47 - Oh What a lovely War

What happens when three historians watch a key play about the First World War? This month we took a field trip to see Oh What A Lovely War at the Leeds Playhouse. As a result we discuss the nature of the performance, the changing image of Douglas Haig, and wonder whether audiences were supposed to sing along. ReferencesAlan Clark, The Donkeys (1961) John McCrae, In Flanders Field (1915) William Phillpot, Bloody Victory: The Sacrifice on the Somme and the Making of the Twentieth Century (2010) Dan Todman, The Great War in Myth and Memory (2005) Oh! What a lovely war (Original London Cast) (1983)  

What opportunities did the First World War provide for cultural tourism? This month Angus, Jessica and Chris speak to Allison Bennett, winner of the 2023 Gail Braybon Award for her work on war-time cross-cultural sexual encounters during the First World War. Along the way we discuss #MeToo, and the post-war legacies of these encounters for families, and the popularity of the Pyramids and camels as a tourist attractions. References:GallipoliPeter Stanley, Bad CharactersAlexia Moncrieff, Expertise, Authority and ControlAlan Beyerchen and Emre Spencer (eds.), Expeditionary Forces in the First World WarTomas Irish, Universities at WarRudyard Kipling, KimThe Arabian Nights

What happens when you turn a First World War medical process into a computer game?   This month Angus, Jessica, and Chris take control of wartime medicine in the game War Hospital. Along the way we discuss the importance of evacuation, difficult ethical decisions, and why Chris' conscience is completely clear. If you listen to this episode and share it on social media you can also win a free copy of the game!   References: War Hospital (2024) An Unequal Burden, Jessica Meyer (2019) Regeneration, Pat Barker (1991)

What happens when you turn the French experience of the war into a cooperative game? This month Jessica, Angus, and Chris played The Grizzled a cooperative game focused on guiding a group of French soldiers through the war. Along the way they discuss the morale boosting merits of different drinks, the difference between physical and mental traumas, and whether they are now obliged to design their own British version. References:The Grizzled Meyer, Jessica, Kempshall, Chris, Pöhlmann, Markus: Life and Death of Soldiers , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War Kempshall, Chris: Le Poilu , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War Meyer, Jessica, Kempshall, Chris, Pöhlmann, Markus: Life and Death of Soldiers , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War Smith, Leonard V. Between Mutiny and Obedience: The Case of the French Fifth Infantry Division During World War I (2003) Tardi, Jaques Goddam this war! (2013) War Hospital  

What happens when you set a telenovela in First World War France?  This month Chris, Angus and Jessica review the Netflix limited series Les Combattantes (Women at War). Along the way, we discuss untranslatable words, the relationship between war atrocities and propaganda, recreational drug use, and the excellent communication links of a small-town convent. References: Women at war, (2022)The Bonfire of Destiny, (2019)RH Mottram, The Spanish Farm,  (1924)John Horne and Alan Kramer, German Atrocities, 1914: A history of denial (2001) Lukasz Kamienski, Shooting Up: A history of drugs in warfare (2016) 

What should we take from a First World War documentary?   Following our adventure to Canada for the International Society for First World War Studies conference, we welcome Prof Robert Burgoyne to discuss his keynote paper on the Peter Jackson film They Shall Not Grow Old (2018).   Along the way, we explore the ways in which war films can quote from each other, differences in structure to the film 1917, and the importance of audience expectations when creating a historical piece.   ReferencesRobert Burgoyne, The New American War Film (2023) Santanu Das, ‘Colors of the Past: Archive, Art and Amnesia in a Digital Era’, American Historical Review 124.5 (2019) Otto Dix, Der Krieg (1924) Adrian Gregory, The Silence of Memory (1994) Samuel Hynes, A War Imagined (1991) Peter Jackson, They Shall Not Grow Old (1918)Sam Mendes, 1917 (1919) Bal Mieke, Quoting Caravaggio: Contemporary Art, Preposterous History (1999) Lewis Millstone, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Stephen Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan (1930) Allison Tanine, ‘Digital Film Restoration and the Politics of Whiteness in Peter Jackson’s, They Shall Not Grow Old’, Quarterly Review of Film and Video 39.5 (2021) Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier (1918)

How did the First World War inspire the horror genre?   This month we welcome W. Scott Poole (Charleston) to discuss his 2018 book Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror. Along the way we discuss the American experience of war, the importance of J'Accuse, and the political affiliations of 20th century zombies.

What happens when you send Indiana Jones into the First World War? In this episode, we are joined by Thomas Riddle. Thomas runs the website indyintheclassroom.com (which aims to provide teachers with resources to integrate everyone’s favourite archaeologist into the classroom) to discuss the 1990s TV series ‘The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles’. Along the way we discuss the show as an educational tool, the many historical figures that appear in the series, and the importance of learning foreign languages! References:The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1996) Samuel Hynes, The Soldiers' Tale: Bearing Witness to Modern War (Allen Lane, 1997)

How do you create a biopic of one of the most famous First World War poets?   This month we're joined by Dr Jane Potter (Oxford Brookes) to discuss the 2021 film Benediction about the life of Siegfried Sassoon.   Along the way we explore the long shadow of Regeneration, soldiers in drag, and the brilliance of Edith Sitwell. We also get very excited by a surprise cameo from the star of a previous episode!   References: Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023) Benediction’ is a shattering biopic of the English war poet Siegfried Sassoon, LA Times  Benediction review – Terence Davies’ piercingly sad Siegfried Sassoon drama, The Guardian Brian Bond, The Unquiet Western Front (2008) Edith Sitwell, Wheels (1919) Jane Potter, Selected Letters of Wilfred Owen (2023) Regeneration, dir by Gillies MacKinnon (1997) Siegfried Sasson, The Complete Memoirs of George They Shall Not Grow Old, dir by Peter Jackson (2018)

What do you get when you cross Journey's End with Brideshead Revisited? This month Angus, Chris and Jessica review Alice Winn's best-selling new novel, In Memoriam. The book follows  Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood from public school and through the war. Half-German, Gaunt's mother asks him to enlist in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks. He signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him into the horrors of trenches. Though Ellwood and Gaunt find fleeting moments of solace in one another, their friends are dying in front of them, and at any moment they could be next. Along the way we discuss class, conscription and the difficulties of describing the boredom and violence of war in popular fiction. References1917 (2019) A.J. Evans, The Escaping ClubAlfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A. H. H (1850) Alice Winn, In Memoriam (2023) All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) Charles Carrington, A Subaltern's WarErnst Younger, Storm of Steel (1929) Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited Ian Isherwood, Remembering the Great War (2017) In Memoriam by Alice Winn review, The Guardian (12 March 2023) Justin Fantauzzo and Robert L. Nelson (2016), 'A Most Unmanly War: British Military Masculinity in Macedonia, Mesopotamia and Palestine, 1914-18', Gender & History 28(3): 587-603, DOI: 10.1111/1468-0424.12240 Second Lieutenant Kenneth Macardle Heartstopper (2022) Max Plowman, A Subaltern on the SommePat Barker, Regeneration Trilogy (1991-1995) Peaky Blinders RC Sherriff, Journey’s End (1928) Rupert Brookes, Goodbye to All That (1929) Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man (1929) Star Trek Stephen Fry, The LiarThe Gallows Pole (2023) The Great Escape (1963) The History Boys (2006) This is Spinal Tap (1984) This Is the Week That Was Pat Barker, Regeneration Trilogy (1991-1995)