Event    From 4/8/1914  To 11/11/1918

World War 1

Categories: Armed Forces, Tragedy

We'd always assumed that this war was known as the Great War until WW2 came along at which point it was renamed as World War One or the First World War. But the term was first used in print in 1920 as the title of a book, 'The First World War' by Charles à Court Repington. He was using it to emphasize the global nature of the war rather than its sequential nature.

Different memorials give different years for the end of WW1. The Armistice came into force at 11am on 11 November 1918 and fighting ceased on the western front but hostilities continued elsewhere. The Treaty of Versailles, signed by Germany and some of the allied powers following the Paris Peace Conference, was not until 28 June 1919.

The war did not officially end in the UK until 31 August 1921, as explained at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: "When the Termination of the Present War (Definition) Act 1918 was passed by Parliament, it gave discretion to His Majesty in Council to declare the date of the termination of the war. Consequently, war with each of the Central Powers ended close to the date of the ratification of the various peace treaties. Although a treaty with Turkey had yet to be ratified, it was decided that 31 August 1921 ‘should be treated as the date of the termination of the present War’. As the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) was charged with responsibility for the graves of service personnel who died between the outbreak and end of the War, this meant that those casualties of the First World War who died after 31 August 1921 fell outside the remit of the Commission."

Note - it seems to be just a lucky poetic chance that the Armistice coincides with "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month". Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated on November 9th, presumably not thinking "just in time for a poetically-timed Armistice".

For some signs of WW1 on buildings in London see Spitalfields Life.

2024: We've just come across the London World War 1 Memorial - looks like it could be a great resource.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
World War 1

Commemorated ati

24th London Division - memorial

These 3 figures are said to be modelled on the soldier poets: Robert Graves, ...

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8th London Howitzers

The way this monument meets the sloping ground has been well thought out: a s...

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Abney Park - CWGC war memorial

The screen wall at the back, south, of the memorial carries a number of bronz...

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African and Caribbean Armed Forces

Unveiled on Windrush Day. A very simple design, we think the horizontal obeli...

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Air raid

Very small plaque on the doorframe.

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Other Subjects

Lieutenant Austen Gardner Shaw

Lieutenant Austen Gardner Shaw

Austen Gardner Shaw was born on 26 January 1917, the younger of the two children of Herbert Shaw and May Shaw née Gardner. His birth was registered in the 1st quarter of 1917 in the Barnet Registra...

Person, Armed Forces, France, Indonesia

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
Flying Officer Thomas Cambell Beswick

Flying Officer Thomas Cambell Beswick

Thomas Cambell Beswick was born on 18 August 1920, the youngest of the three children of Thomas Beswick (1873-1961) and Mary Beswick née Cambell (1877-1932). His elder siblings were: Mary Beswick (...

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW2
1 memorial
Donald Blakeslee

Donald Blakeslee

Colonel Donald James Matthew Blakeslee was born on 11 September 1917 in Fairport Harbor, Lake County, Ohio, USA, the eldest of the three sons of James Harold Blakeslee (1897-1953) and Maria Fanny B...

Person, Armed Forces, USA

War served, WW2
1 memorial
R. J. Rouse

R. J. Rouse

Resident of Hendon who served and died in WW2.

Person, Armed Forces

War dead, WW2
1 memorial
A. Wilds

A. Wilds

Co-partner or employee of the South Suburban Gas Company. Served but did not die in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW1
1 memorial

Previously viewed

Anna Kendall

Anna Kendall

Headteacher of Christ Church Primary School, 1992 - 2009. The image comes from a 2010 interview.

Person, Children, Education

2 memorials
Arthur George Walker

Arthur George Walker

Sculptor and painter. Born Hackney. Other work in London: Heston war memorial.

Person, Art, Sculpture

7 memorials
Eliza Yeates

Eliza Yeates

Eliza (or Elizabeth) Yeates was born Horton, daughter of William Willson Yeates. See there for information about her family. Buried in St Michaels churchyard Horton, 1 December 1834. 

Person, Children, Friend / family

1 memorial
John Constable

John Constable

Painter. Born in East Bergholt, on the Essex/Suffolk border. From 1819 Constable spent much of his time in Hampstead and many of his finest paintings are of Hampstead landscapes. He died in Fitzrov...

Person, Art, Seriously Famous

5 memorials
Lewisham Clock Tower

Lewisham Clock Tower

SE13, Lewisham High Street

In 1995 the tower was moved slightly from its original location to accommodate road layout changes. A drawing of 1900 shows it in its ori...

1 subject commemorated, 7 creators