Manpower and the Armies of the British Empire in Two World Wars

• Symposia

The program for the Royal Military College’s history symposium, Manpower and the Armies of the British Empire in Two World Wars (8-9 November 2018) is set and we have a great schedule lined up this year! See below for details.

You can register at http://rmcclub.ca. Fees (Canadian dollars): Regular $185, Students $125. Includes registration, lunch and coffee breaks for both days, and dinner at the Fort Frontenac Officer’s Mess on 8 November. Recommended Hotel, Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, 2 Princess Street, Kingston, ON K7L. Preferred rate of $124 for a single occupancy room, breakfast included, available until 1 October.

History Symposium 2018 Manpower and the Armies of the British Empire in Two World Wars

Thursday 8 November 2018

• 0815-08:20 Welcome
• 0830-0930 Gary Sheffield, “The Recruiting, Training and Battlefield Performance of British Army Officers in the Two World Wars.”
• 0930-1015 Richard Grayson, “Irish Identities in the Armies of the British Empire during the First World War.”
• 1015-1045 Coffee Break
• 1045-1200 Panels 1 & 2
• Mobilization I: Australia and New Zealand:
• David Littlewood, “‘Its Necessity Need Not Be Laboured’: New Zealand’s Introduction of Conscription in 1940”;
• Ross Mackie, “The Rationalisations for and Shortcomings of Compulsory Military Training in New Zealand 1909–14”; Paul Bartrop, “Mobilizing Diversity: The Formation of Australia’s 8th Employment Company as a Response to the Japanese Threat in 1942.”
• Mobilization II: Canada in the First World War:
• Roger Sarty, “The Canadian Garrison Artillery Goes to War, 1914-1918.”Ian Hope, “Feeding Mars: The Overseas Ministry and the Sustainment of the Canadian Corps 1916-1918”;
• Howard Coombs, “Defining Canadian Participation in the First World War: The Case of No. 5/No. 7 (Queen’s University) Military Hospital.”
• 1200-1300 Lunch
• 1300-1345 Kent Fedorowich, “‘Returning Home to Fight’: Bristolians in the Dominion Armies, 1914-1918.”1345-1430;  Jean Bou, “Rolling with the Punches: Australia’s Military Effort, 1914-18.”
• 1430-1500 Coffee Break
• 1500-16:15 Panels 3 & 4 British Approaches to Developing and Sustaining Soldiers:
• Emma Newlands, “‘Rebelling against it one minute then taking pride in it the next’: Becoming a soldier in Britain during the Second World War”;
• James Campbell, “‘Make Them Tigers’—British Military Physical Culture in the First World War.”
• Linda Parker, “‘This wonderful fellowship’: The work of Talbot House and the Toc H Movement with the British and Imperial Armies in Two World Wars.”RAF Innovations;
• Sebastian Cox, “An Unexpected Agent of Change: Race, Class And Social Mobility in the Royal Air Force”;
• Lynsey Cobden, “A fear of flying: Psychological disorders and Royal Air Force Flying Training Command, 1939-1945”;
• Sean Summerfield, “Creation and Operation of the RAF’s Casualty Branch during the Second World War.”
• 1615-1700 Kaushik Roy, “Manpower, Mobilization and the Indian Army during Two World Wars.”
• 1830 for 1900 Start RMC History Symposium Conference Banquet Fort Frontenac Officer’s Mess,

Friday 9 November 2018

• 0830-0915 Jessica Meyer [via Skype], “Conserving Military Manpower: The work of the Royal Army Medical Corps in the First World War.”
• 0915-1000 Jonathan Fennell, “A Question of Legitimacy: Mobilizing the British and Commonwealth Armies in the Second World War.”
• 1000-1030 Coffee Break
• 1030-1145 Panels 5 & 6 Sustaining Manpower in the Canadian Army during the Second World War
• Geoffrey Hayes, ““Tommy” Burns, Arthur Beament and the Manpower Crisis in First Canadian Army, 1944″
• Russell Hart, “For Want of Men: The ‘Infantry Crisis’ Amid Anglo-Canadian Forces in Normandy, Summer 1944 and its Impact on Twenty-First Army Group Operations and Effectiveness.”
• Arthur Gullachsen, “Rebuilding the Royal Winnipeg Rifles June-July 1944.”
• Demobilization Allan Allport, “Demobilization of the British Armed Services after the Two World Wars”
• Carol Fort, “Australia’s 1944 Manpower Release Schemes: Fairness Lessons Learned from Early Demobilization Programs.”
• Victoria Sotvedt, “The End of the War?: Repatriation Efficiency and Discipline in the Canadian Army After the Second World War.”
• 1145-1245 Lunch
• 1245-1330 Daniel Byers, “Punching Above Its Weight: Canada and the Mobilization of Manpower During the Second World War.”
• 1330-1415 Ian van der Waag, “South African Manpower and the Second World War.”
• 1415-1430 Coffee Break
• 1430-1515 Ian McGibbon, “Stretching the Limits: Sustaining New Zealand’s War Effort 1939-1945.”