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London at War: explore the city’s remarkable history during walks, talks and workshops

Events this May highlight varied experiences during war, from Zeppelin bombing raids to prostitution

From Zeppelin bombing raids to war-time prostitution, Birkbeck’s scholars will talk about varied experiences of war in London as part of a month-long series of events.

Many of the unexpected dimensions of the city’s past during the two world wars will be shared at the range of public activities throughout May.

Birkbeck academics will lead six of the 15 events in the London at War programme of walks, workshops, lectures, talks and film screenings. The series has been convened by the Raphael Samuel History Centre and some of the museums, archives and galleries that make up its History and Heritage Adult Learning Network.

Dr Matt Cook, of Birkbeck’s Department of History, Classics and Archaeology (HCA), and director of the Raphael Samuel History Centre, will be leading a walking tour round Soho and Fitzrovia with two HCA colleagues exploring prostitution, venereal disease and queer lives in the war-torn capital.

He said:  “We wanted to look at the city at war in different ways and different formats in the series of events. The impact of war on the sexual life of people in London is one dimension that tends to go unremarked. Other workshops and talks are looking at animal–human relations in the wars, at the tragic Bethnal Green Tube disaster, at the Bloomsbury group, and at how children fared. We’re really excited by the range of events and the ways the series will challenge and contribute to our understandings of London’s place in twentieth century conflict in this centennial year.”

London in the Great War

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Professor Jerry White, of Birkbeck’s Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, to celebrate the publication of his new book Zeppelin Nights: London in the First World War:

White’s account reveals, as never before, a city struggling, but also flourishing. He describes how the many threads of Britain’s war converged in the capital: munitions were manufactured, soldiers on their way to or from active service passed through in their hundreds of thousands, and refugees sought new lives. Then there were the citizens – patriots and pacifists, clergymen and thieves, bluestockings and prostitutes – all dependent on war’s shifting fortunes.

The spectrum of wartime life is covered in the book. War meant blackout and puritanical laws, but also nightclubs and a new sexual freedom. It brought the drama of aerial bombardment, anti-German riots, internment camps, American and colonial troops, and more guns than ever in the hands of criminals.

From frontline film to war memorials

Birkbeck’s academics will also share their expertise on many other aspects of war in the capital, and experts from elsewhere will lead other events at Birkbeck’s premises in Bloomsbury and Stratford. Highlights include:

  • Shell-shock, celluloid and WW1: the discomforts of being a spectator, Tuesday 20 May, 6pm-9pm
    Room 114, Birkbeck, 43 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PD
    This event is part of Birkbeck Arts Week 2014. 
    Reserve your place

    In 1918, the physician Hurst filmed shell-shocked soldiers at Netley hospital. The footage is generally presented as evidence of alarming illness. But a closer look reveals patients shamming their symptoms for the cameras, and laughing at their fellow invalids.

    Theatre expert and cultural critic Tiffany Watt-Smith explores how film-making was part of Hurst’s therapeutic approach and considers the uncomfortable role of the spectator in it.
  • Closing talk and reception: Bloomsbury at war, Tuesday 3 June, 6pm-7:30pm
    Keynes Library, Birkbeck, 43 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PD
    No need to book, everyone welcome

    Dr Jo Winning, of Birkbeck’s Department of English and Humanities, will talk about the Bloomsbury Set at War, followed by a drinks reception in the beautiful Keynes Library.

The Raphael Samuel History Centre is a partnership between Birkbeck, University of London; Bishopsgate Institute; Queen Mary, University of London; and the University of East London.

The London at War series has been made possible through the generous support of Higher Education Innovation Funding.

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