Commemorating the Second World War in Britain: Problems of Definition

Abstract

Day, November 11th, lay ahead when in the autumn of 1945 the British Home Office turned its mind to the commemoration of the World War, just ended. Armistice Day was the day on which the significance of the Great War of 1914-1918 had annually been remembered in Britain in remembrance ceremonies up and down the country, from the Cenotaph in Whitehall to the humble village memorial.' The issue before the Home Office was clear: should the Second World War be simply bolted on to the well-established ceremonies, though these had been in abeyance since 1939, or was it important to find a new day and thus signify, in whatever manner might be appropriate, that this people's war had a different order of meaning? In the event, though as will be seen not without consideration of alternatives, no separate day was identified. On Remembrance Sunday it has been the national custom ever since to reflect on the sacrifice made by the dead in two world wars. Such a public emphasis has had its enduring historiographical accompaniment. It is well-known that by the 1930s, if not earlier, British historians had largely turned away from that eager willingness to pin