Presented by: College of Arts

In October 1918 New Zealander Robert Gilkison was sitting beside his ‘dangerously wounded’ son’s hospital bed in France. He wrote to his daughter Norah ‘Poor old Robbie still has his ups and downs, and I was warned at the first it would take a long time to effect a cure’. Robert’s letter, written within a few weeks of the signing of the November Armistice, was prescient in warning that it would ‘take a long time to effect a cure’. It is a useful way to think about the end of the war, and not just for the wounded and the family members who had to care for them.

The 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month is so etched in our minds as the moment that the guns supposedly fell silent, we risk forgetting or ignoring what that actually meant. The Armistice declared on 11 November 1918 signalled the end of what H.G. Wells called ‘the war to end war’. Yet we know that conflict and strife continued. What the Armistice signalled in some places was the beginning of the really difficult work of reconstruction – rebuilding towns and cities, people and their relationships, bodies and minds. In others it signalled nations’ abandonment or disavowal of wartime activities, concerns or promises.

In this conversation, Victoria University of Wellington’s Kate Hunter and the University of Canterbury’s David Monger discuss the aftermath and legacies of a global conflict.

David Monger has lectured at the University of Canterbury History Department since 2010 and is Senior Lecturer in Modern European History. An expert on British First World War propaganda, he is the author of Patriotism and Propaganda in First World War Britain: the National War Aims Committee and Civilian Morale (2012), co-editor of Endurance and the First World War: Experiences and Legacies in New Zealand and Australia (2014) and has published several articles on First World War topics.

Associate Professor Kate Hunter (VUW) has been researching and teaching the cultural history of WWI for more than 15 years. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters, many of which use the letters and diaries of those separated from kin and friends to explore family and romantic relationships. Her most recent book on WWI was a collaboration with Te Papa curator Kirstie Ross, Holding on to Home: New Zealand Stories and Objects of the First World War, which used the material culture of war to focus on the enduring relationships between those serving overseas and their loved ones in New Zealand.

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Naomi van den Broek
UC Arts City Location Manager

Email: naomi.vandenbroek@canterbury.ac.nz