Food shortages in 1917 and police involvement

@drmaryfraser

A world-wide poor harvest in 1916 affected almost every nation from early 1917. Wheat and oats were particualrly difficult to obtain, so supplies of bread, one of the main items in the British diet, was seriously affected. Not only was there less grain to export to Britain from America and Canada, but the British harvest had also failed due to poor weather conditions. The very wet and cold soil also affected the potato crop, which was said to be small and diseased. Food supply was in crisis in Britain, as in other European and American countries.
One solution was to prevent pheasants eating the newly planted crops. As many farm labourers had signed up for the army, mainly due to better pay, far less land was in production and urgent measures were needed. One way was to compel farmers to kill all their pheasants, which had grown in number due to insufficient being killed in previous years. This would help to safeguard the newly planted wheat and oats, so that a better harvest was more likely. The rural police would have been responsible for enforcing this law.

Poster from the Imperial War Museum

@drmaryfraser

The wife's role in the British Police during the First World War

@drmaryfraser

Police wives during the First World War in Britain were very much the Incorporated Wife (Callan and Ardner, 1984). They were expected to support their husband and family in every aspect of their daily lives and were not allowed to work outside the home, even when many other women found work while their husband's were away fighting. So they had to rely on increasing their income by breeding livestock for sale. With the huge price rises in Britain, first felt acutely in 1916, they published recipes and shared tips on how to save money. Protein was felt to be a source of energy, so the policeman needed meat in order to have the energy to go out on his beat every day and in all weathers. However, his wife had an "interior economy (that) can be kept going on an even more restricted diet". 
Some police forces received increases in pay and/or war bonuses to help to keep pace with the rising living costs, but not all. Time off was also restricted. It was a hard time for a police family, especially if they had young children.

@drmaryfraser

More interest in police history

@drmaryfraser

Did you know there are currently around 28 university departments in England and Wales which run diploma and degree courses in police studies? The students on these courses often link their studies to promotion prospects. Most of the courses include the history of the police in the first year. The Open University also has an International Centre for the History of Crime, Policing and Justice. 

No wonder then that the importance of the history of the police is increasing. All this leads to more public interest too.

@drmaryfraser

Finished another chapter

@drmaryfraser

Just finished Chapter 4. I'd set aside to write a chapter per month, so have reached my goal - although this may sound a bit self-congratulatry it is due to the inforation being quite easy to find; other chapters may be more of a challenge.

One of the interesting things about history is that often no ethical permissions are needed and using documents that are accessible to everyone, provided you know where to look and have the means to travel to see them, if necessary, means there are often few hold-ups to obtaining the data.

@drmaryfraser

Going to the National Archives at Kew

@drmaryfraser

The National Archives are, of course, a must for many historians. What a pleasure it is to go there. Most of the files I've been using have only been released recently, so one feels a sense of privilege to look at them, associated with wondering if you might be the first person to do so since they were taken out of public view.

Once you have a users card, its easy to search for files. When you give 24 hours notice of the files you select, they're waiting for you in the locker number associated with the reading seat that you booked. You can photograph the documents using their camera mounting equipment provided.

They even have a good restaurant and coffee bar on the ground floor for a break, when you need it.

Enjoy!

@drmaryfraser

British police history: the increasing interest

@drmaryfraser

Recently there has been increasing interest in the history of the British police. This is shown by the number of organisations that have sprung up, for example there are now 27 Police History Museums, including the City of London, Glasgow; Coventry, and Greater Manchester; 14 Police collections and 39 Police-related historical societies in the UK and Ireland. The Police History Society has around 300 members, including international members http://www.policehistorysociety.co.uk/ 

All this activity leads to increasing public interest in policing and police work and how things used to be.

@drmaryfraser

Gaining British copyright permissions

 @drmaryfraser

The publisher advises to obtain copyright permissions as early as possible, as problems can occur. If permissions are not gained by the time the manuscript is ready to be sent to the Production Editor, this can delay the book's publication.

So, with this advice in hand I'm aiming to gain copyright permission from a journal owner, when the journal has sadly gone out of pubication. In it's day the journal was the widely read, so was influential. However, its ownership passed to another group before it went out of print; ownership now seems to reside with a marketing company. So here's the beginning of a problem. As I aim to quote from this source quite readily I simply have to gain permission.

I'll be letting you know how things go - maybe I'm anticipating a problem that might not occur. Let's hope so!

@drmaryfraser

Visiting the University archives

@drmaryfraser

I've found the University archives have a copy of a paper from 1994 that I need, so, although I'm not a member of staff or a student they'll let me use the archives. Directions were "go past the supermarket and keep inside the railings" which I duly did and found the archives in a retail park. When I arrived and signed in I couldn't help but notice I was only the second person to visit today, and it's nearly time for them to close. So a quiet time in which the archivist disappeared into the back room leaving me to my own devices. It must be a lonely job being an archivist, probably suitable for those who like a quiet life.

The article was most useful and I could see why it's widely quoted. I'll make good use of it.

@drmaryfraser

Starting to write the book on police history

@drmaryfraser

I've just received a book contract from Routledge for their First World War collection, all good so far. I have to finish writing the book and submit it along with the necessary corrections and permissions from those who own the copyright to any photos or pictures I use. So let's get down to business!

My writing time is mornings; I'm at my most alert at this time, by lunchtime I'm starting to flag. So a 9am start gives me at least 3 and a half hours of writing time, if I stop for coffee! This sounds very organised, but it's important to start well and most authors will tell you how and when they write best - hear Hilary Mantell on the third Reith Lecture 2017 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08wp3g3#play I write best at my desk on my laptop; it faces the wall, so little distraction from looking out into the garden when something could catch my eye.

My husband is wonderful. When I had the proposal accepted, we agreed that he would not expect me to be available for anything in the mornings. So far this has worked well and he often gets the coffee so that I can continue to think, read or write without altering my focus. It's important to gain the agreement of those you live with so that they can help with your need for uninterrupted writing and thinking time at agreed periods of the day.

But you're never really away from the subject you're writing about. Ideas pop into your head when you're not really thinking about them and it's important to capture them, so carrying something to write on or speak into is useful.

In these pages I aim to let you know the various activities, joys and struggles I encounter along the way to completing the book. I hope you'll find it interesting.

@drmaryfraser