It was surprisingly difficult to find anything. I looked through a few of the books that I had in my house and I had a little root around on JSTOR (a collection of journal articles). But there really was very little. I eventually found some information on Google books in a book called 'The Blood of our Sons' by Nicoletta Gullace. There's a link here http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DCKVMN5OzxkC&pg=PA73&dq=order+of+the+white+feather&hl=en&ei=KUx_Tuu4NJGWOuaP6fIP&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=order%20of%20the%20white%20feather&f=false
The Order of the White Feather was formally established very soon after the war started in 1914, although there are instances of white feathers being used in other wars. Admiral Charles Fitzgerald instructed women to hand white feathers to those in civilian clothing to shame men in enlisting. Virginia Woolf (the woman who wrote 'A Room of One's Own') suggested that the success of the movement was limited, however, other sources claim that the power of these women cannot be underestimated and I found a nice little article in 'The Guardian' telling the story of a man whose Grandfather enlisted because of a white feather and was subsequently killed. It's well worth a read and can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/11/first-world-war-white-feather-cowardice
It wasn't just the men who suffered though. The government was also damaged by this movement. Imagine how the foreign press reported it - the British were so desperate for volunteers they were resorting to bribery and force. Of course this is exactly what they did do in 1916 when conscription was introduced but the press reports in such an early stage of the war were damaging.
Of course the actual question that the 4th form asked me was why the colour white. It's a colour of peace isn't it? It seems that this dates back to the days when cockfighting was a popular sport. A pure cockerel would be a single colour whereas a cross-breed might have flashes of white feathers in it's coat or tail. These cross-breeds were considered inferior and poorer fighters, hence the link to fighting in the war.
As you said Miss Dryden the white feather was a symbol of cowardice, and were mainly handed out by women in which thought that these men ought to enlist. Indeed the term came from cock-fighting, as some game birds had white feathers in their tail and therefore the idea of “showing the white feather” explains to turn and show the tail, in other words men who walked away from war in a cowardly manor.
ReplyDeleteIn 1902 A. E. W. Mason published The Four Feathers in which made reference to the disapproval of feathers, however this book was written during the Boer War when the British Army had considerable problems in the fitness of recruits and quality of soldiers. The story is read as a consoling fable in that the character Herry Faversham decides to leave his regiment when they go to fight in Sudan, as a result three of his fellow officers sent him a white feather each, even his fiancé sends a feather and broke off their engagement. In order to regain his reputation he secretly returns to Sudan, and redeems himself through courageous acts, enduring great suffering and rescuing old officer comrades from a Sudanese prison. By proving his manhood he returns the feathers to their senders, and regains his fiancé’s love. The book is full of undelivered messages and the characters are unable to comprehend their feelings, yet it displays the culture of reticence and triumphant heroism. The story is in a sense a form of propaganda in presenting Harry as someone who realises his cowardice was wrong, but he redeemed himself in that eventually he contributed to the war effort, and the moral of the story is to prove to Britain that anyone can help if they try.
The Suffragette (Women’s political and social union) run by Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst was the most prominent militant organisation. These women made it their duty to inform men of their future and demanded full obligation implemented in the restriction of full citizenship as they believed some women were contributing to the war more than certain men, through munitions factories etc. Therefore they wanted to defend their status, through forcing men to enlist.
Therefore although the feather is seen to be a symbol of cowardice, as if the bird has white in its tail it is an inferior cross-breed and therefore is perceived to be a poor fighter. The colour white is a representation of innocence, purity and also could be interpreted as having a religious meaning through the dove in which brought message for Noah and his arch. However, my interpretation is that is through innocence and being naïve these men in which did not fight are not subject to the horror of war, and are considered childlike because of their lack of knowledge. Alternatively the white feather can also carry opposite meanings such as of pacifism and in the United States for extraordinary bravery and excellence in combat marksmanship.