“Homes away from Home” and “Happy Prisoners”: Disabled Veterans, Space, and Masculinity in Britain, 1944–19501

Abstract

This article examines the changing nature of home for disabled ex-servicemen in the Second World War. It explores the function of institutional and domestic space in the restoration of traditional male roles. Masculine activities were encouraged in the long-stay institution, as men attempted to overcome their disability and be found suitable to resume a place in a traditional domestic home. Owing to war damage, finding housing was particularly challenging for disabled men, but a combination of the influence of the British Legion, donations from the public, and their preference to memorialize the war through the building of homes increased the possibility of living in a traditional domestic space. The building, alteration, and occupation of homes reinforced certain modes of behavior and expectations of disabled veterans, cementing the central, traditional role of men in postwar Britain. Importantly, freedom from institutional living came through traditional relationships with women and the production of children. This analysis of the home in its many configurations offers insight into disabled ex-servicemen, demonstrating that the institutional and domestic spaces that constitute home are as important in understanding masculinity as other traditionally gendered spaces such as the workplace.