Making Sense of the Great War: Crisis, Englishness and Morale

Dr Alex Mayhew discusses the ways that ordinary soldiers on the Western Front viewed the First World War and their place within the conflict.

Soldiers on the Western Front endured some of the toughest conditions that combatants have ever faced. In this insightful talk, Dr Alex Mayhew will explore how they sought to survive, what their war experience meant to them, and how they perceived the conflict.

While the trenches in which they fought have come to symbolise the futility and hopelessness of the war, Dr Mayhew will demonstrate that British (particularly English) infantrymen rarely interpreted their experiences in this manner. In doing so, he will reveal the ways in which they navigated the crises that confronted them and crafted meaningful narratives about their service.

About the speaker

Alex Mayhew

Dr Alex Mayhew is an Assistant Professor in Modern European History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He previously taught at the University of Birmingham, running their MA in First World War Studies, a course that was delivered at the National Army Museum.