Henry Irving is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of London's School of Advanced Studies. His research explores the relationship between state and society in mid-twentieth century Britain. He is currently part of an AHRC-funded project that will provide 'A Communications History of the Ministry of Information, 1939-45'.
How should a responsible government deal with the threat of military invasion? This question is not one that many British governments have had to consider. Yet for a 12-month period after May 1940 it was one that exercised those in …
Britain’s involvement in the Second World War began at 11am on 3 September 1939. The declaration came after eleven days of mounting international tension and was just one part of a flurry of governmental activity. Over three million people had …
The instruction to ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ has become one of the most recognisable slogans in British history. The phrase has reinforced a popular view of life in the Second World War and has been reproduced on everything from …