Local heroes: war news and the construction of ‘community’ in Britain, 1914-18

Finn, Michael (2010) Local heroes: war news and the construction of ‘community’ in Britain, 1914-18. Historical Research, 83 (221). pp. 520-538. ISSN 09503471

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Abstract

Historians have often argued that mass mobilization in First World War Britain was only made possible by a conspiracy of silence as to ‘the realities of war’ on the part of the press barons and the government. This article, focusing on the city of Liverpool and its environs as a case study, argues instead that British civilians had a surprisingly accurate view of the trench experience, fostered both by soldiers’ correspondence and the local press. It goes on to argue that local newspapers were integral in sustaining community-focused narratives of combat – largely through the manipulation of heroism – that made bereavement bearable, war intelligible and mobilization possible

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education
Depositing User:	Susan Murray
Date Deposited:	06 Mar 2014 09:53
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2024 11:30
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/167

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