52 - Teaching the First World War

What makes a 50-year-old book on WWI still essential reading? In this episode, Angus, Jessica, and Chris are joined by Ian Isherwood and Steven Trout, authors of But It Still Goes On: Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory at 50. We revisit Fussell’s classic, exploring its legacy, impact, and the debates it continues to spark in the world of war literature and memory studies.   References:Ian Isherwood and Steven Trout, But it Still Goes On: Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory at 50, The Journal of Military History Paul Fussell, The Great War and Modern Memory --- Wartime: Understanding and Behavior in the Second World War--- Class: A Guide Through the American Status System--- Doing Battle: The Making of a SkepticFrederic Manning, Her Privates WeSiegfried Sassoon, The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston Max Ploughman, A Subaltern on the SommeRobert Graves, Goodbye To All ThatDan Todman, The Great War: Myth and MemoryRC Sherriff, Journey’s EndSamuel Hynes, A War ImaginedCharles Edmonds, A Subaltern's War

What happens when a controversial real-life figure becomes the centre of one of the BBC’s most politically charged wartime dramas? In this episode, we revisit The Monocled Mutineer (1986), Alan Bleasdale’s adaptation of the story of Percy Toplis — alleged ringleader of the 1917 Étaples mutiny. The four-part series drew huge audiences but quickly became a flashpoint in debates over historical accuracy, media bias, and the BBC’s role in shaping national memory. We unpack the drama’s reception, the historical evidence (or lack thereof) behind Toplis’s role in the mutiny, and how the show explored themes of class, power, and military discipline in the First World War. References:Emma Hanna, The Great War on the Small Screen: Representing the First World War in Contemporary Britain (2009) John Buchan, The 39 Steps (1915) William Hussey, The Boy I loved (2025) Boys from the Black Stuff (1982) Dope Girls (2025) The Crimson Field (2014) Hornblower (1998-2003) Masters of the Air (2024) Sharpe (1993-2008)

What was the real story behind the BBC series Dope Girls? In this episode of Oh What a Lovely Podcast, we dive into the world of Soho’s underground nightlife in the 1920s, as seen in the BBC’s new drama Dope Girls. The series takes inspiration from Marek Kohn’s book Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground and brings to life the turbulent years after the First World War, when jazz clubs, crime, and vice flourished in London. Joining us to separate fact from fiction is Professor Matthew Houlbrook, a leading historian of 20th-century Britain. We explore the real figures and stories behind Dope Girls, the shifting social landscape of post-war Britain, and how the show reflects the era’s struggles with gender, crime, and morality. References: Marek Kohn, Dope Girls: The Birth Of The British Drug Underground  Kate Atkinson, Shrines of Gaiety Matt Houlbrook, Queer London: Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957 Downton Abbey Robert Graves & Alan Hodge, The Long Weekend: A Social History of Great Britain 1918-1939 Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests

What happens when a late-twentieth-century detective novelist develops strong opinions about the First World War?   This month Angus, Jessica and Chris discuss Reginald Hill's The Wood Beyond (1995) and the short story 'Silent Night' from the collection A Candle for Christmas (2023). Along the way, we consider the significance of the genealogy boom to the historiography of the war, the politics of the Shot at Dawn campaign and the tradition of novelists inventing fictional regiments.   References: Midsummer Murders The Sweeney Who Do You Think You Are? Not Forgotten (2005-2009) Pat Barker, Regeneration (1991) Sebastian Japrisot, A Very Long Engagement (1994) Sebastian Faulks, Birdsong (1993) Blackadder Goes Forth (1983) The Monocled Mutineer (1986) Alan Clark, The Donkeys (1961) Reginald Hill, Arms and the Women (1999) ________. On Beulah Height (1998) ________. Recalled to Life (1992) ________. Exit Lines (1984) Helen McCartney, Citizen Soldiers: The Liverpool Territorials in the First World War (2005) Peter Simkins, Kitchener's Army: The Raising of the New Armies, 1914-1916 (2007) Arthur Marwick, The Deluge: British Society and the First World War (1965) Susan Grayzel, Women's Identities at War (1999) Tammy Proctor, Female Intelligence: Women and Espionage in the First World War (2003) Alison Fell, Women as Veterans in Britain and France after the First World War (2018) Oh! What a lovely podcast, Black Hand Gang Oh! What a lovely podcast, The Warm Hands of Ghosts

What happens when you combine the First World War with a 1970s cult sci-fi classic?   This month we watched 'Assignment 2' from the television series Sapphire & Steel which features a ghostly First World War soldier haunting an abandoned railway station. Along the way we discuss differing approaches to sacrifice, the idea of an 'unjust' death, and where the show sits on our ongoing 'creepy' list.

What do you do when a student brings you a collection of family papers in a Harrods tin?  This month, Chris, Angus and Jessica speak to Professor Ian Isherwood about his new book, The Battalion: Citizen Soldiers at War on the Western Front. Along the way, we discuss developing digital humanities projects, the involvement of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in rambling and the proliferation of bad war poetry. References: Ian Isherwood, The Battalion: Citizen Soldiers at War on the Western Front Ian Isherwood, The First World War Letters of H.J.C. Peirs Michael Roper, Afterlives of War: A Descendant's History

How do you walk people through First World War landscapes?   This month we welcome back Prof Mark Connelly to discuss his new walking tours endeavour Connelly Contours. Along the way we discuss war memorials in the London landscape, the evolution of remembrance, and if bad weather provides important context.

How do you teach the FIrst World War? This month we're joined by Dr Ann-Marie Einhaus and Prof Catriona Pennell to reflect on their 'First World War in the Classroom' project that explored the ways the conflict was taught in schools. Along the way we discuss the role of battlefield tours, the time constraints faced by teachers, and whether the centenary has changed the way the war is taught' References:The First World War in the Classroom: Teaching and the Construction of Cultural Memory  

Can you turn the First World War into sketch comedy? This month we talk to the public historian, podcaster, and author Greg Jenner. Along the way we discuss his work on the Horrible Histories television show, the difficulties of being funny about twentieth-century history, the different ways in which the public now consume history, and why Jessica might be considering changing career to become a comedian.   References:Horrible Histories (2008-Present) You're Dead to Me (2020-Present)

What happens when the First World War meets pulp science fiction?   This month we read the novel: Black Hand Gang (the first in the No Man's World trilogy) by Pat Kelleher. The book depicts a fictional battalion of British soldiers who are transported from the Somme to a strange alien world. As a result we discuss supernatural horror and the war, the use of slang, and whether this book was written explicitly for Chris.   References: Pat Kelleher, Black Hand Gang (No Man’s Word Book 1) (2011) Daniel Dafoe, Robinson Crusoe (1719) Dennis Wheatley, The Devil Rides Out (1934) Pat Barker, Regeneration (1991) Neil Gaiman, The Sandman (1989 - present) Juno Dawson, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven (2022) Reginal Hill, The Wood Beyond (1995) Blackadder Goes Forth, BBC TV (1989) Pat Mills, Charley’s War (1979-1986) Brian Lumbley HG Wells HP Lovecraft