s words to add humour and poignancy to the book. This is packed with memoirs, letters, diaries and interviews and really helps you understand what those men felt when war came and overtook their lives.
In the 1930’s, joining the army was frowned upon; seen as the last option for the young, the poor and the desperate. Both the civilian population and the army had almost a conspiracy of silence after WWI, when one in eight men never returned home. Many decision makers in WWII had either served in WWI or had lost relatives/sons there. Both Lloyd George and Churchill were critical of the slaughter and, it is interesting to note, that a much higher proportion of men serving survived the Second World War – one in twenty five died. Obviously, that is still a terrible statistic, in a war which saw one in four of the entire male population in the armed forces, but it does suggest that the way wars were fought – and the men themselves – had changed. However, between the wars, the thought of another European conflict was seen as unlikely and the army fell in size and funding. What was left was unpopular (intervening in strikes), looked down upon by the public, insular and often saw men stationed in parts of the Empire.
When war came, we read of men suddenly forced to face the reality that they had to serve in the army and, often, not liking the idea at all. It was labelled an ‘army of shopkeepers’ and we follow this group of men from training camps and to war. This book takes us through that war as the men experienced it – from Burma to Singapore, from Cairo to Italy, from the phoney war to Dunkirk, from ‘real’ soldiering to being one of the men which kept the army fuelled and repaired. We read of courage, of a sense of duty, the discipline of the army, the ‘them and us’ of officers and men and from before the war until the adjustment of returning home. One of the very interesting parts of this book for me were the reasons men gave to the question of what they were fighting for. Although a common reply was, “to defeat the Nazi’s,” very often it was, “I don’t know,” or simply, “because I’ve got to…” Another surprise was the men’s reaction who finally did get to fight in Germany itself. Warned by their superiors not to trust the Germans, it is obvious that many of the men were shocked by a country reduced to a heap of smoking rubble and that they felt a great deal of sympathy for the people they met.
I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely readable, very interesting, often moving and sometimes funny. I had a great deal of sympathy with the men involved, who often did not want to fight, who never imagined they would ever join the army, who did not want to be heroes, but who, nevertheless, did their duty in a very heroic way. Whether in battle, or peeling potatoes, they played their part with courage and humour. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
In the 1930’s, joining the army was frowned upon; seen as the last option for the young, the poor and the desperate. Both the civilian population and the army had almost a conspiracy of silence after WWI, when one in eight men never returned home. Many decision makers in WWII had either served in WWI or had lost relatives/sons there. Both Lloyd George and Churchill were critical of the slaughter and, it is interesting to note, that a much higher proportion of men serving survived the Second World War – one in twenty five died. Obviously, that is still a terrible statistic, in a war which saw one in four of the entire male population in the armed forces, but it does suggest that the way wars were fought – and the men themselves – had changed. However, between the wars, the thought of another European conflict was seen as unlikely and the army fell in size and funding. What was left was unpopular (intervening in strikes), looked down upon by the public, insular and often saw men stationed in parts of the Empire.
When war came, we read of men suddenly forced to face the reality that they had to serve in the army and, often, not liking the idea at all. It was labelled an ‘army of shopkeepers’ and we follow this group of men from training camps and to war. This book takes us through that war as the men experienced it – from Burma to Singapore, from Cairo to Italy, from the phoney war to Dunkirk, from ‘real’ soldiering to being one of the men which kept the army fuelled and repaired. We read of courage, of a sense of duty, the discipline of the army, the ‘them and us’ of officers and men and from before the war until the adjustment of returning home. One of the very interesting parts of this book for me were the reasons men gave to the question of what they were fighting for. Although a common reply was, “to defeat the Nazi’s,” very often it was, “I don’t know,” or simply, “because I’ve got to…” Another surprise was the men’s reaction who finally did get to fight in Germany itself. Warned by their superiors not to trust the Germans, it is obvious that many of the men were shocked by a country reduced to a heap of smoking rubble and that they felt a great deal of sympathy for the people they met.
I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely readable, very interesting, often moving and sometimes funny. I had a great deal of sympathy with the men involved, who often did not want to fight, who never imagined they would ever join the army, who did not want to be heroes, but who, nevertheless, did their duty in a very heroic way. Whether in battle, or peeling potatoes, they played their part with courage and humour. Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
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April 8, 2015Received from NetGalley
This is a densely packed, absolutely fascinating look at the British Army in WW II. To limit himself, the author gives a nod to women's units, who he says have their scholars, and he also excludes the air force, the navy, and private armies who largely drew from volunteers.
Beginning with an overview of the army during WW I, and the subsequent issues with it between the wars (where it changed for the worse, where it remained determinedly the same for the worse), he sets up the scene for the mass conscription early on, and again in 1941. Drawing on countless letters, diaries, court cases, reports, and news clips, he builds a picture of those who shaped the army, and then proceeds to individual stories of the men.
Why men joined, why men fought. Why men deserted. What Whitehall did about the many, many problems, especially when the new GA discovered that there were far more desertions at home than at the battlefront. What happened to gay men (like Dickie Buckle, one of the bravest men of the entire war), heroes and cowards, those who changed, those who couldn't.
The style is often breezy, and always vivid and on point with detail, which makes some of the harrowing scenes that much more difficult to read. Replete with notes and a formidable bibliography, it is a must-have for anyone who wants to understand WW II not only in the context of military happenstance, but the cultural changes ringing through the social contract as a result.
This is a densely packed, absolutely fascinating look at the British Army in WW II. To limit himself, the author gives a nod to women's units, who he says have their scholars, and he also excludes the air force, the navy, and private armies who largely drew from volunteers.
Beginning with an overview of the army during WW I, and the subsequent issues with it between the wars (where it changed for the worse, where it remained determinedly the same for the worse), he sets up the scene for the mass conscription early on, and again in 1941. Drawing on countless letters, diaries, court cases, reports, and news clips, he builds a picture of those who shaped the army, and then proceeds to individual stories of the men.
Why men joined, why men fought. Why men deserted. What Whitehall did about the many, many problems, especially when the new GA discovered that there were far more desertions at home than at the battlefront. What happened to gay men (like Dickie Buckle, one of the bravest men of the entire war), heroes and cowards, those who changed, those who couldn't.
The style is often breezy, and always vivid and on point with detail, which makes some of the harrowing scenes that much more difficult to read. Replete with notes and a formidable bibliography, it is a must-have for anyone who wants to understand WW II not only in the context of military happenstance, but the cultural changes ringing through the social contract as a result.
February 17, 2021
A fascinating account of life in the British Army during World War II. The author, Alan Allport, uses war memoirs, diaries and letters to give a detailed insight into how the ordinary soldier coped with being conscripted into the Army and how he fared throughout 1939 to 1945.
We learn of the horrors of war endure by the PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry) laced with the dark humour of the OR's (other ranks) and the changes they underwent as they moved from civilian life to deal with the discomforts and dangers of life in the military.
The Army itself was forced to change as it incorporated three-and-a-half million men from different backgrounds into its ranks.
Among the memoirs are many by famous British writers such as Eric Ambler, Brian Aldiss, Kingsley Amis, Anthony Burgess, Anthony Powell and Peter Ustinov - all of which give colourful, sometimes humorous, sometimes deeply moving accounts of the triviality, cruelty and irrationality of life as a conscripted soldier.
Along the way are fascinating nuggets of information such as soldiers booing Field Marshal Montgomery when he visited the 50th Infantry Division just before D-Day or Winston Churchill's belief that - after defeats in Norway and France and the Far East - the British Army would be unable to defeat Germany and Japan on its own.
This is a must read for any student of the history of the Second World War.
We learn of the horrors of war endure by the PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry) laced with the dark humour of the OR's (other ranks) and the changes they underwent as they moved from civilian life to deal with the discomforts and dangers of life in the military.
The Army itself was forced to change as it incorporated three-and-a-half million men from different backgrounds into its ranks.
Among the memoirs are many by famous British writers such as Eric Ambler, Brian Aldiss, Kingsley Amis, Anthony Burgess, Anthony Powell and Peter Ustinov - all of which give colourful, sometimes humorous, sometimes deeply moving accounts of the triviality, cruelty and irrationality of life as a conscripted soldier.
Along the way are fascinating nuggets of information such as soldiers booing Field Marshal Montgomery when he visited the 50th Infantry Division just before D-Day or Winston Churchill's belief that - after defeats in Norway and France and the Far East - the British Army would be unable to defeat Germany and Japan on its own.
This is a must read for any student of the history of the Second World War.
December 16, 2020
This four-star rating comes with the caveat that the book is uneven. Many parts of this book are gripping and meticulously researched, and at these points I found myself thinking, "This is how a history book should be written." However, at other points, Allport relied on acronyms, anecdotes, and jargon that made the read a slog, particularly in the middle of the book.
Allport, a professor of history at Syracuse, provides a very broad account of the British soldier during World War II. He describes the war from hundreds of sources, ranging from diaries to biographies to British archival materials. The book is a profound, lengthy project of a renowned historian, and yet it is also readable and intensely human.
My main criticism of the book (beyond constant use of confusing and similar acronyms) is more about the project of social history. I was fascinated by the accounts that the British men provided, but they never came together in a cohesive way (like in Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers). Usually, the quotes from the men came as disjointed or humorous anecdotes to supplement Allport's larger point. I sometimes forgot about the soldiers and I felt that I could have used more of a focus on a few companies to really remember the men. It may have been Allport's intent to blend the names together, but I found it ineffective because I would be reflecting on a passage from a soldier only to not hear from him again. Other soldiers (like Reginald Crimp) appeared on many pages, and I didn't find their stories quite as interesting.
As a former history major, I find a lot of history books to either be pop history or esoteric accounts for other historians. These limits leave very few books available for a history buff who wants something that is engaging (after all, I'm finished with the essays and the assignments) and also a true work of history. I probably disagree with Allport on a lot of subjects, but he has written a well-researched and enjoyable history book. That in itself is an enormous achievement.
Allport, a professor of history at Syracuse, provides a very broad account of the British soldier during World War II. He describes the war from hundreds of sources, ranging from diaries to biographies to British archival materials. The book is a profound, lengthy project of a renowned historian, and yet it is also readable and intensely human.
My main criticism of the book (beyond constant use of confusing and similar acronyms) is more about the project of social history. I was fascinated by the accounts that the British men provided, but they never came together in a cohesive way (like in Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers). Usually, the quotes from the men came as disjointed or humorous anecdotes to supplement Allport's larger point. I sometimes forgot about the soldiers and I felt that I could have used more of a focus on a few companies to really remember the men. It may have been Allport's intent to blend the names together, but I found it ineffective because I would be reflecting on a passage from a soldier only to not hear from him again. Other soldiers (like Reginald Crimp) appeared on many pages, and I didn't find their stories quite as interesting.
As a former history major, I find a lot of history books to either be pop history or esoteric accounts for other historians. These limits leave very few books available for a history buff who wants something that is engaging (after all, I'm finished with the essays and the assignments) and also a true work of history. I probably disagree with Allport on a lot of subjects, but he has written a well-researched and enjoyable history book. That in itself is an enormous achievement.
August 1, 2019
A genuinely fascinating look at the men who fought the war. It’s less concerned with how “good” or “bad” equipment, tactics and doctrine were, and more interested in looking at the men, broadly speaking, who went to war for the British army between 1939-1945. I enjoyed it very much, precisely because it looked at the people who fought as men and less as numbers.
April 21, 2015
One of the best books of military history that I have ever read.
September 9, 2016
Captures the experience of British soldiering in WWII very well.
May 8, 2022
This is an excellent social history of the British Army during the Second World War. Allport choses to focus on the fighting men, the officers and other ranks (OR), in different theaters but not dwell on the specifics of the actual campaigns.
The book opens with an illustration of what army life was like in the last years of peace for both officers and men. The British Army before 1939 was made up of longterm ORs, who were almost all recruited from the lowest classes of Britain, and of officers who came from the upper classes of society. Both groups found themselves removed from society for much of their career of soldiering as they would be sent overseas for long periods to serve in locations such as India, Malaya, or Africa. Troops often had to engage in police like duties, such as in keeping the peace in Palestine. Men often did not marry while in the army since even officers were not paid well and duties kept a soldier away from Britian for much of his career. Service, when not dangerous, was often boring with much drill and "spit and polish," and not enough actual training. Officers were treated very well, ORs much less so.
The advent of World War II changed the army radically. Conscription was introduced in early 1939 and would bring, for the first time since 1919, large numbers of educated skilled and professional men into the army, many of who did not appreciate the often brutal attitude that NCOs and officers took towards members of the ranks. The loss of the Battle of France convinced military and cvilian leadership that new approaches would need to be taken to build an effective army that would be able to successfully fight the Germans and later Japanese.
Allport traces the development of such an army both through the work of staff officers such as Ronald Adam, the Adjutant-General of the army for much of the war, and in the specific theaters of North Africa, Italy, France and Burma. An army that began the war with an out of date command structure, some what out classed weapons, and inadequately trained men ultimately was able to go toe to toe against and defeat the German and Japanese armies, admittedly with much assistance from allies. The army brought together individuals from different classes and backgrounds who otherwise would not have gotten to know each other well. It likely led to a group of men in post-war Britain who were more confident in the future of their country.
The book opens with an illustration of what army life was like in the last years of peace for both officers and men. The British Army before 1939 was made up of longterm ORs, who were almost all recruited from the lowest classes of Britain, and of officers who came from the upper classes of society. Both groups found themselves removed from society for much of their career of soldiering as they would be sent overseas for long periods to serve in locations such as India, Malaya, or Africa. Troops often had to engage in police like duties, such as in keeping the peace in Palestine. Men often did not marry while in the army since even officers were not paid well and duties kept a soldier away from Britian for much of his career. Service, when not dangerous, was often boring with much drill and "spit and polish," and not enough actual training. Officers were treated very well, ORs much less so.
The advent of World War II changed the army radically. Conscription was introduced in early 1939 and would bring, for the first time since 1919, large numbers of educated skilled and professional men into the army, many of who did not appreciate the often brutal attitude that NCOs and officers took towards members of the ranks. The loss of the Battle of France convinced military and cvilian leadership that new approaches would need to be taken to build an effective army that would be able to successfully fight the Germans and later Japanese.
Allport traces the development of such an army both through the work of staff officers such as Ronald Adam, the Adjutant-General of the army for much of the war, and in the specific theaters of North Africa, Italy, France and Burma. An army that began the war with an out of date command structure, some what out classed weapons, and inadequately trained men ultimately was able to go toe to toe against and defeat the German and Japanese armies, admittedly with much assistance from allies. The army brought together individuals from different classes and backgrounds who otherwise would not have gotten to know each other well. It likely led to a group of men in post-war Britain who were more confident in the future of their country.
December 17, 2021
When I first came across this book I assumed it was an unauthorised biography of my late mother, but no, it is a splendid and extensive social history of the British army in the Second World War. Not a history of the war, but an excellent background book to read alongside the more frequent campaign histories and personal accounts. It puts the army firmly in its context, against the background of the First World War, social changes, various campaigns, the 1945 election and the post-war world. It's a warts-and-all account which addresses desertion, looting, self-inflicted wounds and just being 'browned off and bloody-minded'. The quote from Anthony Burgess, along the lines of 'never were so many buggered about by so few', seems very apt. Some may blanche at the suggestion that Churchill's favoured special forces - airborne, commandos, Chindits - did not exactly provide value for money! It's a comprehensive and thought provoking analysis, well supported by contemporary quotes. Allport rightly points out that the key question is not why the army's performance was so often lacklustre but, rather, why it did so well. After all, British society ('pansified' according to the Blimps) was very different to that of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and the Soviet Union - and thank heavens for that!
November 18, 2023
This is a fascinating account of the British army in the Second World War, in which the voices of the real and unsung heroes, the private soldiers, come to the forefront. A valuable book for the unvarnished insight it provides.
March 21, 2023
Just okay.
February 14, 2024
This was an amazing book showing what life was like before, during, and coming to the end of World War Two from the persepctive of the British soldier. Looking forward to reading his other books.
August 7, 2025
Book was OK, nothing great. struggled to stay with it at times as it just didn't grip me.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews