Arcadia Expert Publishes New Book on Crime and the First World War in Scotland

Dr. Cameron McKay, assistant director of Arcadia Abroad's Scotland Programs, recently published a new book that explores World War I's socially disruptive impact on Scotland. Using previously unavailable archival sources, McKay shows how and why Scotland became a more violent place after the war.

"Crime and The First World War in Scotland" is available now. McKay answered several questions to give us a glimpse into the book.

Can you give us some background about Scotland during World War I?
The upheaval that followed the First World War is more commonly associated with continental Europe, with the British tending to believe myths about their own level-headedness and placidity. Although Britain got off lightly compared to the other European countries, this does not mean that the war failed to leave its mark. The 19th century was very much Britain's zenith, with Scotland being a major beneficiary of the empire and industrialisation. The enthusiasm with which many Scots volunteered at the beginning of the war was arguably a manifestation of their commitment to the imperial project. However, the losses of the war, particularly those at Loos and the Somme, brought home the reality of modern warfare. The dire economic conditions of the 1920s, as well as collapse of the political middle ground, furthered the sense of disillusionment. My research focused on how the war impacted criminality during and after the conflict, an aspect of the First World War which has been largely ignored.

You say WWI had a "socially disruptive impact" on Scotland. Tell us more about that.
British losses during the First World War were over 800,000 men, perhaps more than 100,000 of whom were Scots, yet the longer term demographic effect of these losses was less noticeable due to high levels of pre-war emigration. The collective memory of the First World War has tended to focus on war losses, particularly in Scotland where casualties were likely disproportionate compared to the British population. However, I would argue that the true cost of the war should also consider the disruption it created. Even those who survived the war, as well as their families, had to readjust to a society that had changed considerably during four years of conflict. Criminality amongst veterans was a symptom of the difficulty some men faced in returning home.

Did certain wartime crimes continue after the war, or was there a clear break from wartime criminal activities?
Generally speaking, crime fell during the war whether you measure this in terms of actual incidents of crime or imprisonments. The main reason for this was enlistment, put simply most crime is committed by men of working age, the same demographic that made up Britain's armed forces. However, criminality among women and men who did not serve also decreased. Aside from the impact of enlistment, war reduced crime by increasing employment and raising wages. Wartime restrictions on the sale of alcohol and pub opening hours also lowered offending. Bigamy was one of the few crimes to increase rapidly during the war, largely due to the separation allowance paid to married soldiers. However, bigamy continued to increase even after the war, namely because of the disruptive effect the war had on families. After the war, crime rose quickly again due to demobilization, with many ex-servicemen struggling to readjust after the war.

What inspired you to focus specifically on the relationship between crime and the First World War in Scotland? Were there any gaps in existing scholarship that you aimed to address?
Although a lot has been written about the First World War, even more than a century later the social history of the war is still poorly understood. Jay Winter's work was very influential, as was Clive Emsley's, but there was no specific work on crime and the First World War, let alone from a Scottish perspective. Most of the existing literature tended to argue that crime in Britain decreased after the war in stark contrast with the rest of Europe, but in Scotland this was less noticeable. I also wanted to consider how war neuroses, such as shell shock and cerebral malaria, impacted criminality.

Is there anything else you'd like to mention?
I am also contributing a chapter to the upcoming book "Portable City: Modern Glasgow's Transatlantic Connections" edited by Dr. Stephen Bowman of University of Stirling and Dr. Kieran Taylor of Queen Margaret University. The book examines the similarities and connections between Glasgow and the United States, with my chapter focusing on sectarian conflict during the 19th century.