This three-part blog post was researched and written by our research intern Elizabeth Bowman. It consists of an overview of how Britain treated Egyptians during the war, a close analysis of one particular source relating to Egypt during the war, and a creative response to this item. As part of her work on the team Elizabeth looked at digital ephemera – donated to online sites, often by family members who have kept such items for many years. She was inspired by the Horn family, whose material can be found on the ‘Kent in WW1’ site. You can find the postcard that Elizabeth writes about under the tab ‘5. James Horn Jnr’.
The treatment of Egyptians by Britons during the First World War: an overview
Egypt was in a state of political turmoil during both the First World War and the interwar period, with many transfers of power occurring in quick succession. In only nine years, from 1914 to 1923, Egypt went from being under Ottoman sovereignty, to becoming a British Protectorate, before a nationalist revolution resulted in a quasi-colonial relationship with the British Empire. This nationalist movement was a direct result of the oppression the people of Egypt suffered through the hands of both the Ottoman and British Empires.
The years Britain occupied Egypt were not aimed at freeing its people from oppression. Rather, the goal for military formations such as the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), composed of troops from across Britain’s Colonial Empire, was to protect and defence the Suez Canal, due to its status as the ‘key communications link of the British Empire’ (Kitchen, 2017). This is evident through the fact that the EEF played a key role in the suppression of the 1919 Egyptian Revolution, as it aimed to retain colonial control.
It was early on during the First World War, on 18 October 1914 — two months after Britain joined the war effort — that it was announced that Egypt would become an official protectorate. It was specifically highlighted that despite this, Egyptians were not required to engage in the conflict. Still, the population was inevitably affected by the British Army’s presence, and impacted by a variety of wartime pressures, including rising living costs and recruitment into labour battalions. Also, an estimated 100,000 Egyptians were deployed by Britain throughout the Middle East, and another 10,000 in France, highlighting that deployment did affect the lives of the Egyptian population, whether it was mandatory or not (Fogarty, 2019). It was during their time in France that many Egyptians working as labourers were subjected to racial abuse.
The war gave the opportunity for soldiers to visit new places. Many of the selling points highlighted by war recruitment agencies in Britain were the opportunities for travel offered to serving soldiers, presenting Army life as a holiday and resembling how modern travel agencies appeal to tourists. However, what is less recognised is the impact that this had on native civilians, with the effects ranging from inflation to occupation being profoundly felt.
In fact, much of the ephemera available relating to British soldiers and the war abroad are linked with commercial tourism, such as photographs and postcards. The racist idea that European women needed be shielded from the sexuality of ethnic others was still socially present, alongside the fear of diseases that were seen as a rampant danger and were associated with these bigoted ideologies (Fogarty, 2019). These mentalities are effectively presented in pieces of ephemera, such as the postcard from Mabel Horn to her sister-in-law, Edith Horn, discussed in more detail below.
Following the conclusion of the war, Egypt was in a state of unrest, suffering from war related trauma through what Anderson describes as ‘the official ignorance of the war [that] contrasted with the persistence of war memories for Egyptians’, which affected everyone, from those who directly served to their families (Anderson, 2018). This factor, alongside the idea of self-determination, led to a politicalised environment in Egypt, and the petition for representation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 which, when denied, resulted in riots and over 800 Egyptians deaths (Mazza, 2017).
During the First World War, the geographical and social environment of Egypt was represented in Britain through pieces of ephemera. However, these were often warped and manipulated for a purpose, such as recruitment posters as a method to encourage enlistment. Representations of conscripted Egyptians were also present, submerged in British popular culture. Yet, due to the impact of the British Empire, this ephemera was a very select version of events.
Suggested Reading
- Anderson, Kyle J., ‘War Memory, Commemoration’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 06/07/2022.
- Fogarty, Richard, ‘African labour in Europe’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 06/07/2022.
- Kitchen, James E., ‘Egyptian Expeditionary Force’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 06/07/2022.
- Manela, Erez, ‘Empire’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 06/07/2022.
- Mazza, Roberto, ‘Occupation During and After the War’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 06/07/2022.
Postcard Ephemera: Representations of Egyptian women
The postcard I chose to focus on was sent by Mabel Thorn, wife of John Thorn Junior, to her sister-in-law Edith Thorn in England during the First World War. The printed writing on the back is written in French, implying that the postcard was designed for a foreign market. This common practice highlights the commercialism that accompanied wartime, specifically in the First World War due to the soldiers ‘fascination’ with exoticised others (Fantauzzo, 2017). The image on the postcard shows an Egyptian woman in native dress, described on the front of the postcard as ‘Femme Arab’ (Arab Woman). This label was common on postcards (Nicholson and Mills, 2017), which created a gendered separation in the representation of Egyptian society. As she is facing the camera, it is likely that the photograph was staged, a common practise among postcard producers at the time.
Mabel wrote:
‘Dear Edie. Just a card & thanks for the P C [postcard] Jim sent me a time back hoping you are well. Mab tells me you had a good time when you were at Tadworth and that you have been doing yourself well on the farm this year. Just fancy Jim getting off with one of these girls.’
The text Mabel wrote highlights some Britons’ views on ethnic others. It was a common ideology among Europeans that racialised others, particularly Black or Brown men who worked in France, were a danger to white women due to their sexuality; however, this postcard offers an interesting insight into how the sexuality of racialised women was seen in Britain. Mabel’s sentence ‘Just fancy Jim getting off with one of these girls’ was placed on the left hand side, separated from the bulk of the text, which was often used to inform on domestic and personal matters, like what Edith was doing on the farm. This suggests that the sexualised comment was a bit cheeky, and was therefore not grouped with everyday matters. Mabel also used the phrase ‘one of these girls’; the determiner ‘these’ implies that the woman was viewed by Mabel as a generalisation of Egypt’s female society, by implication someone who would enthusiastically engage in sexual acts. This reduces the woman to both a racially charged generalisation of what was really a diverse society, and a sexually objectified figure.
The woman’s traditional clothing makes these views even more poignant. Very often people were dressed and posed for the camera, and the resulting postcards sold to an audience who could not or did not want to look past the stereotypes presented. The face veil was a key factor in women’s dress in Egypt, designed to keep the face covered. Clothing like this had been promoted by the al-‘Afaf newspaper ever since it was issued in 1910, a publication that labeled itself ‘the mouthpiece of modern women’ (Baron, 1989). Whilst opinions on this clashed due to the differing attitudes of modernists against traditionalists, it is important to address that the face covering was a key factor in the woman’s dress, designed to shield her face. Yet, Mabel’s comment strips her bare, implying that the mentality among those in Britain was to sexualize Egyptian women.
Unlike Mabel’s veiled assumptions in the writing, the photograph itself tells us a lot about the woman. The jug she is holding suggests that she is collecting water, placing her in the realm of domestic, household duties. This was a common life for a woman in Egypt, where a woman’s role was confined to the home, the mirror of British domesticity at this time. The water suggests that her occupation was a mother or a daughter who helped with the household, which is overlooked by Mabel Thorn’s sexualised comment.
Overall, this postcard offers an insight into both Egypt and how it was viewed by the part of the British population during the war period. While the sexual comment highlights a xenophobic attitude that in this case is specifically aimed at women, the photograph itself also gives a more personal insight into the lives of women in the climate of Egypt during wartime.
Suggested reading and works cited
Primary
- ‘The Horn Family’, KentWW1, accessed 14/07/2022
Secondary
- Aulich, James, ‘Graphic Arts and Advertising as War Propaganda’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 14/07/2022
- Baron, Beth, ‘Unveiling Early Twentieth Century Egypt: Practical and Symbolic Considerations’, Middle Eastern Studies, 25:3, (July 1989), pp. 370-386.
- Fantauzzo, Justin, ‘Picturing War: Soldier Photography, Private Remembrance, and the First World War in Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine’, Journal of War & Culture Studies, 10:3, (2017), pp. 224-237.
- Fogarty, Richard, ‘African Labour in Europe’, 1914-1918 Online, accessed 06/07/2022.
- Mills, Steve and Paul Nicholson, ‘Soldier Tourism in First World War Egypt and Palestine: The Evidence of Photography’ Journal of Tourism History, 9:2-3, (2017), pp. 205-222.
- Rugh, Andrea B., Reveal and Conceal: Dress in Contemporary Europe (New York: Syracuse University Press, 1986).
- Thomas, Ryan, ‘The History of the French Language in Egypt’, HubPages, accessed 27/07/2022
- Tucker, Judith, ‘Egyptian Women in the Work Force: An Historical Survey’, MERIP, 1:50, (August 1976).
Her Story
(This is a fictional piece of writing inspired by the postcard sent by Mabel Thorn to her sister-in-law Edith Thorn during the First World War. We acknowledge the dangers inherent in speaking for those who have been historically silenced, as well as the temptation to attribute ideas to them that might not reflect their lived reality. This piece is intended as an attempt to showcase the disparity between the unknown women’s self-perception and sense of agency, and the way she is othered by the perception of Mabel Thorn).
She posed for the camera, her eyes gleeful as she glanced at the cameraman. She was wearing her best clothes that her father had worked hard to be able to buy her for her birthday. She loved the way she felt wearing them, like they were a physical expression of her father’s love for her. Her brass jewellery glinted in the sun as she smiled under the veil, a symbol of her religious devotion and a link between her and the other women of her culture.
Her smile widened as the camera clicked, her eyes crinkling at the corners in joy. It was a beautiful sound for her. It signalled an opportunity, an opportunity to show her culture to the world. It seemed only fair, she reasoned. The soldiers from Europe brought with them their own culture. Their families should get to experience Egypt as well. To see its richness, its beauty, its people. And she was ecstatic that she got to pay a small part in that.
She nodded politely at the photographer as he dismissed her, and began her walk home, the water in her jug sloshing slightly onto the ground beside her, leaving a trail as she walked.
For weeks after, she walked past the shop near her home that solders frequented, searching through the postcards, hoping to catch a glimpse of her photograph. To see her own, happy face staring back at her. Until eventually, she did.
Her smile faltered ever so slightly. Confused, she gently flagged down a nearby soldier to ask what it meant. ‘Femme Arabe’. Arab Woman.
There was nothing about her religion. Nothing about her culture. Nothing about her.
She shook her head at herself. I’m being silly, she reasoned. Her jewellery was there. And her dress. Her veil was in place, just like her family had taught her. She looked just like herself.
Words weren’t really used on postcards.
She nodded, her smile returning.
Yes, she rationalised, it was good. She was able to keep her modesty, and show her culture all at once.
She bought a copy, before rushing home, excited to show her family.
* * * * *
Mabel Thorn stared at the postcard. She wondered where her husband was, and if he was off gallivanting with one of those girls she saw wandering around town. She frowned to herself, jealousy coursing through her as she remembered the way his eyes drifted whenever he left the house.
He even did it in front of her.
Resentment swirled in her and she stared at the photograph. It didn’t matter that the girl in the photograph, nor any of the girls for that matter, had done nothing to encourage her husband’s unwanted attention to them. If anything they discouraged it. But it was a point of principle.
He was her husband. Not theirs. And she needed someone to blame.
Frowning, she picked up the pen, before pressing it into the paper, writing out the words swirling belligerently around her brain.
‘Just fancy Jim getting off with one of these girls’.