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demob
DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
Spelling variants:de-mob
1v. — abbreviation, Military
to demobilize.
Type: 5. Frequency — Demob is an abbreviation of "demobilize" and appears in British English and the Englishes of some of the Commonwealth countries, including Canada (COD-2, s.v. "demob"). According to OED-3 (s.v. "demob"), the term initially gained popularity at the end World War I when troops began being released from service. A past construction of the clipped verb, "demobbed", has become one of the most frequent forms along with the full verb "demobilized" (see the 1919, 1962 and 2014 quotations, for example). Demob appears most frequently in Canada (see Chart 1).
See also COD-2, s.v. "demob", which is marked "Cdn, Brit., & Austral. dated", ITP Nelson, s.v. "demob", which is marked "Chiefly British".
See also COD-2, s.v. "demob", which is marked "Cdn, Brit., & Austral. dated", ITP Nelson, s.v. "demob", which is marked "Chiefly British".
The reader may be surprised that the term is more frequent in Canada than in the UK. The best explanation is the conservative (preservation) strands in Canadian English, which are at times quite extreme, but at other times not present at all (see, e.g. Dollinger 2015).
Quotations
1944
I have just received a letter from a lad in England, and he tells me that when the British soldier is demobbed he goes forth a well-dressed man. A complete outfit will be issued to him.
1954
Then came the last game of the tour. Woolwich Arsenal, rated tops, were to play the formidable Russians; but it was true, and no fable, that about half the Arsenal's star regulars were still not demobbed from the services.
1962
His flying career started in the First World War, when he enlisted as a lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps. Demobbed after three years' service, he returned to Canada and opened a flying field at Cartierville.
1980
Charles ("Cy") Perkins became a cadet with the R.F.C. at Toronto in 1917. After being commissioned, Lieutenant Perkins served as an instructor all through the war, chiefly at Camp Borden. In 1918 he suffered severe injuries in a crash but after months in hospital he resumed flying as a stunting instructor. He was demobbed in 1919 and returned to British Columbia, to his home at Port Kells.
1999
We could demob most of the armed forces on the spot with obvious savings to the exchequer. Mind you, we would then have to turn around and give the money back to the soldiers as welfare payments because they wouldn't be able to find jobs.
2004
Some words provide a distillation of the social or political scene in the given year -- "U-boat" in 1916, "demob" in 1920, "Blitzkrieg" in 1939, "peacenik" in 1963, "Watergate" in 1972, "punk" in 1974, "dot-commer" in 1997 and "9/11" in 2001.
2014
Brisco was unsatisfied with the board's findings and because he still desperately wanted his commission, he continued to pester the [Royal Canadian Navy] after he was demobbed, threatening to give information to the press about the events surrounding the explosion and demanding apologies from all the officers.
2n. — abbreviation, Military
demobilization.
Type: 5. Frequency — Demob can also be an abbreviation of the noun "demobilization" and, as with meaning 1, it came into prominence after World War I. Early citations for the term appear most frequently in logs of enlisted soldiers and it is quite frequently abbreviated with a period (see, for example, the 1951 and 1960 quotations). More recent written evidence seems to show demob most often used in prepositional phrases such as "upon [his] demob" or "after demob" and without the period. Another common use of the term is its attributive role in the phrase "demob suit", which is a set of civilian clothes offered to discharged soldiers returning home (see the 1999 quotation). Internet search results indicate that the term appears most frequently in Canada (see Chart 1).
See also COD-2, s.v. "demob", which is marked "Cdn, Brit., & Austral. dated".
See also COD-2, s.v. "demob", which is marked "Cdn, Brit., & Austral. dated".
Quotations
1919
["Demobbed" Officers May be Trade Representatives [...] A suggestion to Canadian manufacturers and producers wanting first class representatives for their lines in overseas trade is made in a cablegram from the Canadian Mission in London to the Canadian Trade Commission in Ottawa. It states that shortly a large number of well known Canadian officers, many of whom are highly qualified business men, will be demobilized in Europe, and the Mission points out that some of these at least would be most suitable as representatives of Canadian houses wishing to introduce and to sell their goods in England, France and Italy.]
1923
COLLEY, JAMES NOEL BELLASYSE; [...] Adjt. and Q. M. 27th Coy., C.F.C. Armies Group; England, November, 1918; C.O.R.D., November, 1918; Demob. Duties, Sunningdale Camp, December, 1918[...].
1951
DAWES, Maj. A. Sidney, M.C., B.Sc.; engineer; [...] enlisted in C.F.A. in 1st World War, going to France 1915; twice wounded; promoted Capt. 1917; awarded M.C. and apptd. Maj., 55th Batty., 1918; on demob., rejoined Atlas Construction Co. Ltd., who have since carried out the construction of the Montreal Aqueduct, Atwater Pumping Station, Filtration Plant, McTavish Reservoir and water mains[...].
1960
BENSON, George Frothingham; company president; b. Montreal; [...] served in France, 1st World War with R.F.A. (Imp.) 1917-19; after demob. served with 2nd Montreal Regt., R.C.A., 1920-29; ret. and placed on Reserve of Offrs. with rank of Major [...].
1978
He went to work as a printer and journalist in Winnipeg in 1912 but took three years out to serve overseas in France with the Royal Canadian Regiment, 61st Battalion. Upon his demob in April, 1919, he took up his old job in newspapers until his marriage to Dorothy in 1928.
1987
He was stationed in England during the war and remained in Canada after his demob in March 1946.
1996
Gunning started a market garden, which was just beginning to show a profit when war was declared. He joined up but was little pleased to find himself considered too old to serve overseas and confined to searchlight duties. On his demob in 1945 he found the market garden had failed.
1999
It took awhile to sink in, but the members of the WLA had been told they were members of the "forces" and with the shutting down of the land army before the end of the war, in their thousands they didn't qualify for benefits. The government savings didn't stop there, she says. "When we de-mobbed we had to hand in our uniforms, our dungarees and our Wellingtons. Our de-mob suits were one T-shirt, one pair of shoes, and a long coat. I've always wondered what they did with all those Wellingtons."
References
- COD-2
- OED-3
- ITP Nelson
- Dollinger (2015a)
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