Hear from leading historians about how First and Second World War have shaped Britain

People can hear from leading historians about the enormous impact the First and Second World Wars had on society as part of a fascinating free discussion event.

The conflicts led to a redefinition of British identity and the role of UK in the modern world and continue to have an impact on contemporary politics.

Both wars have left a rich legacy in a range of media that continue to attract a wide audience, as well as personal and family memories, with stories being recounted through generations.

During the event Professor Lucy Noakes, from the University of Essex and President of the Royal Historical Society, and Professor Catriona Pennell, from the University of Exeter, will reflect on how the wars have shaped cultural memory in Britain over the past century.

This in-person event is part of the Royal Historical Society’s visit to historians who teach, research, and study at the Cornwall Campus of the University of Exeter.

It will be held on Wednesday, May 21 from 4:30 to 6:30pm in the Old Chapel Lecture Theatre, at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus.

Professor Noakes researches the experience and memory of those who have lived through conflict, with a particular focus on the First and Second World Wars. As a specialist in the history of modern Britain, she researches the experience and memory of those who have lived through conflict, with a particular focus on the First and Second World Wars. Her recent monographs include Dying for the Nation. Death, Grief and Bereavement in Second World War Britain (2020) and War and the British: Gender, Memory and National Identity 1939-1991 (revised edition 2023). Her latest book, The People’s Victory: VE Day Through the Eyes of Those Who Were There, is published in May 2025.

Professor Pennell specialises in the history of 19th and 20th-century Britain and Ireland with a particular focus on the relationship between war, empire, experience, and memory. Her many publications include the books A Kingdom United: Popular Responses to the Outbreak of the First World War in Britain and Ireland (2012) and the edited collection, A World at War, 1911-1949. Explorations in the Cultural History of War (2019). Her current research explores the relationship between youth, education and the transmission of cultural memory particularly in conflict and post-conflict societies.

Book a ticket for the event at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cultural-memory-and-the-two-world-wars-in-britain-tickets-1312976079799?aff=oddtdtcreator