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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 March 2023
On 16 March 1942 Benjamin Britten boarded the ms Axel Johnson at New York to begin his long and dangerous journey home as part of an Atlantic convoy. He had departed England three years previously ahead of the commencement of hostilities in Europe disheartened and feeling that the continent was doomed to fascism. With the subsequent widening of the international conflict his commitment to pacifism saw him at odds with prevailing world-wide political events. Now at the height of the Atlantic war he was departing North America to return home: but why? Britten's departure to the United States on the eve of the Second World War was regarded by many of his fellow countrymen as an act of betrayal and was possibly one of the most controversial decisions of his life. His stated reasons for leaving were based on the belief that there was no future for him in England and he needed to try his luck elsewhere. He was to spend almost three years in North America, during which time he achieved moderate success as a composer and performer, travelled widely and even contemplated making the US his permanent home. However, his somewhat sudden decision to return home at the height of the conflict has raised many questions. This essay will examine the context and some possible reasons for his decision to brave the wartime Atlantic in 1942.
There can be little doubt of Britten's deep sincerity when it came to his aversion to military conflict. But what informed this principled stance? Was it cowardice or conscience? A very personal fear of violence expressed as a heroic political gesture of pacifism or a sincere political belief that governments needed a better way to settle disputes rather than sending its young men to slaughter? Britten's pacifism, or at least his aversion to conflict, began early in his life. Humphrey Carpenter cites an interview with the composer in The Guardian in June 1971, where he attempted to explain the origins of his pacifism. He recalled his early schooldays and the shock at the administration of corporal punishment:
I heard a boy being beaten, and I can remember my absolute astonishment that people didn't immediately rush to help him.
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