Tag: Session 7

Christy's posts

“Strangers on the inside: Irish women servants in England, 1881” Bronwen Walter, 2009

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Strangers on the inside: Irish women servants in England, 1881, Bronwen Walter, discusses the importance of Irish domestic servant’s within English homes during the 19th century, and tries to identify why, although their importance, where largely excluded from history.

Irish female migrants during this period were in search of accommodation and were actively encouraged to seek it by Catholic priests, within the homes of the English middle class, where they could work as live-in servants. Although Irish women were a relatively small proportion of all domestic servants, by 1881 they quickly became very spread out within England, and English households. Walter highlights that Irish domestic servants became known as the “others” to the white, middle-class, male-owned households in England during the 19th century. He discusses how their role within the home actively attributed to the construction of masculinity and its boundaries of the men’s homes they worked within.  The concept of “the master of the house” was developed at a time were male identities were being threatened by growing European uncertainty. Domestic servants were to perform tasks such as cleaning, and maintenance, as well as often childcare duties, so that the middle-class women could still enjoy a leisured lifestyle and feel above the servants that they hired.

The role of ethnicity compared to that of class, or gender, is often left unexamined by historians. Therefore, Walter highlights that the lack of examination on the national, and ethnic origins of Irish servants within the later 19th century, contributes to the invisibility of the servant classes as a whole.  In the rare occasion that Irish servants were mentioned within literacy during the period, they were exposed to a lack of respect, and a range of stereotypes and slurs, such as the fact they were dirty, unskilled, and all terrible cooks. The writings failed to discuss the many jobs that they performed, and their hard work, which was integral to the middle-class home.  Walter highlights one of the servants most important roles within the homes that they worked at and an indication that they had a greater impact on the family, than just the cleaning that they did, which was childcare. Irish domestic servants had an extraordinarily important role by caring for the middle, and upper-class children, so that women could appear untouched by manual labour. They helped to raise and educate the children, and therefore the raising of young middle-class men, who often spent more time with the Irish servants, than their mothers. The knowledge of the Irish culture absorbed into the children and often carried with them into adulthood, which worried some parents of the upper classes, as they thought that the Irish servants may be clashing their catholic views, upon the strong protestant Englishness of the time.

The article looks into the 1881 census, and the fact that a 5% sample revealed a better insight into the amount, specific location, and relationships that they had within middle-class households. By a large amount, the highest proportion of Irish-born women, living in England, and working, were domestic servants, and yet through history, they are often ignored. Their contributions to the construction of ‘Englishness” remained taken for granted. The census showed that the total number of domestic service workers was 750,000 in 1851, which then rose to 1.3 million in1891. Overall, therefore, it showed that the Irish born servants had an integral position within English homes during this period, and although their work and importance often went ignored,  studies looking at the data from censuses such as 1881, are starting to understand this role better, to shed light on how they shaped many English homes.

Siobhan's posts

C. G Pooley ‘Front Londonderry to London: Identity and sense of place for a protestant Northern Irish women in the 1930s’

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This particular article was written by historian Colin Pooley who establishes the experience of a young 18-year old young woman (which he commonly refers to as ‘R) who migrated from Northern Ireland to London in 1937 to take the work as a typist. The source highlights that the young women born into a protestant family within Londonderry in 1919 who kept numerous diaries and in-depth detailed all aspects of her life between the years 1937-1942. In particular, these detailed diaries included a vivid insight into the process of when she migrated to London which included her thoughts and feelings on leaving her home in Ireland to her adjustment to her new life and work within the city of London. The author clearly highlights that these diaries did not initially have the intension of anyone other than the author to read them, as they are clearly written like a personal document.

One aspect of ‘R’s’ life that seems to be of interest is when the author highlights that her parents had sought arrangements about accommodation for the young girl upon London by contacting the Civil service association in regards to hostels and by also contacting some boarding houses directly, however ‘R’ eventually lands a room in a hostel in Earls Court which was recommended and booked by the daughter of a family friend who had already moved from Londonderry to London. The author also highlighted that ‘R’ had a network of strong contacts already existed within London which gave her practical advantages and reassured her of anything. This is interesting as this is clearly a process of chain migration as ‘R’ clearly had trusted strong connections which she could rely upon if she needed any help within this new city.

Interestingly the author establishes that the actual acts of leaving home did in fact cause ‘R’ some distress as she had such a strong bond with her mother and with Londonderry, therefore, leaving this behind was hard for her, however, it is established that she did not view this opportunity as “leaving home” initially as she saw it more as a temporary adventure as she intended that her sister may in fact join her in London and she always had the option of coming back to Londonderry if things did not work out for her. However, the author established that less than a year after she migrated she did in fact have the opportunity to transfer to Belfast but ultimately went with the decision to stay within London as she was enjoying her time within the city. It was emphasized by the author that ‘R’ clearly suggested throughout her diary entries that she was becoming sincerely comfortable with the environment as she states that she never felt threatened or even uncomfortable living here.

Pooley also establishes that throughout the diary entries that further aspects of ‘R’s’ life are later revealed as her religious afflictions and political beliefs are clearly defined. It was established that she was a protestant from Nothern Ireland and her father was committed to the Presbyterian church and the orange order in Londonderry, therefore, the author establishes that it was expected that ‘R’ would have a much stronger identity to Britain opposed to Catholic migrants. Pooley also established that both her religion and politics enabled her to fit easily into British society and have strong views on class differences within Ireland.

Pooley then concludes this article by establishing that ‘R’ was brought to a privileged position within London in regards to many other migrants from Ireland to Britain in the 1930s, it is illustrated that this young woman was fortunate enough to have the full support of a wealthy family who arranged for her migration enabling she had work and initial accommodation within London, the author also highlights that ‘R’ was well educated and had a secure well paid job which was hugely beneficial towards her when she migrated to London in assuring she would gain a success high paid job.

Justin's posts

Ann Summers, ‘Gender, Religion and an Immigrant Minority: Jewish women and the suffrage movement in Britain c.1900–1920’

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“Gender, Religion and an Immigrant Minority: Jewish women and the suffrage movement in Britain c.1900–1920,” is an article written by Ann Summers. It is a case study which focuses on the relationship between Jewish and Christian campaigners in their want for the female suffrage. It is a complex article which focuses primarily on prominent Jewish women who were involved in not only trying to attain the suffrage but also wanting religious equality. This was because they felt both issues went hand in hand.

Summers begins the article by showing how Jewish women were not as well represented in communal work compared to their Christian counterparts. The Jewish women only began to gain social rights nearer the end of the century. For example, how the Jewish male Visiting committee membership was slowing down resulting in the formation of an official female committee in 1881. These groups usually conducted social work but became more productive when women had gotten involved more. Summer also makes the point that despite the women’s work being so influential during this time, they were not accredited until the 21st century.

The article then describes how Jewish women may have been denied equal rights due to the traditional views of men and women which were heavily prominent throughout the Jewish culture. It could also be attributed to the classical perception of masculinity. This was particularly the case regarding minority male immigrants who were already emasculated by British natives. They would be reluctant to give women equal rights purely because they had to feel like they had t have power of some sort. A group which promoted gender equality was created. The National Association of the promotion of social sciences provided a forum for men and women to meet on equal terms and was responsible for many social reforms aimed at women. In 1902, Lily Montagu persuaded scholar Claude Montefiore to head a group of men and women – which became the Jewish Religious Union – and allowed for men and women to sit together during worship.

Later in the article, Summer’s notes that the Jewish groups campaigning for women’s suffrage were late to the scene with the Jewish league becoming involved in 1912. This was because they wanted to bring co-religionists on board. There was also noticeable anti-Semitism in the major British suffrage movements which was a likely reason to why many Jewish women were not given the credit they deserved. This was arguably the reason why they were unable to make as much of an impact on universal suffrage as the Christians did. However, both religions united and created a standing joint committee of representatives of religious suffrage societies.

Gemma's posts

W. Ugolini ‘The internal enemy other’: recovering the World War Two narratives of Italian Scottish Women’ (2004)

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This paper by Wendy Ugolini aims to provide how significant the impact of the Second World War was on the construction of personal identity amongst Scottish Italian women. With reference to the anti-Italian movement, Ugolini shows its personal importance within the life stories given by Italian Scottish women. She argues that the traumatic events of the summer of 1940 provided Italians with the harsh reality of how fragile the foundations upon their acceptance in Scottish society were and how this served to drastically heighten a sense of ‘otherness’ and not belonging.

The author firstly makes a comparison between the aftermath of 9/11 with Muslims being attacked in Edinburgh and Italians facing similar attacks after Italy declared war on Britain six decades earlier in 1940. Police began to arrest Italian nationals between the ages of sixteen and seventy and with Defence Regulation 18B, this meant that a vast number of British people of Italian origin including women were also arrested. Italian women were forced to leave their homes in coastal towns which were designated ‘protected areas’ and relocate twenty miles inland. The paper aims to explore what happened to the women who were left behind to experience racist hostility on the Homefront after the ingrained memories of internment and the tragedy of the Arandora Star; a ship carrying Italian and German enemy ‘aliens’ to Canada and was torpedoed, killing over 400 internees.

Ugolini argues that there has been a tendency to romanticise the presence of Italians in Scotland to avoid stressing the more painful reality of how Italian families were treated. In order to research this, the author interviewed forty-six men and women of Italian origin, all second and third generation living in Edinburgh and other South East regions of Scotland and over half of the group were women. Ugolini emphasises that when her interviewees were asked about the outbreak of the war, they referred to the events of June 1940 rather than 1939, showing that a specific set of memories was held amongst Italians as a group.

The author demonstrates how the Anti-Italian riots were particularly widespread throughout Scotland due to the presence of religious bigotry in Scottish society. She highlights that in her interviews with the women there was a sense of trauma when discussing the riots. As one particular woman, Linda Hunt, told how such a traumatic event like the riots can ‘turn a person’s world into a much more insecure and unpredictable place than before the traumatising experience’. Ugolini continues to describe when the women were asked to relocate, they were given no support or guidance and were left alone to make their own arrangements for their businesses and children’s education. Eight of the women she interviewed had experienced relocation as a child and many had witnessed their fathers being taken away. One woman recalled the heart-breaking memory of the last time she ever saw her father. He was frying fish and chips in their shop and was suddenly taken away in his dirty clothes. Another woman remembered after being relocated, her and her family were evicted from their lodgings in Blair Atholl when the laird opposed finding ‘foreigners’ on his land.

In the places they could relocate to, Ugolini notes how the narratives she received highlight the growth of support networks for Italian women who clustered in areas such as Peebles and Pitlochry. They would find work with other Italian women and seek refuge with relatives, friends or business contacts. She demonstrates that there was a large element of sticking together. However, the enforced congregation of Italian women and their children in the same towns contributed to the growth of marginalisation and exclusion during wartime. Women as young a thirteen and fourteen were faced with the responsibility of looking after families and businesses and many respondents in Ugolini’s paper recall being exposed to xenophobic abuse such as being spat on, having stones thrown at them and being shunned in communal areas.

The author concludes that the narratives she received from women contained a recognition of their psychological fragility which was not present in the narratives from men. Women were more willing to share information on the emotional and psychological impact of being viewed as the ‘other’. Ugolini stresses in her conclusion that the abuse, intolerance and prejudice faced by Italian Scottish women during the Second World War had a long-lasting effect on the construction of personal identity and their view of themselves as being ‘outsiders’. A notable point which the author concluded was that events such as the attacking of Asian shops six decades later have the potential to bring back distressing memories amongst the older members of the Italian community in Scotland. This therefore stresses the argument that the hardships they experienced during the Second World War were so devastating that they still have a significant impact on the Italian community today.

Oliwia's posts

“Women’s Experience of Internment” by Miriam Kochan

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“Women’s Experience of Internment” by Miriam Kochan is a very detailed account of how interment looked for many women at the beginning of the Second World War. Overall, the chapter provides a timeline of events and key turning points in legislation which made a difference in women’s experiences during internment. Simultaneously, the chapter gives the reader an overview of different aspects of experience which women encountered which are mainly split into working/living conditions, relationships and communication with the outside world. Finally, the chapter also makes a number of comparisons of the treatments of women in internment camps as opposed to that of men.

 

In terms of the timeline, Kochan presents a number of the legislative changes which impacted internment. Beginning in 1940, with the Home Office order on 12 May of internment for all males ages 16-60, later on 27 May the first order to arrest women of the same age group (although they were subject to exceptions). The first main turning point in terms of internment was made on 10 July 1940 where a House of Commons debate highlighted the evils of the internment scheme. On 31 July White Papers announced the preparation of release of grade C internees who fell into one of the 18 categories presented. Kochan also highlights the importance of the Asquith Committee who made a number of recommendations which affected internment, which largely focused on releasing grade B internees – subject to a tribunal interview. Kochan states that internment was a largely finished incident in August 1942 when there were less than 5000 enemy aliens remaining on the Isle of Man.

 

Kochan also illustrates the changes which took place over time in terms of conditions within camps. In terms of conditions she highlights that they were never great, but they progressively changed from women living in small cells with the doors closed to the ability to wander round the villages of the Isle of Man when they were placed there. Also, Kochan mentions that although women always carried out domestic jobs within their hotels, they were later given a payment for their work which was 6 pence a day. In terms of relationships within camps there was a conflict noted between Nazis and non-Nazis, but regardless of that Kochan notes that fights and arguments took place daily, even amongst those who shared the same opinions which conveys that the tensions were high. Communication with the outside world as Kochan notes was very limited during the early days of internment but later became readily available and used by most, this was both in terms of news and communication between camps.

 

Kochan in the chapter also makes a number of comparisons which go to show that women were treated much more leniently than their male counterparts. This she said could be due to the fact that the Home Office was in charge of the custody of internees for women, where in the case of men it was the War Office.

 

The article is very informative and a sources its information mostly – if not entirely – from primary sources such as newspapers produced at the given time, as well as statements provided by women who experienced internment which makes the information very reliable.