Memorials of the Great War in Britain: The Symbolism and Politics of Remembrance

287 Pages·1998·9.584 MB·English

by  Alex King

MEMORIALS OF
THE GREAT WAR
IN BRITAIN
The Symbolism
and Politics of
Remembrance
Alex King
MEMORIALS OF THE GREAT WAR IN BRITAIN
THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT WAR
A Series sponsored by the Historial de la Grande Guerre Péronne-Somme
General Editor
JAY WINTER
Previously published titles in the Series
Patrick Fridenson
THE FRENCH HOME FRONT 1914-1918
Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau
MEN AT WAR 1914-1918
Gerald D. Feldman
ARMY, INDUSTRY, AND LABOR IN GERMANY 1914-1918
Rosa Maria Bracco
MERCHANTS OF HOPE
Adrian Gregory
THE SILENCE OF MEMORY
Armistice Day 1919-1946
Ute Daniel
THE WAR FROM WITHIN
German Working-Class Women in the First World War
Annette Becker
WAR AND FAITH
The Religious Imagination in France, 1914-1930
David W. Lloyd
BATTLEFIELD TOURISM
Pilgrimage and the Commemoration of the Great War in Britain,
Australia and Canada, 1919-1939
MEMORIALS OF THE GREAT WAR
IN BRITAIN
The Symbolism and Politics
of Remembrance
ALEX KING
www.bloomsbury.com/thegreatwar
B L O O M S B U R Y
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www.bloomsbury.com/thegreatwar
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First published in 1998 by Berg
©Alex King 1998
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-8597-3983-9
PB: 978-1-8597-3988-4
ePDF: 978-1-8452-0952-0
ePUB: 978-1-4725-7803-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
To the memory of
Anne King
and
Julian Sullivan
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Contents
Preface ix
List of Illustrations xi
Introduction 1
1 The Composition of a National Cult 20
2 A Commemorative Tradition and its Application
in War 40
3 Talking About War Memorials 65
4 The Choice of a Memorial 86
5 The War Memorial Business 106
6 War Memorial Imagery 128
7 The Canonisation of Common People 173
8 Moral Obligation and Politics in the Commemoration
of the Dead 194
9 Sacred Union 216
Conclusion 246
Bibliography 252
Index 267
vii
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Preface
My interest in war memorials was originally aroused by seeing,
in quick succession, two particularly dramatic but contrasting
monuments to people killed in the First World War - the mem­
orial to the staff of the Lever Brothers company at Port Sunlight,
and the memorial to Edward Homer in the parish church at Mells
in Somerset. The first is set in a modern industrial suburb, some
of it under construction during the war; the other in a medieval
parish church, surrounded by memorials to the dead man’s
ancestors. The settings complement the monuments in a way
which gives them an extraordinary power. In the first, working
men in uniform, women and children huddle together, in the
midst of the ideal village built for Levers’ factory workers, to
ward off the attack of an unseen enemy on their homes. In the
second, the lonely figure of a young officer rides through the
darkness of the church towards eternal light represented by a
virgin and child hovering before him in a stained glass window.
The emotional impact of these memorials seemed to depend, to
a large extent, on the sense of distance which exists between
the time and circumstances of their creation and our own time.
Trying to penetrate their remoteness involved asking other ques­
tions which have always interested me concerning how such
things have meaning, and why so much importance is attributed
to them. This book is only one step towards answering those
questions; but it does, I hope, suggest a fruitful way of approach­
ing them.
I owe two very special debts in the writing of this book. One
is to Adrian Forty, who supervised the research on which it is
based, and has continued to take a sympathetic interest in what
I have done since. The other is to Annabel Gregory, who has
read and re-read the text, and given guidance and a great deal of
essential encouragement. Both have been excellent advisers and
editors, and their clarity of mind has been an indispensable help.
It was the Department of History at Birkbeck College that set
me on course to writing the book, and its staff played a large
part in my qualifying for the British Academy Studentship which
ix