Remembering, Recreating, Forgetting: Representing Uniforms in Contemporary English First and Second World War Museums

During the seventy-fifth anniversary of the First World War and the fiftieth anniversary of the Second World War in the 1990s, experiential exhibits became common practice throughout military and war museums in England. The recent centenary of the First World War and seventy-fifth anniversary of the Second World War have provided both the funding and impetus for museums to again re-evaluate their approaches to representing these conflicts. Using First and Second World War uniforms as focal points, this study examines trends in the practices of current war and military museums across England. As embodiments of people with lived experience of the world wars, uniforms provide a crucial lens through which the aims of war and military museums can be understood. These museums, alongside the opinions of the museum managers and curators who put them together, form the basis of this research. Using these, this thesis demonstrates both how, but also why, First and Second World War uniforms are represented as they are in current war and military museums in England. It highlights how these uniforms are used to emphasise the experiences and stories of individuals within overarching historical events and narratives. These representations of uniforms and individuals are not, however, universal, instead being developed around separate spheres of influence. War and military museums often operate closely with other, similar museums, typically defined by museum type, associated branch, or location, but have little to no links with museums outside of their sphere. The ways in which uniforms are represented are therefore shaped by these separate spheres. Despite this separation, this thesis demonstrates that First and Second World War uniforms are consistently physically and symbolically central throughout current war and military museums in England.