Author Archives: Frances Houghton

About Frances Houghton

Frances Houghton is a Lecturer in Modern British History at the Open University. Her first book, The Veterans' Tale: British Military Memoirs of the Second World War (Cambridge University Press, 2019) examines British veterans' narrativization of their memories and experiences of combat, and the therapeutic value of this culture of post-war military life-writing. This book won the Society for Army Historical Research's Templer Prize for Best First Book and was shortlisted for the Royal Historical Society's Whitfield Prize. Frances is currently researching medical care, masculinities, and emotions in the Royal Navy between 1939–1945.

Under the “Best Possible Protection”? Violence and Medical Care in British Warships and Hospital Ships During the Second World War

April 29, 2024 by
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Abstract In 1940 the British state formally protested to the German government about a recent string of attacks violating the neutrality of hospital ships. Ensuing arguments in Britain about effective ways of preserving hospital ship safety from acts of enemy violence also broadened out to include discussions of how to ensure the ‘best possible protection’ of medical staff serving in British warships during the Second World War. Examining the sea as a significant yet neglected humanitarian space in scholarship of the international laws of war, Continue reading → Continue reading →