Military Partners: Their Role, Involvement and Impact

Professor Alison Baverstock explores the status and perspectives of military wives and partners, from the Army’s early history through to the present day.

The spouses and partners of serving soldiers have long played an important role in supporting the military, but they haven't always been given their due respect.

During the Army’s earlier years, these ‘camp followers’ often had to show great flexibility, resilience and entrepreneurial spirit. Many developed portable businesses as they accompanied their partners on campaign, living in temporary accommodation or ‘quarters’ – a term still in use today. Some even took part in the fighting.

In this illustrated talk, Alison Baverstock - a military wife herself - looks at how the role of the military partner has changed over time. She considers the political and social challenges that have emerged more recently, and the evolving character of military families since the formal admission of women in the Armed Forces. She also examines how the recruitment of university graduates and the employment opportunities available for partners now influence where, and for how long, service members choose to stay in the military.

In a world where 'careers for life' are no longer the norm, and where couples generally base their living standards on two incomes not one, she assesses how these changes affect military families and their future.

About the speaker

Alison Baverstock is Professor of Publishing at Kingston University and the founder of Reading Force, a military charity which uses books to bring Forces children and families closer together. Last year, she received an MBE in recognition of her services to military families.