Temporary Gentlemen’ in the aftermath of the Great War

The ex-officer problem in Britain following the Great War derived its special meaning from the difficulties associated with finding a satisfactory relationship between wartime rank and postwar status. Images of social decline competed for public attention with those of social elevation. Behind these images lay a series of dilemmas about how to reconcile the social and economic effects of military promotion with the claims of democracy. The shifting usage of the term ‘temporary gentleman’ during the war reflected the changing background of those being granted commissions, and the possibilities of upward mobility produced tensions which were to persist and grow after demobilization. Government policies for ex-officers, in seeking to assist talent without perpetuating the distinctions of rank, were directly affected by such tensions. Ultimately, expectations of higher social status faded in the light of experiences which conveyed a sense of loss and decline, and ex-officers became a symbol for those who saw their pre-war social position being threatened in a less secure world. However, the ex-officer problem existed in its own right as the result of the uniquely awkward adjustments associated with being ‘de-officered’ at the same time as being demobilized

Demobilization · Democracy · Government (linguistics · Meaning (existential · Officer · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Promotion (chess · Rank (graph theory · Sociology · Symbol (formal · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Law · Psychology · Public Administration · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact

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