WWII Bombing of British Cities and Contested Remembrance

6 August 2024

The latest volume in the UCL Institute of Archaeology PhD Series, published by BAR, highlights research by John Sharrock on the civilian experience of WWII and its commemoration since 1945.

Bookcover for WWII Bombing of British Cities and Contested Remembrance (blue background with white text and an image of a brick memorial)

John Sharrock's new book听focuses on the myth of the Blitz as experienced today, especially in the context of civilian deaths.

The volume听contends that the substantial civilian toll of the bombing of British cities in WWII has become marginalised by the evolution, political deployment, and resonance of the myth of the Blitz. This is achieved through interdisciplinary methodologies including historiography, the archaeology of remembrance, and agency analysis.

Research among remembrance activists and communities exposes how myth is simplified by acts of commemoration, the exposure of private memory in public form, and an archaeology of civilian remembrance.

According to reviewers:

鈥�The study makes an original and significant contribution to understanding the prevailing narrative of the 鈥楤litz spirit鈥� and its neglect of civilian wartime experience and casualties. Its strengths lie in its multi-stranded analysis of the development of civilian remembrance and its use of an explicitly archaeological approach, concentrating on the physical memorials to the dead."

John is currently an Independent Researcher having听completed his听PhD with us in 2022.

Recent volumes

Red bookcover with white text giving author and title of book, central image of human bones

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Red bookcover with white text indicating bok title, author etc. A central image showing three light-coloured china vases

Blue bookcover with white text indicating book title, author etc. Central image of a pair of hands holding a museum object

Blue bookcover with white text indicating author, title of book etc. Central image of stained glass and a piece of equipment in front of it

Blue bookcover with white text indicating book title, author etc. Central image a landscape of heather with green fields and the sea beyond (Wales)

The aim of the UCL Institute of Archaeology PhD series, published by BAR, is to offer rapid publication of largely unaltered PhD theses. It covers the full range of subject areas studied at the Institute, including world archaeology, archaeological science, cultural heritage, conservation and museum studies. It makes data, analyses and interpretation available promptly to a wide audience.听听