The Battle of Britain

Sport and War

Jesse Owens during the Olympic Games in Berlin, August 1936; This photograph shows American athlete Jesse Owens in the second heat of the 100-metres race. Owens went on to win the Gold Medal in this and three other events. Hitler had hoped that the games would publicise his Nazi regime and promote ideas of Aryan racial supremacy. He initially tried to prevent any participation by black or Jewish athletes but was forced to give way when other nations threatened to boycott the games in protest.

Jesse Owens during the Olympic Games in Berlin, August 1936

photographs

This photograph shows American athlete Jesse Owens in the second heat of the 100-metres race. Owens went on to win the Gold Medal in this and three other events. Hitler had hoped that the games would publicise his Nazi regime and promote ideas of Aryan racial supremacy. He initially tried to prevent any participation by black or Jewish athletes but was forced to give way when other nations threatened to boycott the games in protest.

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In 1945 George Orwell wrote that serious sport was 'war minus the shooting'. He argued that sport was not a means of promoting peace between nations but was more likely to cause tensions than solve them.

Three years after Orwell’s article...

In 1945 George Orwell wrote that serious sport was 'war minus the shooting'. He argued that sport was not a means of promoting peace between nations but was more likely to cause tensions than solve them.

Three years after Orwell’s article was published, Britain hosted the Olympic Games in London. The 1948 'Austerity Olympics' took place in a world still recovering from six years of war. Neither Germany nor Japan was invited to participate. The Soviet Union was invited but chose not to send competitors. Despite these problems, the Games were a huge success and free from controversy or ill-feeling among the competing nations.

Other Olympic Games have not been so peaceful. In 1936 Germany's Nazi government used the Berlin Olympics to promote their regime. During the 1972 Munich Olympics, 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by a Palestinian terrorist group. The Games have also been marred by boycotts. In 1999 the Olympic Truce Foundation was set up to promote international peacemaking efforts, reviving a tradition from ancient Greece in which wars were suspended during the Games.

In war-torn countries, sport can sometimes bring people together and help build lasting peace. In 2002 a football match held in Afghanistan’s national stadium – used by the Taliban regime for executions - was a positive symbol of change.

During the two world wars, many great athletes, sportsmen and women were killed or injured, either through serving in the armed forces or as civilian casualties. These conflicts also caused serious disruption to professional sporting organisations in Britain and throughout the world. However, sport still remained a vital form of recreation and entertainment for both civilians and service personnel. 

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  • Handmade cricket bails

    souvenirs and ephemera

    Handmade cricket bails; These bails formed part of a set of equipment produced for a cricket match between 225 (Parachute) Field Ambulance and 5th Parachute Brigade HQ during the Normandy campaign in 1944. They were made by Bernard Horne, a former pharmacist who was a conscientious objector during the Second World War. He was conscripted into the Non-Combatant Corps in 1942 and transferred in 1943 to 225 (Parachute) Field Ambulance, where he worked with medical stores.

  • Cricket Match by John Worsley

    art

    Cricket Match by John Worsley; Cricket Match - Milag Nord v Marlag 'O' at Marlag 'O', 1944, by John Worsley. For many British prisoners of war (POW) held in Germany and Italy during the Second World War, sport was a vital way of filling time and relieving boredom. The most popular sports were football, cricket, boxing and rugby. In some camps golf, ice hockey and American sports such as softball were played. This drawing is by official war artist John Worsley who was a POW at Marlag 'O' camp at Westertimke from 1943 until 1945.

  • West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine

    photographs

    West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine; West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine at the Ministry of Labour, July 1942. This group photograph features famous West Indian cricketer Learie Constantine (front row, third left) and Minister for Labour Ernest Bevin (fourth left) with skilled West Indian workers who had recently arrived in Britain to carry out war work. Learie Constantine was employed as a welfare officer for West Indians working in Britain. He later trained as a barrister and served in the Trinidad government. He was knighted in 1962 and made a life peer in 1969.

  • Britain's wartime defences, 1940

    photographs

    Britain's wartime defences, 1940; This photograph shows baths and water troughs being placed across the fairways on a golf course to prevent enemy aircraft from landing. These measures were put in place as part of Britain's defences against possible German invasion in 1940. During the Second World War, many of Britain's golf courses, football and cricket grounds, and other sports facilities were repurposed for the war effort or damaged by enemy bombing.

  • An unusual use for a Morrison shelter, 1941

    photographs

    An unusual use for a Morrison shelter, 1941; In this - presumably staged - 1941 photograph, a couple demonstrate the versatility of the Morrison shelter by using it as a table-tennis table. The Morrison shelter was introduced so that homes without gardens suitable for Anderson air raid shelters would also have a basic form of blast protection in case of air raids. In many homes they were often also used as the family's dining room table.

  • Deck hockey on HMS Kent, 1941

    photographs

    Deck hockey on HMS Kent, 1941; This photograph shows officers of HMS Kent enjoying a game of deck hockey under the shadow of the cruiser's 8-inch guns. Whenever possible the game was played every afternoon both at sea and when the ship was in port and was a popular pastime for naval officers.

  • Lonsdale World's 'All In' Wrestling Championship belt

    souvenirs and ephemera

    Lonsdale World's 'All In' Wrestling Championship belt; Lonsdale World's 'All In' Wrestling Championship belt awarded to Douglas Clark. Not only regarded as one of the greatest ever Rugby League forwards, Douglas Clark was also a world champion wrestler, billed at one time as 'the strongest man in the world'. This latter achievement was despite suffering severe injuries during the First World War. In 1917 he was gassed and also suffered severe arm and abdominal wounds. For his part in bringing forward an ammunition column under very heavy fire he was awarded the Military Medal.

  • Rugby Union Footballers are Doing Their Duty, 1914

    posters

    Rugby Union Footballers are Doing Their Duty, 1914; During the First World War, keen sportsmen and spectators were targeted by recruiting campaigns. Recruiting rallies were often held at sporting events and matches. This poster uses the example set by Rugby Union players to encourage spectators of the game to join up, quoting a Times article stating that 'every player who represented England in Rugby international matches last year has joined the colours.' One hundred and thirty-three Rugby Union internationals were killed during the war.

  • Women's Royal Naval Service playing netball, 1944

    photographs

    Women's Royal Naval Service playing netball, 1944; Sports of all kinds were played by servicemen and servicewomen during the Second World War. It was recognised that, as well as boosting the fitness levels of troops, sport was beneficial to morale, helped develop leadership skills and fostered good relations between personnel across all ranks, units and services. This photograph from 1944 shows the final of the Women's Royal Naval Service netball competition taking place in Liverpool.

  • Football match in Kabul, 2002

    photographs

    Football match in Kabul, 2002; This photograph shows a football match in progress between Kabul United and a team from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) at the Olympic Stadium in Kabul, 15 February 2002. It was watched by 30,000 spectators and was the first international sporting event to take place in Afghanistan in five years. The Taliban regime had used the stadium for public executions. ISAF won the match by three goals to one.

  • British soldiers playing volleyball in Kuwait, 2003

    photographs

    British soldiers playing volleyball in Kuwait, 2003; Sport remains an important leisure pursuit for today’s service personnel. This photograph, taken during preparations for Operation 'Telic', the invasion of Iraq in 2003, shows troops playing volleyball in front of a block of the ubiquitous ISO shipping containers - standard building materials in any modern overseas army base.