A Different Way of Remembering? Cultural Memory, Continuity, and Change in the First World War Centenary

This thesis explores how cultural memory of the First World War in Britain has changed in the digital age, and which elements have remained the same. Through a consideration of television programmes, websites, and social media posts, it reveals that longstanding aspects of cultural memory, primarily senses of futility and loss established in the 1960s, have remained entrenched in popular ideas about the conflict, and are now utilised in discussions about the war and its representations across the Internet. The number of people involved in discussions about the past is now greater than ever before, yet the online realm tends to exist as an echo chamber for popular ideas, rather than a debate ground for forming new ones. On television, representations of the war have remained largely consistent with pre-Centenary tropes. Some of the most novel developments during the Centenary included an increased focus on 'forgotten' histories, and programming aimed at the younger generations. The BBC in particular often found itself commemorating its own programming history almost as much as the war itself, a habit which tended to foreground familiar veteran testimony and wartime footage over revealing new insights into the conflict. Attempts to break this mould, such as programmes targeted at young people using visual techniques more often associated with video games, were met with some criticism for breaking with 'authentic' visions of the war. Yet, they are all evidence of moves away from old ideas. Online, websites have been viewed as creating a web of memory, with intersecting viewpoints evident across different platforms. While some websites are evident reservoirs of ongoing information beyond the Centenary, others have disappeared into digital oblivion. Thus, contemporary cultural memory is both a fluctuating and ephemeral phenomenon.