Social and Cultural Histories of Britain’s Military, 1660-1914

Series Editor: Kevin Linch, Associate Professor of Modern History, University of Leeds

What was it like to be a soldier in Britain’s army in the redcoat era?

While there is much written about wars, battles, tactics and fighting in this period, there is relatively little serious research on the nature of everyday military life.  This new series aims to publish a range of interesting new books which explore a variety of questions about soldiering in this period.  Subjects covered will include who were the soldiers and the officers?; how did their careers develop?; their cultural attitudes, including the changing nature of masculinity; the growth of professionalism; how soldiers related to their families and wider society; changing approaches to military discipline and organisation; and much more.

The series will cover all the different forces of the British crown – the regular army, militia, home defence forces, part-time soldiers, auxiliaries; and officers, NCOs, rank and file, camp followers and military families.  Besides studying the forces raised in Britain and Ireland, the series will also examine troops raised overseas including “foreign” units and forces recruited in the colonies and the Empire.  Soldiering had a lifecycle – from recruit, to life as a soldier, then discharge and returning to the community, all of which could be repeated – the series overall aims to provide rich detail on exactly what this life was like.