The Mass Observers: A History, 1937-1949

Abstract

This is the first full scale history of Mass-Observation, the independent social research organization which, between 1937 and 1949, set out to document the attitudes, opinions, and everyday 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 Mass-Observation's volunteers have won a wide and admiring audience. But the history of the organization itself—the staff, the research methods, the struggle for funding, Mass-Observation'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 history does justice not only to Tom Harrisson and Charles Madge, the two founders, whose tempestuous relationship dominated the early years of Mass-Observation, but also to the dozens of creative, imaginative, and, until now largely unknown, young enthusiasts whose work helped to keep the show on the road. It also corrects and revises much of our existing knowledge of Mass-Observation, opening up new and important perspectives on the organization and its wider significance.