The Mass Observers: A History, 1937-1949

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This is the first full-scale history of Mass-Observation, the independent social research organisation which, between 1937 and 1949, set out to document the attitudes, opinions, and every-day lives of the British people. Through a combination of anthropological fieldwork, opinion surveys, and written testimony solicited from hundreds of volunteers, Mass-Observation created a huge archive of popular life during a tumultuous decade which remains central to British national identity.
The social history of these years has been immeasurably enriched by the archive, and extracts from the writings of M-O's volunteers have won a wide and admiring audience.

Now James Hinton, whose acclaimed Nine Wartime Lives demonstrated how the intensely personal writing of some of M-O's volunteers could be used to shed light on broader historical issues, has written a wonderfully vivid and evocative account which does justice not only to the two founders whose tempestuous relationship dominated the early years of Mass-Observation, but also to the dozens of creative and imaginative, and until now largely unknown, young enthusiasts whose work helped to
keep the show on the road. The history of the organisation itself - the staff, the research methods, the struggle for funding, M-O's characteristic 'voice', and its role in the cultural and political life of the period - are themselves as interesting as any of the themes that the founders set out to document.
This long-awaited and deeply researched history corrects and revises much of our existing knowledge of Mass-Observation, opens up new and important perspectives on the organisation, and will be seen as the authoritative account for years to come.

The Mass Observers: A History, 1937-1949 Review

Written by the author of Nine Wartime Lives: Mass Observation and the Making of the Modern Self, this book attempts to give a full history of the Mass-Observation (MO) project; how and why it was organised, who began it, methods used, its role in the cultural and political life of the period, how it was used during the war, whether it was used to empower the masses or facilitate manipulation by the existing elites and how it was united by anti-fascist ideas.

Mass Observation began with a meeting of Tom Harrisson and Charles Madge in 1937, both upper-middle class and public school educated, who had a tempestuous relationship. Harrisson was working in Bolton (labelled 'Worktown' for MO purposes), where he attempted to study politics, religion and working class leisure by 'observing without being observed'. Methods included following housewives around Woolworths to study shopping patterns and trying to blend into the area. In 1938 the two men joined up in London to investigate popular attitudes during the Munich crisis. This would secure MO's reputation and pave the way for its wartime career.

Once war began the main job of the MO was the monitoring of morale, including an influential expose of conditions in air raid shelters at the beginning of the blitz. The whole of MO was, it has to be said, very British. For example, a 'Silent Column' was organised to frustrate defeatists or pro-Nazi's. "If you know anyone who makes a habit of causing worry and anxiety by passing on rumour or who says things persistently that might help the enemy - tell the police," ran the campaign, adding, "but only as a last resort..." Even with this proviso, in case it seemed they were turning to 'Gestapo' methods, the outrage caused it to be cancelled within a month.

This, then, is the story of Mass Observation - of personality clashes, a constant struggle for funding and Harrisson's restless search for influence at all levels of British cultural life. For instance, he was keen to utilise popular music to create morale boosting songs, but the Ministry of Information refused to intervene in the music industry, losing what must have been a good outlet for propaganda. The book also addresses criticisms that MO was amateur, unprofessional and how the project was affected by conscription. It also looks at how, after the war, MO, which never succeeded in attracting long-term funding, drifted into market research.

Overall, this is a really interesting, if academic, read. It is an important appraisal of what MO achieved, how it worked and operated as an independent social research organisation. At its best, MO not only published influential work, but helped the British understand how they viewed themselves at a troubled time in their history. I would not say this is a light read, but, if you are interested in the home front and social history, you will certainly enjoy this book.

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