The First World War in the letters of British soldiers

Abstract

In this article we address the psychological and emotional sphere of the British soldiers who fought in the First World War through the letters they wrote during conflict. The analysis of this type of document allows us to Delve into the emotions and feelings caused by the weapons introduced during the war and the experiences in trench warfare, key elements in the transformation of the conflict in the first modern war. The letters analysed are collected on the websites of the British National Archive and the Imperial War Museum. Through an analysis of the content of the letters from the perspective of microhistory, we will reveal the great variety of factors that influenced the emotions, feelings, and attitudes of the soldiers towards the conflict, such as weather conditions or the degree of activity on the front. On the other hand, we will identify different ways of living and feeling the war that are influenced by the situation or the front in which the soldier was stationed and that contain elements of discourses both for and against the war.