000456

Description

A file containing documents concerning the assessment of public morale relating to air raids in Britain. Documents in the file include official correspondence on the practicalities of assessing morale; a note suggesting themes to study; and a report on the morale of the towns of York, Exeter, Norwich, Canterbury, Bootle, Clydebank, and Greenock. Topics covered include a precise definition of "air-raid morale"; the effect of air raids on productivity; and industrial absenteeism as a result of the psychological impacts of air raids. Other topics include the cycle of "newspaper events" in the local press in connection to air raids; differences in the methods of assessing morale at home and in enemy countries; and social issues connected to air raids, including crime and looting. The contents of appendices to the report include graphs of the data collected; quotes from negative reports in regional newspapers; and a list of rumours.

Keywords

absenteeism, air raids, air-raid precautions, air-raid shelters, aliens, Baedeker raids, billeting, bomb damage, censorship, civil defence, civil defence training, civilian casualties, crime, doctors, drunkenness, enemy propaganda, espionage, evacuation, female labour, food supplies, German nationals, hospitals, incendiary bombs, industrial production, industry, intelligence, labour supply, local authorities, looting, Lord Haw-Haw, migration, military casualties, newspapers, nurses, periodicals, prisoners of war, public morale, public opinion, radio, radio broadcasts, rationing, reconstruction, regional newspapers, royalty, rumours, soldiers, statistics, transportation