Beales John
School of Political, Global and Social Studies, University of Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK.
Soc Hist Med. 2023 Aug 8;37(1):204-228. doi: 10.1093/shm/hkad040. eCollection 2024 Feb.
This article explores civilian responses to the British army's blood donor recruitment campaign in wartime Britain, revealing it to be an underexplored medium for the examination of the contribution of women to Britain's war effort. However, despite extensive gender-targeted propaganda, it reveals evidence of a significant disparity between levels of volunteering to donate and actual donation throughout the war. Wartime donor behaviour was influenced by perceptions of personal or familial risk, with donor recruitment propaganda emphasising kinship ties to those in military service and promoting blood donation as a mutual insurance policy. Ultimately, this article argues that evidence of donor behaviour further undermines the mythologised narrative of Britain's 'People's War' and provides nuance to the understanding of blood donor motivation.
本文探讨了战时英国平民对英国军队献血招募活动的反应，揭示出这是一个尚未得到充分研究的领域，可用于考察女性对英国战争努力的贡献。然而，尽管进行了广泛的针对性别宣传，但有证据表明，在整个战争期间，献血的志愿水平与实际献血量之间存在显著差距。战时献血者的行为受到对个人或家庭风险认知的影响，献血招募宣传强调与服役人员的亲属关系，并将献血宣传为一种互助保险政策。最终，本文认为，献血者行为的证据进一步削弱了英国“人民战争”的神话叙事，并为理解献血动机提供了细微差别。
