British Military Bases in Germany: Living with the Cold War and its Legacies, 1945-2000

This project examines British military communities living in Germany during the Cold War and its aftermath. It is underpinned by two distinct strands. First, it will analyse everyday life on the bases and the changing composition, character and collective identities that underpinned community life. Forty oral history interviews form a core part of this project and set it apart from the few previous works on the British in Germany. This project argues that the voices of this diverse group of Cold War warriors are integral to understanding the connected histories of the Cold War, post-1945 Britain and the social history of warfare in the late twentieth century. I will act as an advocate for a refined model of oral history interviewing, arguing that 'militarised' experience transcends the battlefield and urging social historians of warfare to move away from 'action-centred' question formats. I will thus highlight oral history's tremendous potential as a tool for analysing long-term social history. Interviews will take place in two tranches across the project.

Second, I will use this fellowship to conduct detailed archival research (National Archives series WO32 and WO 267, IWM and Institute of Education) to ask not only why the British military were in Germany and what role military authorities envisaged them playing in a future Cold War conflict, but how historians should conceptualise the wider constellation of UK base communities across the post-war world, with Germany at its centre. How were the Rhine bases used as staging posts for soldiers bound for Ireland, Kosovo and the Middle East? Was the network akin to the US 'informal empire' of Pacific bases? Furthermore, were garrisons regarded as a key element of Britain's integration in Europe or an impediment to it? And how far did German re-unification in 1990 alter the position of British bases? Moreover, it asks how policies towards British families and communities as 'expatriates' changed over time. For instance, using previously closed material, it asks how plans for the evacuation of British families in the case of a Soviet invasion changed between 1946 and the end of the Cold War. Finally, were there other networks - social, educational or recreational - that bound British people in Germany with other military overseas communities?

This project purposefully sits at the intersection between Cold War history and British social history. It demonstrates that bases were more than strategic outposts: they were vibrant British social communities, at once insular and outward-facing, occupying some of the most volatile areas of the Cold War world. Through a major monograph proposal, Living on a Cold War Frontier, I will use this vital case study to advance our understanding of British everyday life in the shadow of the Cold War and the forgotten history of one of the largest expatriate communities in modern British history. It will provide leadership in oral history methodology, through an international workshop on 'Cold War Voices' and co-written article on appropriate oral history methods for social historians of warfare.

The project builds on the insights and experience of a British Academy funded pilot project (Small Grant Ref SG152333) where I interviewed ten former military wives, children and personnel.

This project would provide me with an unparalleled opportunity to become a leading Cold War historian, accelerating my progression within this research community and building on my keen interest in Higher Education leadership.

This project is underpinned by an intellectual desire to listen to, record and disseminate the voices of this unique and often overlooked community. It will engage with the wider public through both its research methodology and planned collaborations with the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Overall, it will encourage historical reflection on military life in Germany, coinciding with the return of all British units from Germany to the UK in 2020 (known as the Army Rebasing Programme). The project therefore engages with and benefits a variety of non-academic stakeholders:

1. UK war and conflict museums. The Cold War is a growing area of public and museum interest, but is still relatively under-developed in UK war museums (in comparison to European museums e.g. AlliiertenMuseum, Berlin). My research - and its social history core - will feed directly into the UK museum sector's evolving work in this area, principally through a collaboration with the IWM's newly established Cold War and Late Twentieth-Century Conflict Collections team and advising on their Development Strategy at a critical moment in shaping its future direction. I will meet regularly with this team providing academic advice on the shape of its acquisition, development and exhibition strategies and will also employ a PDRA whose remit will include supporting IWM Duxford's very first post-1945 galleries in 2020/21. I will also continue existing discussions with Dr Peter Johnston (National Army Museum) on the specific British Army component of British Forces Germany with a view to future collaborations with the National Army Museum and potentially the Regimental Museums network. I will deliver a public lecture in 2019/2020 as part of the NAM's highly popular Friday lecture series and their 'Goodbye Germany' season.

2. Oral historians and oral history curators. My research asks salient questions for those collecting and curating oral histories: what interview format is best suited to capturing experiences of military experience beyond the battlefield? How can a more diverse range of voices feature in oral histories on the modern history of conflict? And how can these be disseminated to a wider audience? Oral history curators will play an integral role in my planned 'Cold War Voices' workshop where these questions will be discussed: confirmed discussants include Dr Peter Johnston (NAM) and Sarah Paterson (IWM), both innovative oral history specialists and curators. This event aims to encourage historians and museum specialists to broaden the types of individuals approached for oral history interviews on military life in the Cold War era.

3. Military charities and community organisations. In recruiting individuals to take part, this project will engage with and provide a voice to military charities and community organisations. The PDRA and I will use contacts established with Military Wives Choirs and the British Legion Women's Section during the pilot project of 10 interviews, but also forge new connections through professional and community organisations including The Windsor Society (alumni society for former children at the Windsor Schools on the military base at Rheindahlen); the Royal Army Chaplain's Department; and members of the British Forces Education Service/Service Children's Education Association (BFES-SCEA).

I am very conscious that other opportunities for impact may also arise during the course of the project, as media engagement will increase in 2020 when the last units return to the UK. Funding will be sought to support these ad hoc activities from the Brigstow Institute at Bristol and the Centre for Public Engagement. In the medium-term future, the return of British troops to the UK has important policy implications and I would seek to use the fellowship to establish contacts with whom to write either a History & Policy paper or contribute to relevant select committees, government organisations or think tanks.