Abstract
This article is situated at the crossroads of First World War and periodical studies. It sheds light on the phenomenon of ‘war godmothers’ [‘marraines’], women who supported soldiers at the front by sending them parcels and letters. The so-called godmothers made use of the mainstream press to advertise their services, and founded periodicals of their own. In this article, we examine the representation of war godmothers in the periodical press and uncover La Revue des marraines, a handwritten journal created by the Melles Picard in Paris. The analysis addresses the little-known phenomenon of the war godmothers, the relation between godmother and godson, and changing gender roles. It further questions the importance of handwritten journals during the war, when paper and other means were scarce.
Highlights
This article addresses a topic situated at the crossroads of two separate phenomena in First World War studies, that of the war godmothers and that of the popular trench journals.1 While seemingly unconnected at first sight, both served the same purpose: boosting the morale of the soldiers at the front
We examine the representation of war godmothers in the periodical press and uncover La Revue des marraines, a handwritten journal created by the Mlles Picard in Paris
Borrowing formal characteristics from other journals, it presents itself as a heterogeneous, collaborative, and periodical medium. It offers insight into the production and dissemination of handwritten journals during the First World War and into the unfolding of the war, contemporary views on gender and diversity, as well as the wide range of initiatives aimed at supporting the soldiers
Summary
The term ‘godmother’ is usually associated with the Catholic faith. When a child is baptized, it is given a second mother and often a father who guarantee its Catholic upbringing, and commit to becoming foster parents in the event of parental death or separation. During the First World War, women spontaneously took on the role of war godmothers, taking care of the soldiers and acting as second mothers They wrote letters and sent gift packages to soldiers who were far away from or had lost their families. There was the Belgian Soldiers’ League of Friendship, led by Mary Morris, in London and the Verbond der Oorlogsmeters voor Belgische Soldaten [League of War Godmothers for Belgian Soldiers] in Nottingham.4 These initiatives were a great success, offering women on the home front ways to make themselves feel useful. While the men in their immediate surroundings were away, they knitted or sewed for their godchildren and committed their maternal feelings to paper To the soldiers, these letters and parcels were little rays of hope brightening up their (usually) monotonous existence and allowing them to dream of life after the war. As late as January 1918, for example, the trench journal Le Poilu published an advertisement for a ‘godmother’s kit’ [‘pochette de la marraine’], a little folder with postcards and stationery that soldiers could use to write to their godmothers.
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