The Responses of British Towns and Cities to the Invasion of China in the Second World War.

Mark Crowley, University of Utah

The response of the British Home Front to the difficulties faced by China has not yet been subject to detailed scrutiny. Numerous British cities and towns, in particular coalfield communities, responded to the atrocities in China by establishing local, national, and regional groups to raise money for victims of Japanese aggression in China. This also included movements that started locally but subsequently, owing to their popularity gripped the nation. For example, the boycott movement encouraged people to avoid buying Japanese products. It had the ultimate aim of punishing Japan economically for its aggression. Cities such as London and Southampton organized various events, including movie screenings, Chinese cultural days, and sporting events. The funds raised would be provided to the Red Cross and other philanthropic organizations that were working to provide relief in China. This paper will show that while the material results of philanthropic efforts (primarily in the form of material goods) were often reported to have been sent from Britain’s major cities, it was the result of a combined effort from citizens of Britain’s cities and smaller provincial towns, especially the nation’s coalfields, that was instrumental to its success. This served to create a major humanitarian response among Britain’s trade unions. Thus, the research examines how the intersection between the regional and the local, once a divided construct in Britain (owing to differences in wealth and social class) became united in the sense of assisting Chinese citizens in wartime.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 189. Defense and War Economics