Conclusion

Abstract

The conclusion draws together the three key themes of the book: the development of community within civil defence; the use of the language of the ‘people’s war’ by those communities in their self-representations; and the role of local social groups in producing these representations. It argues that these themes have important implications for thinking about the experience of the Second World War more generally. Historians need to pay more attention to social groups, not just in terms of how the differing circumstances of war across the country affected experience, but, more importantly, how individuals made sense of those circumstances in groups of family, friends and colleagues. The Second World War was a time of intense national mythmaking, and the impact this had on individuals has tended to be studied through the relationship between dominant public narratives and individuals in isolation. But this ignores the social setting in which much storytelling and sense-making took place. To fully understand the reception of myths, the power of dominant narratives and the negotiation of sameness and difference in wartime, we need to examine how understanding and meaning were developed in local social groups.