Ritual, remembrance and war: Social memory at Tyne Cot

Abstract

One of the social memories of the Great War of 1914–1918 focused on soldiers killed in battle, with military cemeteries forming important sites for remembrance. This paper reports the results of an analysis of the visitor books at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium, that was built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to hold almost 12,000 graves, most of which contain unidentified remains. Tourist’s comments in the books evidenced a strong linguistic ritual, expressing sadness, gratitude, approval of the site and promises to remember and never forget the dead. Very little critique of war, or overt nationalistic sentiment was indicated. While some national preferences for ritualized phrases were shown, there was also an indication of a globally shared memory.