Vol. 04 No. 01
Merch!
After a little hiatus, Combat Threads is back. And now I’m making CT’s first piece of merch. Based on an original Falklands War T-shirt produced in the 1980s, I am now taking pre-orders for shirts here. A few weeks ago, I put up a poll on my Instagram to see which Falklands War merch shirt I should reproduce, and this was the clear winner. The shirt has been faithfully reproduced from a shirt in my own collection down to the signature in the right-hand corner. And why a Falklands War T-shirt? Read on.
If you have followed CT for a while, you know an area of interest for me is what I call “war merch.” This kind of commemorative, supportive, and souvenir T-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats spring up around nearly all modern conflicts. I’ve written about the T-shirt craze around the First Gulf War before. I argue that the key to the popularity of these T-shirts was the constant news coverage of the war and its lead and the framing of the news coverage as entertainment, sealed in the TV screen – not reality.
Nine years before the Gulf War, the Falklands War was already showing many of these trends with a similar sartorial effect. This month marks the 41st anniversary of the end of the 74-day war. For those who don’t know, the Falklands War was fought between the UK and Argentina in 1982 over the South Atlantic Falkland Islands. The Islands, a British Overseas Territory since 1833, are located some 300 miles off the coast of Argentina – and 8,000 miles from Great Britain – and at the time had a population of about 1,800. Since gaining independence from Spain, Argentina claimed sovereignty over the islands. After a series of events far too complicated to get into here, Argentina invaded and took over the islands on April 1, 1982. Much to the surprise of both Argentinians and Britons, the UK put together a naval task force to retake the islands. Ok, that was a real quick overview of the conflict. If you want to know more, you can check out Max Hastings’ and Simon Jenkins’ The Battle for the Falklands or the Battlegrounds podcast, which did a series on the war last year.
The islands' incredibly remote nature and the restrictions placed on media made for coverage lacking in human images or stories. It was one of the first post-Vietnam wars with mass media coverage while simultaneously one of the least reported since the Crimean. Only a handful of journalists were permitted to go to the islands with the British Task Force, and video footage took three weeks to reach the UK. What dominated the coverage was monotone Ministry of Defense briefings and sensationalist newspaper headlines that only the British tabloid press could achieve. A wave of patriotic – verging into jingoistic – fervor swept the country, to many observers' surprise.
The Sun ran the most infamous headline of the conflict: “Gotcha.” The front page story was that of the sinking of the Argentinian battleship General Belgrano, killing 368 sailors. The one-word headline quickly found its way onto T-shirts and sweatshirts. The newspaper also sponsored such stunts as sending a pallet of beer and centerfold pinups to the British soldiers steaming south, and funding a British Sidewinder missile by selling T-shirts. These were not the only T-shirts that were produced. Images and existing examples show a variety of styles and designs, from classic English bulldogs to Mickey Mouse with a raised middle finger.
Nearly all T-shirts were pro-war in nature and fit into the common visual language of printed T-shirts, which were already on the ascent. While printed T-shirts would not reach their peak cultural relevance until the 90s, the roots of “joke” and offensive T-shirt design around armed conflict can be found here.
There were other T-shirts produced during the conflict that fit more closely into the tradition of souvenirs popular since WWII. While the majority of graphics were designed for the public to wear to “support” the war effort, these designs were for servicemen who were taking part in the conflict. Like this sweatshirt made for the supply ship RFA Regent crew with the unforgettable tagline “From Beer to Eternity.”
The Pre-order for the CT shirt is going on for the next two weeks. After that, I won't be taking any more orders, so be sure to get in now, and stay tuned for more conflict and historically informed garments in the future!
Till next time,
C.W.M.
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