ABSTRACT

The following article examines oral testimonies collected by the International Bomber Command Centre project since 2015. The study considers the challenges posed by post-war discourses that contest the morality of bombing and contemporary constructions of Britishness to Bomber Command veterans making account of their lives. The contested nature of bombing’s position within narratives of the Second World War creates a discursive environment where veterans struggle to assemble satisfying life stories. Despite using a set of similar narrative frameworks to counter questions concerning the morality or purpose of bombing, veterans found limited opportunities to demonstrate personal agency or achieve emotional composure. The interviews illustrate unresolved and challenging feelings stemming from a discourse that has proved inimical to creating satisfying selfhoods. In addition, the difficulty of integrating the story of Bomber Command into narratives of Britain’s wartime myth proved to be a source of considerable discomfort for the interviewees. In their attempts to situate themselves within longer trajectories of Britain and its military in the twenty-first century, the testimonies are thus revealing of the importance to Britain of its wartime past in forming current identities and the ongoing conflict in how Britishness should confront more complex versions of its history.

摘要

以下文章审查了自 2015 年以来国际轰炸机指挥中心项目收集的口头证词。该研究考虑了战后讨论轰炸道德和当代英国式建筑对轰炸机司令部退伍军人生活所带来的挑战。二战叙事中轰炸位置的争议性质创造了一个话语环境，在这个环境中，退伍军人努力组装令人满意的生活故事。尽管使用一组类似的叙述框架来回答有关轰炸的道德或目的的问题，但退伍军人发现展示个人代理或实现情绪镇定的机会有限。访谈说明了源自一种话语的未解决和具有挑战性的感觉，这种话语已被证明不利于创造令人满意的自我。此外，事实证明，将轰炸机司令部的故事融入英国战时神话叙事的难度也让受访者感到相当不安。在他们试图将自己置于英国及其军队在 21 世纪更长的轨迹中的过程中，这些证词由此揭示了其战时过去对英国形成当前身份的重要性，以及英国应如何面对更复杂的问题的持续冲突。其历史版本。事实证明，很难将轰炸机司令部的故事融入英国战时神话的叙述中，这让受访者感到相当不安。在他们试图将自己置于英国及其军队在 21 世纪更长的轨迹中的过程中，这些证词由此揭示了其战时过去对英国形成当前身份的重要性，以及英国应如何面对更复杂的问题的持续冲突。其历史版本。事实证明，很难将轰炸机司令部的故事融入英国战时神话的叙述中，这让受访者感到相当不安。在他们试图将自己置于英国及其军队在 21 世纪更长的轨迹中的过程中，这些证词由此揭示了其战时过去对英国形成当前身份的重要性，以及英国应如何面对更复杂的问题的持续冲突。其历史版本。