Visiting and Revisiting the Western Front is a crowd-sourcing project exploring the history of battlefield tourism and pilgrimage during the 1920s and 1930s. The project was devised by Professor Mark Connelly and supported by a team of volunteer researchers who searched for stories in three digital collections: the British Newspaper Archive, Irish Newspaper Archives and the National Library of Australia digitised newspaper collection, Trove. The research allowed new insights to be made into a number of areas, including motivations for visits to the battlefields, the practicalities of travel, and the variety of reactions to the experiences of visiting the sites and to the changing landscapes in the area. The project uncovered the deep significance of the battlefields to British and Australian culture during the 1920s and 1930s.
Download copies of the booklets here:
Visiting and Revisiting the Western Front 1919-39
Visiting and Revisiting the Western Front 1919-29: The Experience of Australians
The booklets were launched at an event at Westgate Hall, Caterbury, on 8th February 2018.
The research team consisted of: Peter Alhadeff, Mark Allen, Hazel Basford, James Brazier, Susan Brazier, Mark Connelly, Steve Dale, Charles Davis (Australia), Malcolm Doolin, Valerie Ellis, Tim Godden, Simon Gregor, Jan Johnson, Richard Johnson, Andrew Johnston, Gill Joye, Roger Joye, Pat O'Brien, Stephen Miles, Jon Palmer, Julie Seales, Jonathan Vernon.
