Capturing Commemoration: Reflections on the First World War Centenary in Britain

The First World War Centenary of 2014-2018 was a defining period of public engagement in the United Kingdom. Capturing Commemoration provides the first dedicated examination of this period and the activities that marked it. Collaboratively written by leading experts in the field, this study explores how the Centenary was marked as both a national and a transnational commemoration, how it defined national identity, as well as how it was transmitted within museum exhibitions, digital spaces, and amongst younger generations. In doing so, this volume reflects on the ’collaborative turn’ taking place within public history, and its implications for cooperation between the academy and the public.

Lucy Noakes is the Rab Butler Chair and Professor of Modern History at the University of Essex. She researches the experiences and memory of the twentieth-century’s two total wars in Britain and is President of the Royal Historical Society.