Senate House, London
5 – 6 September 2018

The extraordinary death tolls suffered on the fighting fronts of the First World War gave rise to unprecedented levels of loss for individuals and communities across Europe and the wider world. Indeed, bereavement became so widespread during the conflict that it can rightly be regarded as one of the defining experiences of the war. Historians have had relatively little to say about wartime loss, however, and the bereaved have not been widely acknowledged or remembered during the centenary commemorations of the conflict.

In order to shed light on this much-overlooked theme, a conference will be held at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, London on 5 and 6 September that will bring historians and community groups together to explore maternal bereavement as a result of the war, an experience that was understood to be particularly painful and difficult to come to terms with. The conference will be held as part of an ongoing community project, Motherhood, Loss and the First World War, funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and led by Big Ideas, the London Centre for Public History and the Institute of Historical Research.

Proposals for papers on relevant themes in the form of 400-word abstracts should be sent to edward.madigan@rhul.ac.uk by 20 June 2018.

Download poster: CFP Motherhood Loss and the First World War