The playwright who dramatised his own war record: a reassessment of William Douglas-Home’s accounts of his refusal to fight for the liberation of Le Havre

Luckhurst, Tim, Phippen, Lesley (2016) The playwright who dramatised his own war record: a reassessment of William Douglas-Home’s accounts of his refusal to fight for the liberation of Le Havre. Contemporary British History, 30 (3). pp. 389-406. ISSN 1361-9462. E-ISSN 1743-7997. (doi:10.1080/13619462.2016.1144512) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:54307)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2016.1144512

Abstract

At a court martial in October 1944, William Douglas-Home was convicted of wilfully disobeying a lawful command because he claimed a moral justification to do so. Cashiered and jailed for his offence, he would return to the events that occasioned his refusal throughout a long career as a playwright. In his post-war accounts, Mr Douglas-Home developed a defence of his decision that depicted it as principled. He submitted petitions in which he sought to overturn retrospectively the court martial ruling. This essay argues that he

concocted the accounts of his actions on which his efforts to revise the record were based.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1080/13619462.2016.1144512
Uncontrolled keywords:	William Douglas-Home; court martial; Le Havre; liberation; Hero of Le Havre; Operation Astonia
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DC France
Divisions:	Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Centre for Journalism
Depositing User:	Tim Luckhurst
Date Deposited:	01 Mar 2016 15:02 UTC
Last Modified:	05 Nov 2024 10:41 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/54307 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Luckhurst, Tim.

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1478-7273
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Phippen, Lesley.

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