‘Mr Jones’ Wives’: war brides, marriage, immigration and identity formation1

Abstract

This article traces the cultural history of war bride identity and is based on a cohort of war brides from Canada, Britain, Europe and the Middle East. These foreign‐born war brides of New Zealand servicemen, who arrived in the country at the end of World War Two, formed a lasting war bride identity based on shared experiences rather than common nationality, race or ethnicity. Factors contributing to the formation of a war bride identity were marrying foreign servicemen, travelling on troopships across the world, and an appreciation of the difficulties of settling in New Zealand. An analysis of war brides’ narratives revealed elements of composure and discomposure in accounts of weddings, suggesting the difficult transition required by lone immigrant women arriving in New Zealand in the post‐war period. The long voyage to New Zealand proved to be formative in the development of a lasting war bride identity that has been maintained and nurtured since. Although not a prerequisite of war bride identity, war brides’ clubs are the most tangible expression of this process.