Emma Vickers 
Queen and country 
Same–sex desire in the British Armed Forces, 1939–45

The first study of its kind in the UK, Queen and country examines the complex intersection between same-sex desire and the British Armed Forces during the Second World War. It illuminates how men and women lived, loved and survived in an institution which, at least publicly, was unequivocally hostile towards same-sex activity within its ranks. Queen and country also tells a story of selective remembrance and the politics of memory, exploring specifically why same-sex desire continues to be absent from the historical record of the war. In examining this absence, and the more intimate minutiae of cohesion, homosociability and desire, this study pushes far beyond traditional military history in order to cast new light on one of the most widely discussed conflicts of the twentieth century.

Table of Content

Introduction
1. Inclusion
2. Keeping up appearances
3. Playing away
4. Make do and mend
Conclusion
Epilogue
Biographies of interviewees
Bibliography
Index

About the author

Emma Vickers is Senior Lecturer in History at Liverpool John Moores University