This article looks at what impact the Korean War (1950–53) had on British policy regarding how soldiers should behave if captured by the enemy. It explores the training available to the average serviceman between the First World War and the early 1950s and examines how fears of brainwashing prompted the first major investigation of prisoner behaviour and training in modern British history. Using primary sources, the article also traces how the war contributed to a philosophical shift in attitudes towards the prisoner of war and a reassessment of the skills necessary to survive on the modern battlefield.

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This chapter considers the millions of people from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand who served in the armed services during the Second World War as the largest ever mobilization of British Commonwealth manpower. It addresses how Britain and its dominions tackled the needs of veterans in the decade that followed the Second World War. It also explores how the manpower of the British Commonwealth grappled with the challenge of demobilization on a vast scale and reviews how the legacy of the First World War shaped the rehabilitation process that began in 1945. The chapter analyzes the thorny business of awarding pensions, measuring disability, and quantifying human suffering. It assesses what the British Commonwealth countries provided veterans in terms of compensation, benefits, and medical care.

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