This is the final entry in a year-long project to post-blog the demobilisation experience for British servicemen at the end of the Second World War. See here for an introduction to the project and here for a brief overview of the demobilisation process.
Soldier magazine combs through the classified ads, as more demobilised ex-servicemen seek fulfilling work in Civvy Street:
Two ex-Army captains, 28, laughed through war; qualifications, nil; seek highly paid job together; mix well; talk on all subjects; go anywhere.
Demobilized officer - moderately intelligent; fairly industrious; somewhat educated; seeks position combining minimum effort with maximum pay.
Aged 30, ex-Major and willing to forget it ...
Today marks the first anniversary of the start of demobilisation for British soldiers, sailors, and airmen. As the figures for the end of May show, almost three million men and over 300,000 women have now been discharged from HM Forces. But the process will continue throughout the remainder of the year. By New Year's Eve, 1946, a further one million men and women will have shed their uniforms and returned to the embrace of civilian life - some to cheers and success, others to sobering realities both practical and emotional. The technical process of demob will then wind down. But for the demobbed and their families, the challenge of readjusting to a permanently altered life is just beginning. Some will thrive in their new circumstances; others will struggle for years or decades. Life after the Forces will never be the same again.
This anniversary also marks the end of this year-long blogging experiment. I'd like to thank those readers who contributed comments throughout the year, and I hope that the record I've compiled here will be of permanent value to those interested in the complex social aftermath of war.
- Alan Allport, 2010
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