Major Barbara Glossary

In order of First Textual Reference

Page Term Meaning

51 Wilton A street in the fashionable Belgravia district of London, with big white row
Crescent houses in a crescent shape. Important politicians, aristocrats, and embassies
made their homes on this street.
51 Britomart A character in Spensers Fairy Queen the female knight of Chastity,
embodying English virtue and English military prowess.
52 I am only a Women did not gain any voting rights in England until 1918, and did not gain
woman full voting rights until 1928.
53 Harrow With Eton, one of the most prominent and respected British public schools.
(Public here is in contrast to private tutelage at home, and refers to what we
would call fancy private schools). Attending either school leaves boys with
well-connected network and a strong chance of further education at Oxford or
Cambridge.
53 India and Japan India was at this point still a crown colony of the British Empire (the Raj
ended in 1947). Japan was never a part of the empire but, except during
WWII, has been a strong ally of the British for centuries.
55 Woolwich The smaller of two cannon models to come out of the Royal Armory,
Infant Woolwich.
55 Kings Kings College, Cambridge founded by Henry VI together with the public
school Eton; one of the more prominent Cambridge colleges, with an
absolutely stunning chapel. Students are housed, dine, and attend worship
services in college, so if the boy from Kings had access to his Bible, Stephen
was almost certainly also a pupil at Kings.
55 Lazarus Most famously a Biblical figure restored to life by Jesus, also a beggar in the
parable The Rich Man and Lazarus who suffers on earth but is rewarded in
heaven while the rich man burns in hell.
55 Bismarck Otto von Bismarck, first and longest-serving Chancellor of Germany.
55 Gladstone Gladstone, a multi-term, mid-late 19th century British Prime Minster is
Lloyd George replaced with the more recognizable Lloyd George, who was Prime Minister
during WWI and as a Welshman, the first non-English PM.
55 Disraeli A multi-term British Prime Minister of the mid-late 19th century. Disralei was
a conservative and famously the first Jewish PM.
56 Gladstone Britains highest elected official and head of His/Her Majestys Government.
Prime Minister
56 The Times Established in 1785, The Times of London is the original The Times, from
which others, like the NYT get their name. The paper advocated for entry into
WWI, but for German Appeasement in the lead up to WWII. Today, it is
considered one of the more conservative British papers.
56 Lord Britains highest-ranking officer of the crown, responsible for overseeing the
Chancellor courts and the House of Lords.
56 Foundling Technically an infant that has been abandoned by its parents and is
discovered and cared for by others; assumed by Lady Brit to be born out of
wedlock and expanded by Adolphus to include all illegitimate children
56 Middle Class The supreme and universal British insult to the working class it denotes
uppity and to the aristocrats pretension and lack of class
57 Parish A parish is a clerical district, having its own church and priest. A parish may
encompass several small towns or neighborhoods, and is a geographic identity
marker, particularly in countries where there is one predominant faith, like the
Church of England.
57 St. Andrew A church in the Aldgate ward of London. This places it within the financial
Undershaft district, both historically and today. The current church building has existed
since 1532, surviving both the Great Fire and the Blitz, so it is the same
building that would have been seen by the first Andrew Undershaft.
59 Bedford Square A neighborhood in Bloomsbury, with primarily Georgian architecture, located
just behind the British Museum. By the early twentieth century, Bloomsbury
was known as the home of writers, artists, and political radicals.
59 Hampstead A more suburban area in the North of London (Camden Borough). It is well
connected to Central London via Overground and Underground trains. Like
Bedford Square, the area came to be known for its artistic crowd and liberal
politics.
60 Settled The money has already been paid by Andrew (and, we assume, invested by
Lady Britomart)
64 Autolycus Odysseus Grandfather, actually referred to by Homer in The Odyssey as A
great thief and swindler
69 Dissenter Someone who belongs to a church other than the Established Church (the
Church of England) or holds beliefs which contradict church teachings.
Dissenting groups include the Baptists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians,
Quakers, Unitarians, and Rational Dissenters, as well as the Salvationists.
69 Dock Gates There were a number of dock workers strikes around the turn of the 20th
century and high levels of unemployment among dock workers. There are a
number of docks along the Thames in the East End.
69 West Ham A neighborhood in Londons East End, which was and still is one of the
poorest and most deprived sections of England as a whole. Its residents have
been prime for exploitation because they are largely unskilled laborer, and the
area has many times been a center of social reform movements.
69 Assembly Hall The Great Assembly Hall in the Mile End Road, established in the late 19th
at Mile End Century by social reformer Frederick Charrington. A center for Christian
mission work, religious meetings, and local social activity in the East End.
70 Tosh Slang for rubbish, nonsense (definition from OED)
70 The The Church of England
Established
Church
71 Euripides A Greek tragedian
71 One mans A proverbial saying originally recorded by the Latin poet Lucretius (not the
meat Greek Euripides), which entered the English vocabulary in its current form
through the 17th century playwright Thomas Middleton
72 Thou'rt A very Victorian religious song, of the sort Shaw deplored in his musical
passing reviews for The Star and The World; written by Arthur Sullivan (of operetta
hence fame) as a lament for his late father
72 Ring for In an Edwardian manor or townhouse, the family would ring for prayers in the
Prayers morning, and all the servants would gather in the hall to hear the family read
prayers. It was the only time that the lower servants and the family would see
each other. By the mid 1930s, this practice was becoming less common.
74 Humbug To deceive or trick (definition from OED)
78 Treacle A syrupy byproduct of sugar refining. The term encompasses both golden
syrup, which is very sweet, and molasses, which is much more bitter. Golden
syrup hid the taste of stale bread, making bread and treacle workhouse staple.
78 Skyblue London slang for Milk; generally either skim milk or milk diluted with water
81 Palsy Mag Palsy = a condition of incapacity or helplessness (OED); or paralysis
accompanied by tremors (may be associated with incapacity and age)
Mag = a gossip or chat (definition from OED)
81 Horrockses Horrockses, Crewdson & Co. a British textile manufacturer. During the
interwar period, they became a major outlet for ready-to-wear cotton clothing,
which was growing in popularity.
81 A Character Short for a character reference meant to help one find another job
82 Balls Pond Balls Pond Road - an area of Hackney, in the borough of Islington, in the
northern part of London.
82 Music Hall Rising from the less-legal tradition of prize-fighting, musical hall (and club)
Wrestler wrestling/boxing allowed working class men to compete for monetary prizes
and provided entertainment for working- (and middle-) class audiences. Most
were amateur competitions.
82 Magistrate In Britain, magistrates (or Justices of the Peace), rule on crimes of a smaller
nature in court, and refer more serious cases to the judges of the Crown Court.
Magistrates are volunteers, who do not require legal training or qualifications
(although there is always present a court official with such qualifications).
They must only demonstrate: Good Character; Commitment and Reliability;
Social Awareness; Sound Judgement; Understanding and Communication;
Maturity and Sound Temperament
82 Teetotaller Someone who never drinks alcohol. Although there are many reasons to be
teetotal, the term is often associated with the temperance movement (to ban or
regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol).
83 Fitter A person who puts together or installs machinery, engine parts, or other
equipment (definition from OED)
83 The Knackers Knackers Yard - a place where old or injured animals are taken to be
slaughtered; specifically one whose business is the disposal of dead or
unwanted animals, whose flesh is not fit for human consumption (OED)
84 Secularist A person advocating separation of the state from religious institutions (OED)
84 Kentin Jawr Kentin = canting = talking hypocritically and sanctimoniously (antiquated)
Jawr = jaw = talk or gossip, especially when lengthy or tedious (OED)
Canting Tongue = traditionally, the semi-secret dialect of London beggars
85 Canning Town A neighborhood in East London, very similar to West Ham in terms of poverty
levels. Most residents were dockworkers (transitory work) and poor water
supply and drainage exacerbated health problems. In the 1930s, slum
clearance projects worked to improve the area, but WWII bombing would
undo much of the good work.
85 Kennintahn Cockney pronunciation of Canning Town, not to be confused with the much
nicer district of Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth.
86 Judy Slang for a girlfriend or wife; originating from the puppet couple Punch and
Judy, the term Judy meant first a woman, then a promiscuous woman, then
a girlfriend or wife, and later an unattractive woman.
86 National Founded 1891 in Covent Garden legitimized and provided a set of rules to
Sporting Club govern the very popular working class sport of boxing, which came to be seen
as a way to instill discipline in at-risk youth. Until the 1920s, the NSC was
also the most exclusive amateur boxing club.
93 The Church According to the Church of England, the two sacraments necessary for
Catechism salvation are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
95 I dont like Shaws own youthful feelings on matrimony, down to a T (see Michael
marriage: I feel Holroyds biography of Shaw).
intensely afraid
of it.
97 St. Francis St. Francis of Assissi founder of the Franciscan Orders, an order dedicated to
(and exalting) lives of poverty. His monks preached in the streets and had no
worldly possessions.
97 St. Simeon St. Simeon Stylites (popularly dramatized in Tennysons poem of the same
name) an aesthetic saint who enjoyed fasting and lived on a small platform
on top of a pillar in order to devote himself entirely to prayer.
99 Experience A meeting at which persons give testimonies of their religious conversion
Meeting experiences
99 Crippss Lane There is no longer any record of a street by this name in West Ham.
99 Shilling In the imperial monetary system before the British adopted a decimal
currency in 1971 there were 12 pence (12d) to a shilling and 20 shillings
(20s) to a pound. A 12d shilling is worth about 5p in the decimal system.
101 Parkinses Assumedly the Canning Town equivalent to Hyde Parks famous Speakers
Corner Corner, where any man may stand on the soap box to speak or debate on the
subject of his choosing (unless the police deem in illegal).
102 Thirteen Stone 13 stone and 4 pounds, with a stone equaling 14 pounds, for a total weight of
Four 186 pounds.
102 Two Quid Two Pounds Sterling, with a conversion rate of 1:5, worth about $10 in 1936.
102 Fifteen Bob Fifteen Shillings (and 15s + 5s = 20s = 1)
103 20/30Pieces of The Biblical Josephs brothers sold him for 20 pieces of silver, while Judas
Silver betrayed Jesus for 30.
104 1886 1919, The riots that occurred in 1919 were actually an uprising of WWI foreign
Pall Mall servicemen against the police, known as the Battle of Bow Street. Shaw
references the February 1886 West End Riots, which originated from a
Socialist demonstration in Trafalgar Square. Crowds moved towards Pall Mall
and St. James Park, targeting the exclusive mens clubs there. Shaw himself
was involved in lead-up demonstrations the previous fall and in the Bloody
Sunday riots the following year, which united the socialists with the cause of
the Irish and free speech in general. [The date in our script has been changed
to approximately preserve the internal timelines, while avoiding anachronistic
riots in WWI London (the 1916 Easter Rising was in Dublin, after all.)]
104 Mansion House A Victorian term covering any of various charitable relief funds collected by
Fund the Lord Mayor of London through a public appeal (OED). Mansion House is
the Lord Mayors official residence, in the financial district.
105 Five Twenty 5,000 (GBP) in 1906 (the original number when Shaw wrote the play) would
Thousand be worth about $693,308 (USD) today. 20,000 in 1936 would be worth about
Pounds $1,306,000 today.
108 Cathedral at Nonexistent, but possibly a reference to medieval plans for a cathedral in
Hakington Hackington (sometimes spelled Hakington), Kent, which was scuttled for
being too nearby to Canterbury.
108 Baronet Baronet is the lowest hereditary dignity in Britain (above knight, below
baron), which entitles the baronet to the title of sir, but does not make him a
member of the peerage.
108 Baron Baron is the lowest order of British nobility. Unlike baronets, this does make
one a gentleman, who is styled Lord so-and-so.
107 Tied House A type of pub which (in contrast to a free house) is required to purchase at
least some of its beer/alcohol from a particular brewery or pub company (ie.
From Bodgers Whiskey).
109 Donzetti Gaetano Donzetti was a 19th century Italian composer. The "Per te d'immenso
Wedding giubilo" (or Chorus of Wedding Guests) is from Lucia di Lammermoor, about
Chorus a young woman forced into a marriage she does not want, after swearing her
love to a family enemy. In the opera, the song is followed by the revelation
that Lucia has stabbed her bridegroom.
113 Lockharts An inexpensive restaurant; described by the Japanese painter Yoshio Marinko
while in Edwardian London as, Lockharts in Westminster Bridge. Steak and
fried onion, six pence a dish, was a great dinner for me then.
113 Tom Paine Thomas Paine, best known to us as the author of Common Sense and The
American Crisis, but also The Rights of Man (defending the French
Revolution) and The Age of Reason (advocating for deism and against
organized Christian religion). He was banished from England for his seditious
and/or libelous writings and imprisoned during the French Revolution.
113 Bradlaughs Charles Bradlaugh was a British political activist and atheist. In addition to his
lectures tenure as a Liberal MP, he gave frequent lectures and published a newspaper
entitled the National Reformer. He was a secularist, but unlike Shaw, very
anti-Socialist. He died in 1891, but his daughter Hypatia continued writing on
similar themes until her death in 1935.
116 Kites (on a The common name for several types of small hawk, a bird of prey known for
battlefield) feeding on carrion (carcasses) and therefore familiar on the battlefield.
122 the army, the Historically, although less relevant by the 1930s, the only acceptable
navy, the professions of a gentleman, who was distinguished by living off his income
Church, the Bar from land or investments, rather than working
125 high-toned Shaw was a music and art critic who wrote weekly reviews for several papers,
weekly review as well as a number of Fabian tracts.
125 Woolwich Woolwich to the southeast of London, just across the Thames served as the
Arsenal Royal Arsenal from the 17th century until the factories were closed in 1967.
At its height during WWI, it employed about 80,000 men and produced and
tested most of the British Empires weaponry and ammunition.
126 Motor Automobiles became available in the late 19th century, and the Model T Ford
was released in 1908. By 1936, automobiles dominated personal transportation
and status depended not just on having a car, but having the right one.
128 Middlesex A county of suburbs to the North and East of London (indeed, 7 of todays
Inner London Boroughs were part of the county until 1888). Today, it is
included in the outer zones of Londons public transportation. Due to its close
proximity to London, it became central to military, especially RAF, operations
by the time of WWII, housing bases in Uxbridge and Heston.
129 it only needs a In England, in order to be considered a city a town must have at least one
cathedral cathedral.
130 Manchuria In 1906, Shaws reference was to the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), where
Russia and Japan fought over land in Korea and the nearby Manchuria region
on the eastern shore of the present Russian-Chinese border. In the 1930s there
was renewed conflict as the Japanese invaded the China-held portion of
Manchuria in 1931, holding the region until the end of WWII.
131 Peace hath her John Milton, in a sonnet entitled To the Lord General Cromwell, on the
victories no Proposals of Certain Ministers at the Committee for the Propagation of the
less renowned Gospel the poem praises Cromwells military victories in the English Civil
than War. War, and encourages him, as head of the government during the parliamentary
period, to leave a policy mark as well (in this particular instance by prohibiting
salaries for clergymen).
150 Turks and In 1906, Shaws reference was to the 1897 Greco-Turkish or Thirty Days War,
Greeks fought over the ethnically Greek, but Ottoman held province of Crete. By
1936, Adolphus reference is instead to the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922
or Turkish War of Independence, which disputed land ownership between
Greece and Turkey in the fall of the Ottoman Empire following WWI.
150 Hellas Greek name for Greece
The Wealthy Between the Wars:

By the end of WWI, the gilt of the Edwardian aristocracy was peeling to reveal rather shaky financial
underpinnings. By the turn of the century, the landed gentry, like Lady Britomarts father, found they
could no longer support themselves off the earnings from their tenants, and were scrambling to marry
their sons into new money. Entailed estates made it difficult to sell off portions of the property this may
be why the Earl of Stevenage cannot give the Undershaft children any income. Between the wars, many
of the British aristocracy sold their estates to the National Trust, essentially becoming guests or tenants in
their own ancestral homes, which became opened to tourists.

Nonetheless, appearances must be kept up, and in terms of decorum and social niceties, Lady Britomart
would largely adhere to the Edwardian etiquette of her childhood. Liveried servants, Dressing (in tails
and formal evening wear) for dinner, and shooting parties were still common, despite the relaxed
conventions (and higher hemlines) that gained popularity in the Roaring Twenties.

Education:

Evelyn Waughs Brideshead Revisited and Dorothy Sayers Gaudy Night (both set at least partially in
Oxford) depict the interwar Oxbridge Experience at the sort of elite Universities that Stephen and
Lomax would have attended. Oxford and Cambridge were an expectation for wealthy and aristocratic
young men, but academic success was not, and those who did not need to worry about receiving a first
class degree for purposes of employment could happily coast along (through pubs, boat races, and parties)
to a 2:2, a third, or even a rather dismal pass, and still count the experience a networking success.

River View of
Kings College,
Cambridge

Womens colleges began to be founded in the late 19th century, and Oxford and Cambridge began
granting full degrees to women in 1920 and 1936 respectively (although Cambridge women were not full
members of the university until 1947). Barbara or Sara would have been able to attend a University, but
this opportunity was primarily seized by women of the middle class or new money. Being a
bluestocking was seen as a hindrance in the marriage market, particularly among the aristocracy. Only 1
in 20 young adults went to university, primarily men.

Cusins, if he was not educated in one of Australias (at the time) six universities, was likely educated at
one of the provincial civic universities, known (somewhat derogatorily from the Oxbridge perspective) as
Red Brick Universities. He probably teaches at one of the many constituent colleges of the University of
London. Since Cusins is referred to as a professor, it should be noted that in the UK, professor is a high
ranking title within the academic system, and many university instructors (or tutors) hold only the lower
rank of lecturer or reader.
The Wealthy Between the Wars:

Quite the Fashion:

By the 1930s, jazz music had made its way across

the pond, and fashionable London hotels, as well as
(more democratic) dance halls would have a house
dance band.

Below quoted from the Victoria and Albert Museums History of Fashion:
Women
The drop-waist androgyny of the previous decade gave way to a slinky femininity in the 1930s.
Parisian couturiers introduced the bias-cut into their designs, which caused the fabric to skim over
the body's curves. Long, simple and clinging evening gowns, made of satin were popular. Often
the dresses had low scooping backs. During the day, wool suits with shoulder pads, and fluted
knee-length skirts were worn. Fox fur stoles and collars were popular, as were small hats
embellished with decorative feather or floral details, worn at an angle. Hair was set short and close
to the head, often with gentle 'finger waves' at the hairline. Sports and beach-wear influenced
fashionable dress, and the sun-tan was coveted for the first time.

Men
Men now generally wore three-piece suits for work or formal occasions only.
Two-piece suits (without a waistcoat) and casual day wear were becoming
increasingly common, including knitted cardigans, tank-tops, and soft collared
or open necked shirts. For the first time it was not obligatory to wear a tie.
Trousers were very wide, with turned up hems and sharp creases down the leg.
They were belted high at the abdomen. It was common for men to be clean-
shaven, and bowler hats were now generally only seen by city businessmen.
 Between the Wars Military Industry and the Shadow of WWII

Woolwich Arsenal:

Woolwich to the southeast of London, just across the River Thames served as the Royal Arsenal
from the 17th century until the factories were closed in 1967. At its height during WWI, it employed
about 80,000 men and produced and tested most of the British Empires weaponry and ammunition. At
that point in time, it was three miles long by one mile wide, including three internal railway systems.

Scenes from the town of Woolwich,

within and surrounding the armory.
Between the Wars Military Industry and the Shadow of WWII

During WWII, the county of Middlesex on the diagonally opposite side of London from Woolwich,
and where Shaw places the Undershaft factory also became a major hub of the war effort, primarily
focusing on RAF operations, while the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich housed Britains Atomic Bomb
project (codenamed basic high explosives research).
Between the Wars Military Industry and the Shadow of WWII

Although World War One was meant to be The War to End All Wars, in hindsight, the interwar period
appears more a calm in the eye of the storm. Germany, Italy and Russia, as well as Austria, Hungary,
and Bulgaria were all unhappy with the terms of the Versailles Treaty, and Englands policy of
Appeasement was adopted too little, too late.

Treaties were negotiated and renegotiated, as the League of Nations tried to mediate peace with
uncooperative stakeholders. The Kellogg-Briand Pact renounced war as tool of national policy in
1928, and the World Disarmament convention opened and collapsed in the early 1930s.

Russia underwent a revolution and Stalin came to lead the Soviet Union. Mussolini took advantage of
Italian discontent to take power there. The Germans in were put under harsh pressure to pay reparations
on an unfeasibly tight schedule, with France chomping at the bit to attack them when they fell behind.
As the Weimar Republuc took shape in the 1920s, foreign minister Gustav Stresemann worked hard to
negotiate peaceful compromises, but following his death in 1929, the Nazi party gained control, and
Hitler came to power in 1933.

By 1936, Mussolini had attacked Ethiopia (a League of Nations member) and Hitler had invaded the
Rhineland, a disputed territory along Germanys border with France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In fall
1936, Germany, Italy, and Japan (who was already displaying military aggression against China) would
formally ally themselves as the Axis Powers

Additionally, the Spanish Civil War was playing out WWIIs alliances in miniature, with Germany and
Italy supporting the Nationalists, while the Soviet Union supported the Loyalists. Britain and France
maintained a non-interventionist policy, but the war was a popular cause among British university
students who largely supported the communist-allied Loyalists.

Britain, under Neville Chamberlain and in delayed recognition of Germanys legitimate complaints from
the 1920s, adopted a policy of Appeasement, seeking any compromise that might avert another all out
war. Winston Churchill later compared this to feeding a crocodile and hoping it would eat you last.

At home in England, monarchical stability was shaken by the year 1936. In January, King George V
died, and his son David took the throne as King Edward VII. That December, however, before having a
coronation ceremony, Edward VII abdicated in order to marry the divorcee Wallis Simpson (which the
Church of England would not allow), leaving his brother Albert to take the throne as King George VI.
The Salvation Army

History:

The Salvation Army was founded in nineteenth century London by Methodist minister, William Booth.
Booth began feeding and housing the poor of the East End in 1865 and christened his organization the
Salvation Army in 1878, as the organization began to spread throughout the capital, then Britain as a
whole, and eventually internationally. After a series of disputes with Booth and his offspring, the
American branch of the Army split off to establish its own identity in the late eighteen hundreds.

As the name implies, the Salvation Army is organized as if it were a military organization, with officers
ranking from lieutenant to brigadier commanding various regional divisions. Converts can become
soldiers the equivalent of ministers by signing Articles of War and training in residence with the
organization. Unlike many other military and religious groups at the time of its founding, the Salvation
Army does not distinguish between the sexes in matters of rank.

On a religious level, Booth believed that the sacraments of baptism and communion, so central to the
teachings of the Church of England, were inconsequential, and emphasized a joyous and informal
atmosphere, with music, singing, and copious personal testimony.

Charitable Work:

The Salvation Army provided both food and shelter to their converts, and assistance to plenty of people
who did not formally convert as well. The meal served in Major Barbara of skyblue, (skim or watered
down milk) with bread and treacle is standard, cheap but hardy, working class fare not much different
to that listed in nineteenth century workhouse records. The treacle golden syrup was used to hide the
taste of stale bread, for those who could not afford to purchase it fresh.

The interwar memoir Kings Cross Kid details the three interactions that one working class kid had with
the Salvation Army:

1. Victors father disappears soon after his younger sister is born and, Gran went to the Salvation
Army, who were reckoned to be good at finding errant fathers 1 and husbands.

2. When his single mother cannot afford to feed and clothe three children on her own, the Salvation
Army advise her to send her eldest (Victor) to a Shaftesbury Home for destitute boys, which the
Salvation army is involved with. Shaftesbury Homes were run like military academies, with the
intention of training the boys to serve in the navy. They are well-housed, well-clothed, well-fed, and
well-educated, but everything with militarized precision.

3. Two of Victors friends join the Salvation Army band in order to receive musical instruction, and are
required to play in the band twice a week, as the female soldiers collect change outside pubs. No
one cared whether or not they truly converted. They even allowed the boys to use the Salvation
Army practice rooms six hours a week to rehearse their own dance hall band.

1
Gregg 17
The Salvation Army

He was dressed up in his uniform, complete
with cap and gold braid and accompanied by a
young lady in a similar uniform, and another
couple in ordinary clothes 2

their regulation Sally uniform, him with his

gold-braided military cap and Evie with her
bonnet complete with ribbon sitting neatly on
the back of her head3

The boys in this Shaftesbury Home are dressed similarly to

their adult Salvation Army counterparts, here seen in
miniaturized military-style uniforms

In Victors Shaftesbury Home, the boys are issued two of

everything : one on and one in the wash 4
denim shirts, trousers and jackets (work clothes)
and navy blue coats, shirts, and trousers, high socks, and
a naval hat (dress clothes)
a washing kit including toothbrushes and toothpaste, bed
linen

2
Gregg 35
3
Gregg 135
4
Gregg 27
East End Life in London 1930s

History:

The East End has had a reputation distinct from the rest of London since the citys origins. Beginning as
a settlement outside Roman city walls, by the medieval period it was regarded as a grimy, poverty
stricken area, best to be avoided by all respectable persons.

It has been said that the West End has the money, and the East End has the dirt1. Certainly as London
developed, more fashionable neighborhoods and entertainments grew the city towards its western
suburbs, while development in the East End was primarily industrial. With the advances and pollution
of the industrial revolution, the dirty just got dirtier, and alongside lurid tales like the murders of Jack
the Ripper this seemed to confirm the areas moral degradation in the popular consciousness.

The East End was filled with the poorest paid of the working class, and because shipping and to a
lesser degree manufacturing was transitory work, unemployment rates were consistently high,
especially in the winter months. The suffering and squalor did not go wholly unnoticed, and beginning
in the mid-1800s, a number of missionaries and other philanthropists dedicated themselves to successive
schemes designed to improve the lives of East Enders. The miserable conditions also provided a strong
breeding ground for political revolutionaries, which by the early 20th century had coalesced into
populism and municipal socialism2.

Reputation and Identity:

By the turn of the twentieth century, the popular Cockney figure had come to refer to East Enders, rather
than native Londoners as a whole. He was described with whining vowels and ruined consonants
and the hard-chinned look of indomitable character 3. Outside observers frequently noted with
surprise the strong communal spirit and determined cheerfulness of East End neighborhoods, despite the
harsh toll of poverty.

As Undershaft notes, Londons upper and middle classes were absolutely terrified of the poor, viewing
them as a sort of disease worked into the very fabric of their shining city. At times they seem to regard
poverty as contagious. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those most likely to give money to a beggar were those
struggling through near-poverty themselves. By the twentieth century, most beggars fronted as some
sort of street hawker4, and one memoir cheerfully recounts the colorful assortment of hawkers flooding
the streets of the neighborhood each afternoon in good weather5.

Music Halls, Wrestling Clubs, and Dance Halls were all popular working class entertainments. The East
End had a strong musical tradition, distinct from the more refined flavors of the West End, and musical
hall performances included a mix of singers, vaudeville-style acts, and wrestling. After the National
Sporting Club legitimized wrestling and standardized the rules, it was seen as a way to instill discipline
in rowdy young boys, but the main draws of amateur wrestling competitions were prize money and the
same thrill of old less-than-legal prize-fighting traditions.

1
Ackroyd 664
2
Ackroyd 667
3
Ackroyd 669
4
Ackroyd 605
5
Gregg 88-90
East End Life in London 1930s

Row Houses in
Bermondsley, Southwark
another working class area
and of a similar style to
those in the East End.
Taken around 1900, but
unchanged until destroyed
by the Blitz during WWII.
A nuclear family probably
shared a two-room flat with
a bed/sitting room and a
kitchen. Toilets were
located in the hall and
shared between several flats.

Children playing in the

street, East End 1938. The
row houses here are newer
than above, but probably
housed similarly styled flats.

This scene takes place near

what is today Canary Warf,
which has long housed some
of the major dockyards in
London. The childrens
fathers are probably mostly
dockworkers, a career often
resulting in alternating
periods of work and
unemployment, as demand
rose and fell.
East End Life in London 1930s

Covent Garden porters, wearing a pretty standard working-mans

uniform for the period.

Working-class boys are given instruction in a boxing club,

sometime between the wars.


Wars Shadow Looming:

A Timeline of the mid-1930s

1933:
January: Hitler comes to power in Germany
his initial plans involve alliance with Britain
October: Germany pulls out of League of Nations and disarmament talks

1934:
June: World Disarmament Convention collapses
September: Soviet Union enters League of Nations

1935:
October: Mussolinis Italy attacks Ethiopia (a League of Nations Member)

1936:
January: King George V dies
March: Germany invades the Rhineland unimpeded
September: Spanish Civil War begins
Germany and Italy support the Nationalists
Soviet Union supports the Loyalists
Britain maintains non-interventionist policy
Many British students support the communist Loyalists
October: Germany and Italy form the Rome-Berlin Axis
November: Japan Joins the Axis Powers
December: King Edward VIII abdicates to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson

1937:
May: Coronation of King George VI
July: Japan attacks China, beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War

1938:
February: British Foreign Sec. Anthony Eden resigns to protest appeasement policy
policy supported by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
intended compromise to meet justified complaints & avoid war
March: Germany annexes Austria
September: Sudetenland Crisis Occurs
British PM Chamberlain meets with Hitler
Munich Summit negotiations exclude the Czechs

1939:
March: Germany occupies Czechoslovakia
May: Spanish Civil War Ends
September: Germany invades Poland
Britain and France declare war on Germany, entering WWII


Timeline of George Bernard Shaw:

1856 Born in Dublin, christened Bernard Shaw

1873 Shaws mother moves to London, following music teacher Vandeleur Lee
1876 Moves to London to live with his mother
1881 Joins the London Dialectical Society, honing his debating prowess
1883 Begins his friendship with William Archer
1884 Shaw joins the Fabian Society and begins writing socialist tracts for them
Begins writing novels, largely unpopular
1885 Shaws father dies, and Shaw leaves Dublin behind him forever
Begins working as a literary and music critic for several papers
1888 Creates popular persona Corno-di-Bassetto writing music criticism for The Star
1892 Professional debut as a playwright with Widowers Houses
1894 First major theatrical success with Arms and the Man
1895 Begins epistolary romance with famous actress Ellen Terry
Becomes theatre critic for the Saturday Review
1898 Marries Charlotte Payne-Townshend
1905 Major Barbara premieres at the Royal Court Theatre
1906 Acquires Shaws Corner house in Hertfordshire
1914 Pygmalion opens in London, after premiering in Vienna the previous year
World War One Begins
Publishes Common Sense About the War
1916 Censures the public for drifting into WWI with Heartbreak House
1923 Saint Joan premiers in New York
1926 Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
1928 Publishes The Intelligent Womans Guide to Socialism and Capitalism
1933 Visits America for the first time
1938 Film premiere of Pygmalion starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller
1939 World War II Begins
1941 Film premiere of Major Barbara starring Wendy Hiller, Robert Morley and Rex Harrison
1950 Writes final play, Why Would She Not
Death, November 2nd
1956 My Fair Lady premieres, staring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison
Major Barbara Music References:

West Ham Salvation March

(derived from Donzetti Wedding Chorus: https://youtu.be/eoAS46JOsKQ)

Onward Christian Soldiers: https://youtu.be/-NhHUZMufLA

Thou'rt passing hence, my brother: https://youtu.be/BfjEUWW2dL8

Other example of a Salvation Army March: https://youtu.be/L-sroe3hb8s

Some Popular Music of the Time:

Hit Songs of 1936 - Lou Preager, Roy Fox, Ambrose, Mantovani, Jay Wilbur, Jack Payne
(https://youtu.be/CLd6--wtuJA)
The Music Goes Round And Around, Lou Preager & D. Orch
These Foolish Things, Roy Fox & Orchestra
One, Two, Button Your Shoe, Ambrose & Orchestra
Please Believe Me, Mantovani & Orchestra
Poor Little Angeline, Jay Wilbur & Band
Where Theres You Theres Me, Jack Payne & Band
(Note all music in this video was recorded in London in 1936, although some of the
songs origins are American)

Compilation of Popular Music from 1936 (https://youtu.be/bavYeP2jlVI)

Out Where The Blue Begins, Jolly Coburn & Orchestra
So This Is Heaven, Freddy Martin & Orchestra
There's A Small Hotel, Jack Shilkret & Orchestra
That Never To Be Forgotten Night, Isham Jones & Orchestra
Is It True What They Say About Dixie, Ozzie Nelson &Orch.
On The Beach At Bali Bali, Leo Reisman & Orchestra
Yours Truly Is Truly Yours, Ted Fio Rito & Orchestra
Lost In My Dreams, George Hall & Orchestra
(Note these are mostly American recordings, all from 1936)

Major Barbara - Dramaturgical Bibliography by Subject

THE WORKING CLASS

Identity
Gregg, Victor, and Rick Stroud. King's Cross Kid: A London Childhood between the Wars. London:
Bloomsbury, 2013. Print.
Round the London Ring: Boxing, Class and Community in Interwar London. The London Journal
34.2 (0): 139162. Web.
<http://www.tandfonline.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/doi/abs/10.1179/174963209X442432#aHR0c
DovL3d3dy50YW5kZm9ubGluZS5jb20ubGliZXpwcm94eTIuc3lyLmVkdS9kb2kvcGRmLzEw
LjExNzkvMTc0OTYzMjA5WDQ0MjQzMj9uZWVkQWNjZXNzPXRydWVAQEAw>.
Lammers, Benjamin J. The Birth of the East Ender: Neighborhood and Local Identity in Interwar East
London. Journal of Social History, vol. 39, no. 2, 2005, pp. 331344.
<www.jstor.org/stable/3790771>.
Ackroyd, Peter. Chapter 71: The Stinking Pile. London: The Biography. New York: Nan A.
Talese/Doubleday, 2001. 662-675. Print.

Poverty and Unemployment

Hatton, Timothy J., and Roy E. Bailey. Unemployment Incidence in Interwar London. Economica,
vol. 69, no. 276, 2002, pp. 631654. <www.jstor.org/stable/3549019>.
Hatton, Timothy J., and Roy E. Bailey. "Poverty and the welfare state in interwar London." Oxford
Economic Papers 50.4 (1998): 574+. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
<http://bi.galegroup.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA21240933?u=nysl_c
e_syr&sid=summon>.
Ackroyd, Peter. Chapter 64: They Are Always With Us and Chapter 65: Can You Spare a Little
Something? London: The Biography. New York: Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2001. 587-606.
Print.

Employment
Scott, Peter, and Peter Walsh. Patterns and Determinants of Manufacturing Plant Location in Interwar
London. The Economic History Review, vol. 57, no. 1, 2004, pp. 109141.
<www.jstor.org/stable/3698668>.

WORLD EVENTS

Liulevicius, Vejas Gabriel. "Lesson Twenty-Eight: Interwar Europe and Lesson Twenty-Nine: Europe
into Crisis." War, Peace, and Power: Diplomatic History of Europe, 1500-2000, Course
Guidebook. Virginia: Teaching, 2007. 161-72. Print. The Great Courses: Modern History.

THE MILITARY INDUSTRY

Developments
Murray, Williamson, and Alan R. Millet. Military Innovation in the Interwar Period. Cambridge:
Cambridge UP, 1998. Print. (At SU Carnegie Library U42 .M556 1996)
Woolwich
The Royal Arsenal. Survey of London. Draft ed. N.p.: English Heritage, n.d. N. pag. Royal-Arsenal-
History.com. Royal Arsenal Woolwich Historical Society. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.
<http://www.royal-arsenal-history.com/royal-arsenal-buildings.html>.
Royal-Arsenal-History.com. Royal Arsenal Woolwich Historical Society. Web.
"THE ROYAL ARSENAL, WOOLWICH." The London journal, and weekly record of literature,
science, and art, Mar.1845-Apr.1906, vol. 67, no. 1735, 1878., pp. 299-300 British Periodicals,
<http://search.proquest.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/docview/3772137?accountid=14214>.

THE SALVATION ARMY

Kipling. The Salvation Army: British Empire Exhibition Handbook. London: Wembley Book, 1924.
Print. (At SU Bird Special Collections Library Kipling PR4855 .A18 1924)
"Salvation Army." Britannica Academic, Encyclopdia Britannica, 12 Sep. 2008. Web. 9 Jan. 2017.
<academic.eb.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/levels/collegiate/article/65162>.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

Gibbs, A. M. "A Chronology of Shaw's Life." ShawSociety.org. International Shaw Society, 2001. Web.
05 Jan. 2017. <http://www.shawsociety.org/Shaw-Chronology.htm>.
Holroyd, Michael. Bernard Shaw. New York: Random House, 1988. Print.

THE WEALTHY

Life
Tinkler, Penny, and Cheryl K. Warsh. "FEMININE MODERNITY IN INTERWAR BRITAIN AND
NORTH AMERICA: Corsets, Cars, and Cigarettes." Journal of Women's History, vol. 20, no. 3,
2008., pp. 113-143,219-220 GenderWatch; ProQuest Central; Sociology Database,
<http://search.proquest.com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/docview/203248269?accountid=14214>.
Pierce, Chloe. "What Was It like to Be a University Student in the 1930s?" Guardian Students. Guardian
News and Media, 27 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2017.
<https://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/sep/27/university-life-1930s-
1960s>.

Fashion
"History of Fashion 1900-1970." Victoria and Albert Museum. Victoria and Albert Museum, n.d. Web.
09 Jan. 2017. <http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-fashion-1900-1970/>.

In Fiction
Popular Playwrights: George Bernard Shaw, Noel Coward, Terrence Rattigan
Novels: Lord Peter Whimsy Mysteries (Dorothy Sayers), Brideshead Revisted (Evelyn Waugh), Rebecca
(Daphne duMarier), much of Agatha Christie
Film and TV: Dancing on the Edge, (series on Netflix) Remains of the Day, The Kings Speech, Gosford
Park, Upstairs Downstairs (1st season of the recent reboot), film adaptations of any of the above novels