Yes / Many members of Europe’s national minorities had particularly terrible experiences during the First World War. This article examines how three ethnic German minority activists from the Baltic region responded to those dreadful years by, subsequently, presenting themselves as peace campaigners promoting a novel model for multi-ethnic society. They promoted ideas such as the ‘a-national state’ and ‘cultural autonomy’ at both national and international levels, not least in the hope of influencing the League of Nations. To what extent should they be accepted as early peacebuilders? / British Academy

My Ph. D thesis, Panic over the Pub: Drink and the First World War, considers the causes, consequences and control of popular drinking behaviour and how broader currents of social debate affected the perception of the alleged alcohol problem during the First World War, shedding new light upon government inclinations towards state control during the conflict. Within current historiography there is a consummate lack of understanding concerning the formation of opinion on the drink problem ‘from below’ and its effect upon the ‘high politics’ of the decision making procedure. My thesis considers how ‘drink’ and ‘leisure’ became increasingly contentious and a domestic problem due principally to established fears concerning working class behaviour and military failures on the Western Front. My thesis argues that moral panic, rather than factual certainties, dictated attitudes to drinking in Britain during the war. An investigation of the Central Control Board, a government body established to deal specifically with the drink problem in the exigencies of conflict, constitutes the central core of my thesis, together with an assessment of the role of Lord D’Abernon, Chairman of this organisation.

The purpose of this study has been to research what is included in the First World War teaching in English compulsory school. The teaching of this historical event is performed in a context where the war is yearly commemorated and given attention in society at large in various ways. Through conducting interviews with six history teacher working at a school in northeastern England the study was set out to investigate how teaching of the war is performed in general as well as with specific focus directed towards potential challenges in connection to the remembrance events, the collectively remembered public history and issues such as gender and colonial representation. The study shows that there is a clear focus on the past in the teaching of the war with trench warfare and life during the war being issues that are discussed. Connections are further made to the present where the importance of remembrance is stressed. The main challenge experienced by the teachers regarding the First World War is the lack of living witnesses due to the time distance. In consequence, the war is seen as less relevant to learn about among the pupils. However, remembrance symbols can in this instance be a tool in order to entice interest for the study of the war and the common perception among the teachers is that the pupils enjoy the study of the First World War.

This thesis examines the influence of the Boer War 1899 – 1902 upon tactics and training in the regular British Army 1902 – 1914. The work argues that several key lessons drawn from South Africa became the tactical cornerstones for infantry, artillery and cavalry throughout the pre-First World War period and shaped the performance of the B.E.F. during the early battles of 1914. The experience of combat against well armed opposition in the Boer War prompted the British Army to develop improved tactics in each of the three major service arms. For example, infantry placed new emphasis on dispersion and marksmanship; cavalry improved their dismounted work and reconnaissance skills; and artillery adopted methods of concealment and strove to improve accuracy and co-ordination. Across the army as a whole, the experience of combat lead to an overall downgrading of the importance of drill and obedience, replacing it instead with tactical skill and individual initiative. In addition, the thesis also examines the impact of the Boer War upon overall British Army doctrine and ethos. The process of reform prior to the First World War was marked by wide ranging debates upon the value of the South African experience, and not all lessons drawn from the conflict endured, with tactical restructuring being further complicated by changes of government and financial restrictions. Nevertheless, key lessons such as dispersion, marksmanship, concealment and firepower were ultimately retained and proved to be of great value during initial clashes against the Germans in 1914. Additionally, the Boer War caused the British to place new emphasis upon overall training of the individual, allowing advanced tactical skills to be inculcated more easily than had been possible in earlier years. However, the short duration of the conventional period of the Boer War meant that there was less opportunity to derive operational lessons for future employment. Furthermore, the colonial policing role of the British Army and the likelihood of small scale deployments meant that developing an operational doctrine was of less immediate value than ensuring flexibility and tactical skill. This meant that the British Army took a somewhat skewed developmental path in the 1902 – 1914. The process of reform ultimately produced a highly adaptable force that was tactically skilled, but which was ill-prepared for the operational complications posed by large scale deployment. While the Boer War was the principal factor in driving reform during the 1902 – 1914 period, there were additional influences at work, including examples from the Russo-Japanese War 1904 – 1905 and various ideas drawn from the armies of the continent. However, this thesis argues that while these outside influences contributed to ongoing debate, they did not offer any particular fresh ideas and were therefore of less importance than the Boer War in shaping British Army development.

This thesis examines the experiences and impact of wartime mobilization in the county of Devon. It argues that a crucial role was played by the county’s elites who became the self-appointed intermediaries of the war experience on a local level and who took an explicitly exhortative role, attempting to educate Devonians in the codes of ideal conduct in wartime. These armchair patriots, defined by the local commentator Stephen Reynolds as ‘provincial patriots’, superintended the patriotism of Devon’s population, evaluating that patriotism against the strength of their own. Through a critical exploration of Reynolds’ definition of Devon’s elite as the police-men and women of patriotism, this thesis reveals the ambiguities, constraints and complexities surrounding mobilization and remobilization in Devon. The evidence from Devon reveals the autonomy of Devon’s citizens as they attempted to navigate the different challenges of the war while they weighed-up individual and local interests against the competing requests that the ‘provincial patriots’ prescribed for them. In many cases, their responses to the appeals and prescriptions from Devon’s elite were informed by what they considered to be an appropriate contribution to the war effort. Therefore, the choice to participate in the measures introduced in the name of war effort in Devon was not a binary one. A tension between individual survival and national survival in the county was apparent in the encounters between Devon’s elite as agents of mobilization and the county’s populace during the war. Through various campaigns of superintendence in order to police the patriotism of Devon’s people, the ‘provincial patriots’ attempted to navigate through the terrain of these competing priorities and resolve this tension. In their endeavours to mobilize Devon’s populace, the authority of Devon’s elite was criticised and they faced constant negotiation between individual priorities and those of the nation. This analysis of the complexity of the Devonian experience of the First World War is sceptical about the ‘total’ nature of the First World War because the war to some Devonians was not the pre-eminent issue and did not absorb all of the county’s efforts. Rather, a significant part of Devon’s population was primarily concerned with individual priorities and that of the county throughout the war years.

Entre août et octobre 1914, l’invasion allemande donna lieu à une des plus vastes mouvements de populations qu’ait connu la Belgique. En l’espace de quelques semaines, plus d’1,5 millions de Belges quittèrent le pays pour trouver asile en France, en Grande-Bretagne et aux Pays-Bas. Si beaucoup regagnèrent leurs foyers une fois le front stabilisé, plus de 500.000 d’entre eux firent le choix d’un exil prolongé. Cette thèse se propose d’étudier ce phénomène selon différentes approches. Le premier chapitre s’attache à dégager les raisons qui présidèrent à l’exode massif des populations civiles. Il s’agit ensuite d’étudier les mécanismes de solidarité mis en œuvre dans chacun des pays d’accueil. Les grands contours de l’action humanitaire engagée en faveur des réfugiés belges mettent en évidence des processus de mobilisations sociales dont l’évolution rapide permet d’appréhender de quelle manière ils furent perçus par les populations locales. En outre, par le biais de l’aide aux réfugiés, il est permis d’esquisser quelques grandes caractéristiques des politiques sociales lancées durant la Première Guerre mondiale. La mise au travail des réfugiés apparaît comme le seconde grand axe de ce travail. Dans un contexte marqué par de fortes pénuries de main-d’œuvre ouvrière, la présence des réfugiés éveilla des enjeux économiques et sociaux insoupçonnés. En effet, dès 1915, que ce soit en France ou en Angleterre, les réfugiés belges prirent une part active à l’activité économique des pays qui les accueillaient. Cette participation des Belges à l’effort de guerre allié est particulièrement intéressante en ce qu’elle fut l’occasion d’une rencontre inédite entre peuples qui se connaissaient peu. De même, elle vit émerger quelques entreprises dont le fonctionnement éclaire la manière avec laquelle gouvernement et patronat belges concevaient les rapports sociaux en ce début de XXème siècle. Afin d’encore mieux cerner quel fut l’apport des réfugiés à l’effort de guerre belge, l’accent est mis sur leur engagement dans la lutte armée. L’attitude réservée des Belges face à la mobilisation générale permet d’illustrer les limites de leur adhésion à la guerre et éclaire la détérioration sensible de leur image. Pour terminer, le dernier chapitre s’attache à déterminer quelle fut la nature des rapports que nouèrent réfugiés et populations locales. Il s’agit de voir de quelle manière les réfugiés s’intégrèrent aux communautés d’accueil et dans quelle mesure ils pâtirent des vagues xénophobes qui balayèrent les différents pays d’accueil dès 1917./On both the eastern and western fronts, the First World War led to the displacement of millions of civilians. The invasion of Belgium by German forces proved no exception: between August and October 1914, more than a million a half Belgians fled their country. They sought asylum in the Netherlands, France and Great Britain. In total, more than 600,000 Belgians settled abroad during the First World War. This thesis studies this unprecedented and unrepeated exile of hundred of thousands of Belgians between 1914 and 1918.

This thesis is about the use of trees for commemoration and the memory that they have anchored in the landscape. There has been little written on the use of trees for commemorative purposes despite its symbolic resonance over the last 150 years. To determine the extent to which commemorative trees have been employed, the social practice and context in which the trees were planted, field and archival work was undertaken in New Zealand and Australia. This has been supported with some comparative work using examples from Britain and the United States of America. The research also utilizes the new availabilities of records on-line and the community interests that placed historical and contemporary material on-line. The commemorative tree has been a popular commemorative marker for royal events, the marking of place and as memorial for war dead. It has been as effective an anchor of memory in the landscape as any other form. The memory ascribed to these trees must be understood in terms of the era in which the tree was planted and not just from a distance. Over time the memory represented by the trees and its prescribed meanings, has changed. For all its power and fragility, memory is not permanent but nor is it so ephemeral as to exhibit no robustness at all. Instead memory exists in a state of instability that leaves it open to challenge and to constant reassessment based on the needs of the viewing generation. This instability also allows the memory, and thus the tree, to fade and become part of the domestic landscape of treescape memories (Cloke and Pawson, 2008). However, in some circumstances trees are retrieved and reinscribed with specific memory and made relevant for a new generation. The landscape created by commemorative trees is, therefore, multifunctional, in which social relations support memory, remembrance, forgetting, silences, erasures, and memory slippage.

Postmodern theory maintains that analyzing the history of archival material can enrich our understanding of archival methods over time and help us understand their effect on society. Examining various records of the First World War, from the perspectives of Britain, Canada, and Australia, from their creation to their uses today, demonstrates the lasting effect that these records have had on the memory of the war, and on our understanding of the past. During the war, records were largely used by governments and individuals for the war’s prosecution and the well-being of soldiers and civilians. The interwar period was faced with whether and how to preserve millions of government records as well as the need for governments, in particular, to use them to shape public opinion and international relations. Today personal First World War records such as letters, diaries, and photographs have taken centre stage and are used primarily for education, commemoration, and entertainment. Although these and other First World War records have increased in popularity in Britain, Canada, and Australia, archival institutions remain in the shadows. Nevertheless, the First World War centenary and the interest in the war's records allow an opportunity to address that problem. This thesis aims to provide greater awareness of the varied uses of the war's records across their histories in order to add to their value and thus demonstrate the importance of preserving archival records. It is hoped that this will help to garner much needed political, economic, and societal support for archival institutions. / May 2017

The frequency and seriousness of facial injuries during the First World War account for the presence of disfigured men in significant numbers in European interwar society. Physical reconstruction, psychological and social consequences had long-term consequences for experts and lay people alike. Despite the number of wounded men and the impact of disfigurement, the facially injured soldiers of the First World War have rarely been the focus of academic research. This thesis aims to bridge this gap through a careful investigation of the lives and representations of gueules cassées, as they came to be known in France. It examines the experience and perceptions of facial disfigurement from the moment of the injury and throughout the years following, thereby setting the parameters for a study of the real and the mediated presence of disfigured veterans in interwar society. The chronological frame of this study begins in 1914 and ends in 1939, since the perception and representations of facial disfigurement were of particular significance during the First World War and its aftermath. Using a comparative approach to explore the experience and representations of disfigurement, this study investigates the presence of facially injured combatants and veterans in 1920s and 1930s society. With an interdisciplinary perspective, literary and artistic depictions as well as historical documents are examined in order to complement contemporary descriptions with the voices of the men themselves. This study sheds new light on the history of wounded soldiers of the First World War through in-depth analysis of original documents from France, Germany and Great Britain. This thesis provides the first detailed comparative study of British, French and German disfigured men. It emphasises the at times paradoxical situation of veterans who sought to lead ordinary lives but also became symbols of the war. All five chapters highlight the visibility of facially injured men and explore different responses to their presence whilst also interrogating their role and image in wartime and interwar societies. As such it aims to make a contribution to the cultural history of the First World War and its aftermath.

This thesis explores the formative influences, development and impact of the theology of David Smith Cairns, Scottish minister, academic and writer, during the high point of British imperial expansion, and at a time of social tension caused by industrialisation. In particular, it describes and evaluates his role in the Church’s efforts to face major challenges relating to its relationships to the different world religions, its response to the First World War, and its attitude to the scientific disciplines that called into question some of its long-standing perceptions and suppositions. Examination of Cairns’s life and work reveals an eminent figure, born into the United Presbyterian Church and rooted in the Church in Scotland, but operating ecumenically and internationally. His apologetics challenged the prevailing assumptions of the day: that science provided the only intellectually legitimate means of exploring the world, and that scientific determinism ruled out the Christian conception of the world as governed by Providence. A major feature of his theology was the presentation of Christianity as a ‘reasonable’ faith, and throughout his life he maintained a particular concern for young people, having endured his own crisis of faith when a student in Edinburgh. He enjoyed a decades long involvement with the Student Christian Movement and the World Student Christian Federation, based on a mutually enriching relationship with one of its leading figures, the renowned American evangelist John Raleigh Mott. As chair of Commission IV of the 1910 World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh, Cairns spearheaded efforts to encourage the Church to redefine its role in relation to the different world religions, and to adopt a fulfilment theology that allowed for a dialogical rather than confrontational model of mission. As leader of a Y.M.C.A. sponsored interdenominational enquiry into the effects of the First World War on the religious life of the nation and attitudes to the Churches, Cairns reported on the Churches’ failure to engage with a large section of the population, and in particular with the young men at the Front. The resulting report offered an important critique of the Church and its vision in the early twentieth century, and provided a call for reform and renewal in Church life, with an emphasis on the need for social witness. The thesis concludes that in these three major areas Cairns provided a prophetic voice for the Church as it entered the twentieth century and faced the challenges of that time.