When I studied for a degree with the Open University a few years ago when these things were cheaper than they are now I learned about, among many other things, how we commemorate the dead of our wars. It’s a fascinating thing to look at and much of it revolves around what was done at the end of WW1 when the number of dead was much greater than it had ever been. The Searchers by Robert Sackville-West is an account of what was done by the British to find, recover, identify and memorialise the dead of the war. It’s a fascinating story and the author presents the overall history as well as some very touching personal stories to humanise it.
From early in WW1 it was obvious that not all the bodies of the dead could be repatriated from the area of the fighting. A decision was made at the highest level that no family would be allowed to bring back to Britain the body of their son – in previous wars those with the means had done this and the remains of the others were lost. Systems were set up to record where bodies had been temporarily buried and as the war came to a close these were gathered together into the cemeteries which are still administered and kept up by the British and Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
This book describes the administration and systems which had to be put in place to identify as many bodies as possible and to relocate them. It also discusses the decisions that were made about the design of tombstones, how memorials should look and the words which would be used. It also talks about the memorials in Britain such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Cenotaph and how they came about and the controversy that both caused when they were first conceived. The book reminds us that the two minute silence is more honoured today than it was in its early days along with the wearing of poppies. The author also looks at what has been done in the hundred years since the war ended to identify bodies which are still being uncovered and to correct some mistakes made at the time.
This book is about commemoration and how we come to terms as a nation with the tragedy of war and the death of young men and how we try to give it all some meaning. I found it very thought provoking and it will certainly inform my thinking every time I see a war grave or a war memorial.
The author has also written an excellent account of the history of his dysfunctional family (see here). I also read a book about the introduction of the two minute silence and the after effects of WW1 by Juliet Nicholson (see review here).
Anne Is Reading 