First world war

‘Elite v plebs’: the Oxford rivalries of boys who would never grow up to be men

A feud at Balliol College ended for ever when all five involved died in the first world war. Now the tale is to be told on the London stage

Richard Brooks

26, Sep, 2021 @7:45 AM

The kaiser and the paperweight: how Cecil Rhodes helped inspire the first world war

The German monarch’s imperial ambitions were fuelled by the British colonialist – as the story behind a recently discovered relic reveals

Daniel Boffey in Doorn

19, Sep, 2021 @5:00 AM

The War Below review – plucky shot at telling amazing story of wartime tunnellers

Real-life account of miners recruited in the first world war to burrow beneath German lines is fascinating does well on a limited budget

Phil Hoad

08, Sep, 2021 @2:59 PM

What should Britain’s memorial to the Covid pandemic look like? | Eddie Blake

After the first world war whole villages were built in remembrance, says Eddie Blake, director of architecture and research practice at Studio Palace

Eddie Blake

01, Jun, 2021 @7:00 AM

Australia teeters on the edge of a great memorial abyss | Paul Daley

The erosion of the national archives is indicative of Australia’s increasing militarisation of history and culture

Paul Daley

28, May, 2021 @4:21 AM

Poem of the week: The Unconquered Dead by John McCrae

This first world war poem remains loyal to the patriotic ethos of its time, but the human cost of combat is never denied

Carol Rumens

17, May, 2021 @10:00 AM

Letter: Lyn Macdonald obituary

Brian Harding writes: Lyn coaxed many veterans who had remained silent about their experiences to speak out for the first time by convincing them that their stories were important

Brian Harding

16, May, 2021 @4:03 PM

Melting ice reveals first world war relics in Italian Alps

Accelerating retreat of glaciers in Lombardy and Trentino Alto-Aldige reveals preserved history of ‘White War’

Angela Giuffrida in Stelvio national park

04, May, 2021 @6:00 AM

‘Silenced’ voice of Great War poet to be heard for first time

Ivor Gurney’s writings from an asylum were ignored. But a new study reveals their genius

Donna Ferguson

02, May, 2021 @9:00 AM

Equal honours for officers and men | Letter

Letters: Trevor Lindley on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s commitment to equal treatment of all ranks in memorials

Letters

26, Apr, 2021 @4:32 PM

Britain’s failure to honour black and Asian dead is a scandal of the present, not just the past | David Olusoga

Why did it take our TV documentary to push the Commonwealth War Graves Commission into righting a wrong they had long known about?

David Olusoga

25, Apr, 2021 @8:00 AM

The Anzac who spoke truth to power and called for an end to the war | Paul Daley

Private Ted Ryan stands as a talisman for today’s personnel, whose masters have deployed and redeployed them, to their enduring detriment