This year is the one hundredth anniversary of the start of the “Great War” or “First World War” as they had begun to call it by the end of the thing. That means there’s going to a lot of unbearable rubbish written sanitising the horror of millions of dead and casting it all in a patriotic glow.
Over the year I’m going to be doing bits and bobs around the commemorations and so it makes sense to link to some of the interesting content tat comes along in part to share some recommended reading with those who are interested and partly as a hand bookmark for myself.
Anyway, here’s eight articles that I thought were well worth reading.
- Billy Coltman was the most decorated NCO in the British Army to serve during WWI and yet he was a conscientious objector and never fired a shot. Here is part of his remarkable story.
- LibCom have a brilliant article about how many soldiers did their best to make the war as unwarlike as possible.
- I very much liked Patrick Harvie’s take on the centenary. This part in particular struck me as very well said; “I have no doubt that many who fought in the war did show bravery and, whether or not one considers it a virtue, patriotism. But it would be wrong to acknowledge that without also acknowledging that this war was no unfortunate tragedy, as Mr Gove suggests, but an atrocity perpetrated by the powerful leaders of both sides, and that they were willing to expend the lives of millions of their own citizens.”
- Dave Renton has written a historically enlightening piece on Horatio Bottomley, patriot and recruiter for the war effort. “Horatio Bottomley was a sincere believer in all things English. And like all genuine patriots he chose the best way to act on his patriotism which was to enrich himself as fast as he could. If he did so more fabulously than others it was only because better opportunities provided themselves to him. No sincere patriot in the long history of the word has ever acted differently when given the chance.”
- Mark Steel‘s brilliant riposte to Michael Gove’s bizarre attack on Black Adder Goes Forth. “Harry Patch, the last man alive who fought for the British in the war… said: “Politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to sett”le their differences themselves, instead of organising nothing better than legalised mass murder.”
- The Peace Pledge Union have a good set of resources detailing some of the stories of how conscientious objectors were treated.
- The BBC reveals it will show 2,500 hours of programming on the war over the next four years. Gulp.
- Green Left Weekly discusses the hidden history of Australian war refusers. Very interesting stuff. “Due to the Wobblies effective leadership in the anti-conscription campaign of 1916, the federal and state governments did all they could to destroy the group. In late 1916, just before the first referendum, the New South Wales government framed 12 leaders of the IWW on fabricated charges of sedition and plotting to burn down Sydney. The 12 were sentenced to between five and 15 years jail.”