Local heroes: war news and the construction of ‘community’ in Britain, 1914-18

Abstract

Historians have often argued that mass mobilization in First World War Britain was only made possible by a conspiracy of silence as to ‘the realities of war’ on the part of the press barons and the government. This article, focusing on the city of Liverpool and its environs as a case study, argues instead that British civilians had a surprisingly accurate view of the trench experience, fostered both by soldiers' correspondence and the local press. It goes on to argue that local newspapers were integral in sustaining community-focused narratives of combat – largely through the manipulation of heroism – that made bereavement bearable, war intelligible and mobilization possible.