Echoes of the ‘Great War’

World War One is often characterised in the popular memory through the narrative of trench warfare on the Western Front. However, it was a global war fought by imperialist powers, ranging from Africa and the Middle East to the South Pacific. These conflicts, essentially struggles to create or maintain empires, shaped the modern world, not only for the warring powers but crucially for their colonial ‘subjects’. We live with the resonances of WW1 today, from Rwanda to Kurdistan and from Palestine to Iraq.

In this event Bristol’s cultural links to WW1 are explored through the eyes of asylum seekers and refugees which defy the official narrative and glorification of ‘The Great War’. The impact of WW1 and its links to contemporary conflict are examined through the creation of digital stories which visibly express the real issues of displacement, identity and misery still felt today by Bristol’s residents.