From 'On the Trail of the Tommies' at The Long, Long Trail website
In October 2013 the BBC unveiled its plans for 130 newly commissioned programmes, spanning almost 2,500 hours of broadcast, to mark the centenary of the Great War. It was the start of what has been a relentless barrage of media coverage of the commemoration events and the key moments of the war in 1914. Many of us who are in some way involved in the history of the war expected a major increase in public interest and participation, but to me it seemed that the barrage began so early in 2014 and remained at such a high pitch throughout the year that it became, if anything, a bit tiresome.
It was great to see and hear of the myriad projects and activities going on; to be amazed at the sheer numbers of people going to see the poppies at the Tower of London, for example – what an extraordinary change from when I first became interested in the Great War back in the early 80s, when it seemed all but forgotten. Some of the TV and radio output has been splendid, entertaining and enjoyable stuff.
But really, has all this outpouring of coverage and all the money spent actually achieved anything? The BBC’s Tony Hall said it would be “a chance for us all to learn something new about a war we think we know well”. I can’t say that I am convinced that it has made one iota of difference. Has all that Heritage Lottery money poured into local projects encouraged new understanding? Well no, I don’t think so. Add to that the Royal British Legion and its poppy appeal being increasingly positioned to equate to support for today’s military ventures, I sense that if anything the old it-was-all-a-waste-lions-led-by-donkeys-they-were-all-heroes mottos have been strengthened. It seems to me that popular belief about the Great War is all about poppies and deaths and, as the “Independent” newspaper put it today, “imperial cannon fodder”. How much TV time was dedicated to that truly extraordinary national achievement, the raising of the new armies in 1914? Not much. How much have you heard of the Royal Navy and the economic blockade of Germany that began in earnest during the latter part of the year? Probably nothing. The old myths lie largely unchallenged, and indeed in the recent case of football at Christmas, has been reinforced. Ask the average man or woman in the street what they now know and understand about 1914 and I’m willing to bet that it is not much more than they knew and understood on 1 January 2014.
But it is no good complaining at the programme makers, as I have heard and seen so many historians do in 2014, for their inaccuracies and misrepresentations. I; we; you, professors and lecturers and authors; the Western Front Association and the Gallipoli Association and the rest: we have to shout louder, make points more forcibly, to correct the myths and ideally to make sure the messages are heard before programmes are made; before exhibitions are held; before commemorations take place. Twittering about it after the event seems an almost pointless exercise.
1915 was a terrible, bitter year. The appalling misconception and muddle that was Gallipoli. The overstretch and decisive defeat in Mesopotamia. Mountains of bodies on the Western Front for no gain worth mentioning. The barbarity that was poison gas. It’s going to be a hard year in which to find any notion of cheer or success to commemorate. Let us hope and do our part to ensure that the historical truths are exposed and that by 1 January 2016 people will say, “yes, I did learn something last year; I did change my views”.
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