The Wartime Social Survey as Information History

The Wartime Social Survey was designed to keep track of civilian morale and test the impact of government policy in Britain during the Second World War. This chapter explores the Survey through the lens of information history, using it as a case study to consider how information was viewed at the time. The chapter begins by reconsidering the infamous ‘Cooper’s Snoopers’ controversy. The affair shows that there was hostility to surveillance, but it overshadows other parts of the Wartime Social Survey’s history. This chapter rectifies the imbalance by showing how the Survey carried out its work. A wider view shows that the Survey’s work extended beyond the wartime emergency it was created to meet. With remarkably little fuss, it established itself as a pioneer in the field of social research and brought policymakers into closer contact with the lives of ordinary people than ever before.

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