‘SANDERS OF THE RIVER, STILL THE BEST JOB FOR A BRITISH BOY’; RECRUITMENT TO THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE AT THE END OF EMPIRE
dc.contributor.author | JEPPESEN, CHRIS | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-09-29T06:07:41Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-09-29T06:07:41Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2016-06 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0018-246X | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/282890 | |
dc.description.abstract | <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>In February 1951, the <jats:italic>Sunday Express</jats:italic> printed a piece extolling the virtues of a Colonial Service career, under the headline: ‘Sanders of the River, Still the Best Job for a British Boy’. This article explores the ideological and practical reasons why Sanders of the River, a character apparently so at odds with the post-Second World War Colonial Service message, continued to hold enough cultural resonance that it was considered appropriate to utilize him as a recruitment tool in 1951. Edgar Wallace's literary creation occupied a defining place in metropolitan understandings of the Colonial Service's work. Yet, by 1951, the ideological aims of the colonial project were changing. Sanders's paternalism had been dismissed in favour of a rhetoric that emphasized partnership and progress. The post-1945 district officer was expected to be a modern administrator, ready to work alongside educated Africans to prepare Britain's colonies for self-government. Exploring both Colonial Office recruitment strategies and recruits’ career motivations, this article situates the often ignored issue of Colonial Service recruitment at the end of empire within a wider cultural context to illuminate why, even as many turned away from careers in empire after 1945, a significant number of young Britons continued to apply.</jats:p> | |
dc.language | en | |
dc.publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) | |
dc.title | ‘SANDERS OF THE RIVER, STILL THE BEST JOB FOR A BRITISH BOY’; RECRUITMENT TO THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE AT THE END OF EMPIRE | |
dc.type | Article | |
prism.endingPage | 508 | |
prism.issueIdentifier | 2 | |
prism.publicationDate | 2016 | |
prism.publicationName | The Historical Journal | |
prism.startingPage | 469 | |
prism.volume | 59 | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.17863/CAM.30253 | |
rioxxterms.versionofrecord | 10.1017/s0018246x15000114 | |
rioxxterms.licenseref.uri | http://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved | |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2016-06 | |
dc.identifier.eissn | 1469-5103 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | |
cam.issuedOnline | 2016-01-12 | |
rioxxterms.freetoread.startdate | 2017-01-12 |
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