The messages sent by British soldiers of the First World War to their loved ones back home have long been valued for what they tell us about daily life in the trenches. But their authors were often at pains not to reveal too much of the horror they endured. Anthony Fletcher considers what these documents reveal about the men’s inner lives.
David Powell establishes a clear path through the historiographical maze
Mark Bryant looks at the artist behind one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
Hugh Purcell looks at how, 90 years ago, the British Empire rejected the principle of racial equality on which the Commonwealth is now based.
Richard Cavendish records how Germany sank its own navy in the aftermath of the First World War, on 21 June 1919.
‘We don’t want cinemas, we want peace.’ David Woodward introduces a little-known First World War insurrection in the Austro-Hungarian fleet, framing it within the context of that empire’s multicultural makeup and the revolutionary spirit of the times.
Following her execution by firing squad in Belgium in 1915, Edith Cavell's body was eventually brought back from Brussels to England on May 15th, 1919.
John Etty questions whether Serb nationalism was an irresistible force that helped unleash the First World War.
Alan Sharp looks at the factors shaping national policies in the weeks preceding the Paris Peace Conference, when the failure of the victorious allies to agree on aims and a process for negotiations with the Germans resulted in a ‘tragedy of disappointment’.
Richard Wilkinson recreates the contest that marked, and marred, the British war effort in 1914-18.
