Cheer Up, Mate!

Between 1939 and 1945 the world witnessed what is generally agreed to be the most horrific war in history. Millions died and millions more where physically or psychologically wounded by the conflict. Yet amidst the pain and devastation, people were not only able to survive, but also managed to maintain a sense of humour. For some, it was precisely this ability to laugh at their misfortunes (and those of the other side) that enabled them to soldier on. This was especially true of the British, a nation whose reaction to more or less anything up to and including someone's house being bombed to rubble tended to be, 'never mind, have a cup of tea'. This 'Blitz Spirit' is perhaps best summed up by Mona Lott, one of the characters in Tommy Handley's radio show 'It's That Man Again' (the show's title itself being a comical reference to Hitler): "it's being so cheerful as keeps me going".

Auteur

Alan Weeks is a former Senior Lecturer in History at St Mary's College University in London. He has written a number of school textbooks, including histories of the First and Second World Wars, and is the author of Tea, Rum & Fags: Sustaining Tommy, 1914-18 and A Bloody Picnic: Timmy's Humour. 1914-18. He lives in Hastings.

Résumé
Cheer Up, Mate! is a compilation of comical tales and anecdotes from World War Two. Between 1939 and 1945 the world witnessed what is generally agreed to be the most horrific war in history. Millions died and millions more were physically or psychologically wounded by the conflict. Yet amidst the pain and devastation, people were not only able to survive, they also managed to maintain a sense of humour. For some, it was precisely this ability to laugh at their misfortunes (and those of the other side) that enabled them to solider on. This was especially true of the British, a nation whose reaction to more or less anything, up to and including someone's house being bombed to rubble, tended to be, 'never mind, have a cup of tea'. This 'Blitz Spirit' is perhaps best summed up by Mona Lott, one of the characters in Tommy Handley's radio show It's That Man Again (the show's title itself being a comical reference to Hitler): 'it's being so cheerful as keeps me going.' In this collection of stories, which covers the armed forces and civilians from both sides, Alan Weeks demonstrates how humour can survive even in the most unlikely of circumstances.