Hutted Histories: Lest We Forget? The Commemoration & Care of First World War Dead with Dr Megan Kelleher

Founded in 1917, the organisation now known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is arguably the first organisation of its kind. Today, it operates in over 150 countries and territories worldwide with sites at more than 23,000 locations. While many individuals will be familiar with its work overseas at sites in France and Belgium, the work undertaken by the Commission in the United Kingdom has been unrepresented in public memory; this is in spite of the second highest number of commemorations by the

Commission globally being found here, with more than 300,000 war dead remembered in Britain at over 10,000 locations. The talk seeks to redress this gap.

Utilising a case study-based approach, the talk will provide an introduction to the commemorative spaces for war dead buried in the United Kingdom, and how these sites both conform to and contrast with the sites of memory associated with the British experience of the two World Wars, and in particular the legacy of the Western Front.

Among the conversations occurring between the bereaved and the Commission in the organisation’s Enquiries Files, the legacy and memory of First World War dead who were buried closer to home and the negotiations that occurred between the Commission and

relevant governments, including the creation of Cannock Chase German War Cemetery in Staffordshire.

Biography

Dr Megan Kelleher recently completed her PhD at the University of Kent. Her thesis, entitled ‘The Commemoration and Care of First World War dead buried in the United Kingdom through the lens of the Organisational Culture of the Imperial War Graves Commission, 1917-1939,’ focused on death and bereavement practices in Britain after the First World War, in addition to the interactions between the bereaved and the Imperial (later known as Commonwealth) War Graves Commission.

Megan’s research interests include death and bereavement practices in relation to modern conflict, in addition to war dead commemorated at home. She hopes to further this research through additional study of wider commemoration and bereavement practices across Europe, as well as comparative studies of First and Second World War commemoration.

In addition to her academic work, she is the Historian and Academic Access Manager at the Royal Air Force Museum. She was previously employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, working initially as one of their Centenary Interns based in Belgium prior to being part of their Public Engagement team and their charitable arm, the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation. She also works for the British Association for Local History, where she is their Digital Strategy Coordinator.