Illustrated War News, 1914–1918 & 1939

Released during the First World War, The Illustrated War News (IWN) was an offshoot of The Illustrated London News (ILN). Published weekly between 1914 and 1918, The Illustrated War News re-appeared briefly throughout November 1939, the opening year of the Second World War. Staunchly patriotic, its coverage related to military matters, focusing on Britain’s armed forces and on national defence. The paper portrayed all of this through a combination of full-page (and often graphic) illustrations and photographs. This collection incorporates nearly 8,600 images from 195 issues of The Illustrated War News. These were published between August 1914 and April 1918, and during November 1939. This intriguing resource, which forms part of the series British Illustrated Periodicals, 1869–1970, sheds light on the British war efforts and their portrayal in the media.

The Illustrated War News covered a wide range of topics related to warfare, from the invention of new military technologies to humanitarian aid efforts, from armament manufacturing to the experiences of prisoners of war. It reported on multiple fronts (air, land, and sea) and on pivotal theatres of war (including Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific). The paper also published the work of many well-known war artists such as Richard Caton Woodville Jr., Henry Charles Seppings Wright, Charles Eddowes Turner, and Bryan de Grineau. The Illustrated War News illuminates key aspects of modern warfare and grants insights into how conflict was experienced by civilians and combatants. This collection contains valuable material for students and researchers interested in colonialism, military history, international history, and social and cultural history.

Newspapers provide an excellent foundation for establishing popular reactions to war…They do more than merely report events…Newspapers fuel conversation.

Catriona Pennell, Professor of Modern History and Memory Studies

Insights

The Illustrated War News reveals the widespread participation of people of colour in the British and Allied forces during the World Wars — a fascinating (and often overlooked) topic which students and scholars are keen to explore. For example, this publication illustrates how, during the First World War, soldiers from Algeria fought in the French Army; how volunteers from Caribbean nations such as Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana enlisted in the British Army; and how Māori volunteers joined the New Zealand Army. The pages of The Illustrated War News also feature extensive coverage of the British Indian Army. The paper likewise devoted attention to soldiers conscripted from African colonies and from Indochina (modern day Vietnam) by the French military.

The Illustrated War News documents the crucial role played by women throughout the First and Second World Wars. The paper’s “Women and War” column is an illuminating case in point. You can learn how women served in the armed forces, how they worked in munitions factories, how they tended to the sick and wounded in military hospitals, and how they performed vital humanitarian work in organisations such as the Red Cross. The Illustrated War News also boasts fascinating material on the Russian Women’s Battalion, the so-called “Battalion of Death”.

The Illustrated War News features extensive material on many of the most important European conflicts that occurred during the First World War, including the Battle of Verdun (1916), the Somme Offensive (1916), and the Battle of Passchendaele (1917). It also contains extensive coverage of the pivotal military campaigns that occurred in Africa and the Middle East, such as the Mesopotamian campaign (1914–1918), the East African campaign (1914–1918), and the Sinai and Palestine campaign (1915–1918).

The contributions and experiences of animals in twentieth century warfare can be overlooked. The Illustrated War News evidences how animals played significant roles on the front lines and in the rear-guard during the First World War. This collection likewise demonstrates just how important animals were to many military regiments, such as the Russian Cossack cavalry units and the British Imperial Camel Corps. The pages of The Illustrated War News also evidence how carrier pigeons relayed messages to troops, how “canine helpers” helped to locate wounded soldiers, and how horses transported munitions and bore riders into battle.

This collection provides informative (and often detailed) reports on the development of military technology. Throughout the First World War — and subsequently throughout 1939 — contributors discussed the latest innovations in the manufacture of artillery, munitions, planes, ships, and tanks.

Highlights

Document

"British and German Sailors Buried Together"

Document

"The West Indies' Response to the Empire's Call"

Document

"Women and the War"

Document

"Prisoners of War Playing Football"

British Print Media, 1860s–1960s

Propaganda and the Mobilisation of Consent during the two World Wars

Guide to British Illustrated Periodicals, 1869–1970

Editorial Board

Catriona Pennell Professor of Modern History and Memory Studies https://history.exeter.ac.uk/staff/pennell/ Catriona is Professor of Modern History and Memory Studies at the University of Exeter. She specialises in the history of nineteenth and twentieth century Britain and Ireland with a particular focus on the relationship between war, empire, experience, and memory. She has published on various aspects of the experience of war and empire and on understandings of cultural historical approaches to the study of modern conflict more generally. Her first book, A Kingdom United: Popular Responses to the Outbreak of the First World War in Britain and Ireland, was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. She has acted as the Middle East consultant for two editions of The Times Complete History of the World (2010 and 2015). She has led or co-led a number of externally funded interdisciplinary research projects with particular emphasis across the intersections of history, politics, education, and memory studies. She is now working on a volume on the British Empire and the First World War as part of OUP’s "Greater War" series.