Crosses and Stones

Material Religion in British First World War Cemeteries

Abstract

This article analyses the diverse religious messages conveyed by the physical layout and material details of British war cemeteries as they developed in the aftermath of the First World War. On the one hand the ubiquitous central monument of a sword within a cross conveyed an image of Christian militarism. This was reinforced by the orderly layout of the uniform headstones reminiscent of a regiment on parade.  Meanwhile the central memorial stones included in the larger cemeteries signified a more secular and pluralistic nationalism that gave tacit recognition to the presence of significant Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh casualties among the dead. The inscriptions on the individual headstones gave scope not only to recognise diverse religious identities, but also for the bereaved to include brief epitaphs. The substantial minority who used these to express reli-gious sentiments in general demonstrated a Christian faith that was more personal than nationalistic in tone. The article concludes with a brief comparison between British and French war cemeteries: paradoxically in view of the recent separation of church and state the latter used cruciform headstones except for non-Christian casualties thus highlighting diversity whereas the uniform rectangular headstones of the British cemeteries implicitly affirmed the solidarity of their dead.