‘Lest we forget’: The spatial dynamics of the church and churchyard as commemorative spaces for the war dead in the twentieth century

Abstract

War memorials both inhabit and construct complex memorial landscapes. They were often added to pre-existing Victorian, Edwardian, or earlier public spaces and may share proximity with a variety of successive commemorative material cultures. The relationships between war memorials and existing commemorative spaces are most apparent however in churches, churchyards, and cemeteries. War memorials were erected not only in attempts to ‘fit in’ with these existing and traditional spaces of commemoration, but they also altered and created new spaces, which have determined later commemorative strategies. The importance of the church, churchyard, and cemetery as a focus for the commemoration of the war dead is also reflected in the inclusion of many of the names and biographies of those who died upon family headstones, and with memorial tablets and plaques being erected inside the churches themselves. This paper will draw upon a full range of evidence from a large sample of over 5000 war memorials in Devon, UK, focusing on those found within churches, churchyards, and cemeteries to discuss the shifting dynamics and significance of religious spaces.

Keywords:

• war memorials
• commemoration
• spatial dynamics
• biographies