48.
Title: [Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain, 1942]
Author: United States War Department.
Genre: Historical Guide
Medium: Web
Acquisition: Read Online
Date Completed: 20 May 2016
Rating: *****

Conduct guides are rich and valuable cultural objects capable of articulating not just the guidance f their intention, but the cultural and social values of a society. Conduct guides allow historians a better understanding of social anxieties and expectations of behavior, and clearly articulate politics of identity at a given time. Such is the case with the 1942 Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain, written and distributed by the US War Department to educate (and correct) American soldiers stationed in Britain after the United States formally enters World War II. Opening with an identification of a joint threat seeking to disrupt a potentially powerful alliance (Hitler), the guide opens with the assertion that this is "No Time to Fight Old Wars," and in the resulting paragraph illustrates the prolonged mistrust of the British by Americans in the 1940s due to the Revolutionary War: "you may think of them as enemy Redcoats who fought against us in the American Revolution and the War of 1812.  But there is no time today to fight old wars over again or bring up old grievances... The most evident truth of all is that in their major ways of life the British and American people are much alike. "

The text that follows represents the building of contentious masculinities in the US and UK, constructing a definable American cultural standard even as it seeks to inform Americans of the culture of their new station. "It is militarily stupid to criticize your allies" the guide says. Twice.

There is much to value in this text, which serves as a primary source useful for defining masculinity central to my research. But here are some of my personal favorite quips:

1. "Don't be misled by the British tendency to be soft-spoken and polite.  If they need to be,  they can be plenty tough.  The English language didn't spread across the oceans and over the mountains and jungles and swamps of the world because these people were panty-waists."

2. "You will find that English crowds at football or cricket matches are more orderly and polite to the players than American crowds.  If a fielder misses a catch at cricket, the crowd will probably take a sympathetic attitude.  They will shout "good try" even if it looks to you like a bad fumble.  In America the crowd would probably shout "take him out." This contrast should be remembered."

3.  "British churches, particularly the little village churches, are often very beautiful inside and out.  Most of them are always open and if you feel like it, do not hesitate to walk in. But do not walk around if a service is going on."

4. "The British welcome you as friends and allies. But remember that crossing the ocean doesn't automatically make you a hero. There are housewives in aprons and youngsters in knee pants in Britain who have lived through more high explosives in air raids than many soldiers saw in first class barrages in the last war."

5. On "British Women at War": "When you see a girl in khaki or air-force blue with a bit of ribbon on her tunic-remember she didn't get it for knitting more socks than anyone else in Ipswich."

6. "The British have phrases and colloquialisms of their own that may sound funny to you.  You can make just as many boners in their eyes. "

You can read the conduct guide online here.