Forces Sauces and Eggs for Soldiers: food, nostalgia, and the rehabilitation of the British military

Ephemera(l) Geopolitics: The Material Cultures of British Military Recruitment

“…A crucial implication of Tidy's (2015) account for this paper is the 'objectness' of militarism and the everydayness of encounters with ephemera. As we're toldat least in the case of Help for Heroes teathe material cultures of militarism have the potential to literally "infuse regular routines" (Tidy 2015, 9) and to permeate the banal everyday spaces of the supermarket, kitchen, and dinner table.…”

“…In a final example, military-branded tea, condiments and other foodstuffs are the central focus of an account of 'conscience capitalism', consumption and the 'nostalgic rehabilitation' of the British military (Tidy 2015). In line with the aspirations of CMS, Tidy (2015, 10) is concerned to expose the imaginative construction of the military via, in this case, "nostalgic invocations of the past [and]…morally virtuous wars".…”

“…Yet, what is missing from this account, and from the literature more widely, is an engagement with these routines and spaces, and with ephemera on its own terms. The ephemera of militarism, in Tidy's (2015) paper, are considered merely as discursive, 'exemplifying texts', rather than as objects which come to matter in varied ways. Though it is undoubtedly the case that contemporary British militarism has been shaped by various discursive moves (many of which have been written about in Geopolitics), exactly how discourses of militarism materialise and come to matter is scantly understood.…”

Unthinking remembrance?Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Redand the significance of centenaries

“…The poppies were sold to raise money for charity, which resulted in various controversies. The role of BSLSR within a broader context of "conscience capitalism" is beyond the scope of this article, but see Farrell (2015) and Tidy (2015).…”

Help for Heroes: From organizational discourse to a new orthodoxy

“…Support for veterans is presented by these charitable proponents as an offer of help that is non-political, altruistic and unconditional (Gronemeyer, 2010: 56) but it can also be seen as a manifestation of power and a vehicle for creating new social knowledge using modes of promotion including public relations. Away from high profile events such as the Invictus Games, the period from 2005-2011 saw the number of UK military charities grow threefold as numerous micro organisations were launched at a time when the armed forces were promoted in the media as a politically neutral 'area of conscience' (Tidy, 2015) with donations to military charities increasing by 25% between 2008 and 2013. Alongside charitable campaigns, media coverage and expressions of solidarity with veterans led to a more assertive military presence in civic society.…”