Commemoration of the Great War on the Somme: Exploring personal connections

Abstract

After the Great War of 1914–18 social memories were created to assist people to grieve for, honor and remember the dead. Through processes of selection, articulation and rehearsal of information about the war’s events, thousands of memorials were created. Increasing numbers of tourists are showing interest in the Great War but may find difficulty in interpreting the memories articulated through the memorials by a previous generation. To accommodate these needs, new memorials have been built which focus on education and new forms of commemoration. This paper uses social memory theory to describe the processes through which tourism can engage in creating and perpetuating the memory of the Great War, and suggests how research can help to better understand tourists’ experiences.