The Role Of War Memorials In The First World War

In their article on the subject of memorialisation, historians Gavin Hughes and Jonathan Trigg state the purpose of memorials as being a ‘potent and powerful symbol precisely because of its simplicity and instant familiarity.’ This is true for most of Britain as the First World War was the first time they had experienced loss of this scale and for the country as a whole it was crucial that there be a way for the millions of families affected to show their respect and to grieve. In 1916, the government forbade families to exhume bodies and bring them back to Britain, depriving them of any solid means of closure or acceptance. It was therefore the rise of memorials in their many shapes and forms that gave them the chance to grieve and to pay their respects to the thousands of dead. These memorials have changed in

The 1923 War Memorials (Local Authorities’ Power) Act allowed local governments to aid the community memorial in the case of repairs and protection but that was the limit of their participation -- it was the community 's memorial and therefore the community would decide on its form and pay for it. The building of memorials was very much a community effort. Due to the excitement of the war, many volunteered in groups to fight in the Great War which resulted in communities suffering huge losses. This is particularly true for the Boer War where almost all the soldiers were volunteers, meaning that at home they were mourned as citizens first and soldiers second. This lead to communities pulling together to decide on an appropriate memorial and then donating money towards the building of the memorial. Over time, however, these private signs of grief were changed into symbols of national pride and worship and occasionally promoted by the government during anniversaries and new wars as what the country could do and what it sacrificed for the good of the