"'Too long mere food for powder", the British Army in Punch: 1841-61'

Hyde, Frederick William (2025) "'Too long mere food for powder", the British Army in Punch: 1841-61'. Historical Research, 98 (281), 367-398, [htaf007]. (doi:10.1093/hisres/htaf007).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The place of the British army in Victorian society has been a popular subject for historical enquiry. Insufficient attention has been paid to the mid nineteenth century, however, other than studies of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. To illustrate the importance of the wider period, this article surveys the depiction of the army in the comic periodical Punch, or the London Charivari between 1841 and 1861. It notes a lasting interest in the army’s role at home and abroad and traces a radical tradition that lasted well into Punch’s so-called ‘respectable’ years.

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Accepted/In Press date: 8 January 2025

Published date: 19 April 2025

Additional Information: Frederick Hyde is a History PhD student and Presidential Scholar at the University of Southampton. He read History at Durham University and studied for a master’s degree in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where he was encouraged to pursue his interest in history to doctoral level. He worked for two years in public affairs, before being awarded a scholarship by the University of Southampton for a PhD on nineteenth-century British foreign policy. He sits on the Council of the Society for Army Historical Research and is a Postgraduate Member of the Royal Historical Society.

Keywords: Army, British Empire, Punch