Why Were War #Memorials Built To Remember #WW1 - Interview with Dr Corinna Peniston-Bird (2014)

An expert from Lancaster University's History Department explains that war memorials built after the First World War were not only created to commemorate those who died.

Before the Great War, memorials were uncommon and only several were built to commemorate the Boer War.

However, after the First World War, thousands of villages and towns across the UK wanted their own memorial to remember those who died in the conflict.

A memorialisation boom emerged in the 1920s and is still continuing to this day with new memorials being created for losses endured in more recent conflicts.

Dr Corinna Peniston-Bird from Lancaster University's History Department says that memorials were built to support the living.

As bodies were not allowed to be brought home and soldiers had to stay where they had fallen on the battlefields, the war memorials acted as a grave which families could visit.

Dr Peniston-Bird told The Bay's Amy Scarisbrick that building the memorials allowed families to come to terms with loss. Audio is property of The Bay/ CN Group and has been uploaded for portfolio purposes.