This book examines a diverse set of civic war memorials in North East
England commemorating three clusters of conflicts: the Crimean War and
Indian Rebellion in the 1850s; the 'small wars' of the 1880s; and the
Boer War from 1899 to 1902. Encompassing a protracted timeframe and
embracing disparate social, political and cultural contexts, it analyses
how and why war memorials and commemorative practices changed during
this key period of social transition and imperial expansion. In
assessing the motivations of the memorial organisers and the narratives
they sought to convey, the author argues that developments in war
commemoration were primarily influenced by - and reflected - broader
socio-economic and political transformations occurring in
nineteenth-century and early-twentieth century Britain.