Books on Great War spiritualism?

[yperman]

Could members suggest any titles on spiritualism in the Great war era please? (especially South east England)

Many thanks

 

Yperman

[Michelle Young]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/736297.Raymond_or_Life_and_Death

 

also, though I think it’s out of print, Listening In by Olive Pixley. 

[yperman]

On 13/02/2022 at 12:49, Michelle Young said:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/736297.Raymond_or_Life_and_Death

 

also, though I think it’s out of print, Listening In by Olive Pixley. 

Michelle, Thank you for the link Yperman

[sueburden]

The Spiritualists: the passion for the occult in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries by Ruth Brandon.  Available on Amazon.

British Widows of the First World War, the Forgotten Legion by Andrea Hetherington.  Chapter 8 is about religion and spiritualism.

Sue

Edited 15 February , 2022 by sueburden

[seaJane]

Not yet published but

 

If you want some fictional input then the story 'Dr Lartius' in The Runagates Club by John Buchan.

[seaJane]

On 13/02/2022 at 12:49, Michelle Young said:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/736297.Raymond_or_Life_and_Death

Some discussion of the above here: https://livingwithdying.leeds.ac.uk/2019/08/30/the-rise-of-spiritualism-during-the-first-world-war-raymond-or-life-and-death/

Hyslop, J. H. Contact with the other world: the latest evidence as to communication with the dead. London: T. Werner Laurie; New York: Century Co., 1919 https://archive.org/details/contactwithother00hysl

Carrington, H. Psychical phenomena and the war. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1918. London: T. Werner Laurie, 1919.  https://archive.org/details/psychicalphenome00carr/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater

Dresser, H. W. On the threshold of the spiritual world: a study of life and death over there. New York: G. Sully & Co., 1919. https://archive.org/details/onthresholdofspi00dresrich

Hayward, J. Myths & legends of the First World War. Stroud: Sutton, 2005.

James, L. Myths and mysteries of the First World War. Epsom: Bretwalda, 2014

[Guest]

In the way of films, the two epics that best capture the raw emotional impact of the Great War are...

All Quiet on the Western Front, which appeared as a novel by a German writer in 1925 and was made for film in 1930, with little emphasis on which side you're seeing, because while it obviously is the Kaiser's kids, the brutality shows that it didn't matter who was using the machinegun... the other side was being cut apart.

Wings, made in 1927, and which was the first film to shoot live footage in the air for Hollywood, and which cost more than any film ever made... then or (by adjusting for inflation) now.  It was so stunning of it's time that it was the first to be awarded as "Best Picture."

[yperman]

On 15/02/2022 at 16:47, sueburden said:

The Spiritualists: 

17 hours ago, ALAN MCMAHON said:

As above, I would second that "Raymond" by Sir Oliver Lodge is a good starting point. 

 

Sue

 

On 15/02/2022 at 18:40, seaJane said:

Some discussion of the above here: https://livingwithdying.leeds.ac.uk/2019/08/30/the-rise-of-spiritualism-during-the-first-world-war-raymond-or-life-and-death/

17 hours ago, ALAN MCMAHON said:

As above, I would second that "Raymond" by Sir Oliver Lodge is a good starting point. 

 

 

 

Thank you all very much and sorry for the delay in replying. I can see where my birthday money is going! yperman

[ilkley remembers]

@yperman 

Not wishing to burden you unduly with more possibilities but thought you might want to consider Sites of Memory Sites of Morning by academic historian Jay Winter which seeks to place secular spiritualism within the framework of post war commemoration and remembrance. Not only is it one of the standard works on the subject but is currently available for only £2.50 plus postage at Abe Books so it won’t put too much of a dent in your birthday money.

 

The Andrew Smith book ‘Gothic Fiction……..’ looks interesting, although, a word of caution, the promotional material makes reference to the memoirs of Ronald Skirth whose controversial writing has been labeled the work of a fantasist not least on threads on the GWF.  

 

 

If you are particularly interested in spiritualism in the South East then it may be worth accessing the British Newspaper Archive….it comes as either a stand alone or part of a Findmypast package or if all else fails many public libraries have access to it. Searching regional newspapers for the post war period brings back any number of references to spiritualism and since you can narrow your search down to specific regions and indeed towns it might be a fruitful avenue to pursue.

[Interested]

One well-known spiritualist was Arthur Conan Doyle.

I believe he published "Pheneas Speaks" about his experiences.  Not read it though, so can't really say.
 

Hope this helps.

[ilkley remembers]

12 hours ago, Interested said:

One well-known spiritualist was Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle was a well known supporter of spiritualism and on one occasion claimed to have communed with the spirit of a soldier from the 7th Division at a séance.

 

Another famous message from the ‘other side of the veil’ was passed by Douglas Haig after his death in 1928. At a séance in Dundee he apparently related “..tell the people I shall be there on the Armistice morning  great meeting-with a multitude of the boys.” This was read out with great solemnity at a packed meeting in the Albert Hall.

 

The writer and noted beauty Pamela Wyndham, Lady Glenconner, used spiritualist guides to help communicate with her son the poet Edward (Bim) Wyndham Tennant who as an officer in the Grenadier Guards had been killed on The Somme in 1916. She wrote a book about her quest called ‘The  Earthen Vessel’ (a quotation from the Book of Corinthians) in which she recorded the tests which were applied to verify her claims.

 

I suppose that it is easy to pour scorn on the claims of spiritualists most of whom were charlatans who practiced fakery, but to many people in the post war years who had lost loved ones, it brought much comfort and succour.

Edited 20 February , 2022 by ilkley remembers

[edwin astill]

Deathbed Visions by Sir William Barrett (published 1926) may be of interest.   Read it over 40 years ago, but recall that it had items of Great War interest.

 

Edwin

 

 

Edited 20 February , 2022 by edwin astill
typo

[yperman]

18 hours ago, ilkley remembers said:

@yperman 

Not wishing to burden you unduly with more possibilities but thought you might want to consider Sites of Memory Sites of Morning by academic historian Jay Winter which seeks to place secular spiritualism within the framework of post war commemoration and remembrance. Not only is it one of the standard works on the subject but is currently available for only £2.50 plus postage at Abe Books so it won’t put too much of a dent in your birthday money.

 

The Andrew Smith book ‘Gothic Fiction……..’ looks interesting, although, a word of caution, the promotional material makes reference to the memoirs of Ronald Skirth whose controversial writing has been labeled the work of a fantasist not least on threads on the GWF.  

 

 

If you are particularly interested in spiritualism in the South East then it may be worth accessing the British Newspaper Archive….it comes as either a stand alone or part of a Findmypast package or if all else fails many public libraries have access to it. Searching regional newspapers for the post war period brings back any number of references to spiritualism and since you can narrow your search down to specific regions and indeed towns it might be a fruitful avenue to pursue.

 

59 minutes ago, edwin astill said:

Deathbed Visions by Sir William Barrett (published 1926) may be of interest.   Read it over 40 years ago, but recall that it had items of Great War interest.

 

Edwin

 

 

Thank you both very much for the titles and tips. Sites of morning and Abe books will be next stop! I am increasingly  interested in policing in Dover in the GW and fortune telling has occasionally cropped up. Some of my family (we come from Dover)  were  spiritualists  and attended a local spiritualist church but none of them ever complained of problems with the police.  Yperman

[ilkley remembers]

@ypermanIf you join Internet Archive you will be able to get access for free to 'Spiritualism and British Society Between the Wars' by Jenny Hazelgrove https://archive.org/details/spiritualismbrit00haze. Looks like it might just be what your looking for.

 

Had a look on British Newspaper Archive and there are plenty of references to meetings of the Dover Spiritualist Society after its formation in 1925, although, I cannot see any accounts of their meetings. Might be interesting to see if the records of the society have survived.

 

18th Sept 1925 Dover Express

[seaJane]

5 hours ago, ilkley remembers said:

Dover Spiritualist Society

I'm not raising anything at Kew.* 

 https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/ might be able to help.

Edited 20 February , 2022 by seaJane
*Believe it or not that pun was entirely unintentional!

[yperman]

18 hours ago, ilkley remembers said:

@ypermanIf you join Internet Archive you will be able to get access for free to 'Spiritualism and British Society Between the Wars' by Jenny Hazelgrove https://archive.org/details/spiritualismbrit00haze. Looks like it might just be what your looking for.

 

Had a look on British Newspaper Archive and there are plenty of references to meetings of the Dover Spiritualist Society after its formation in 1925, although, I cannot see any accounts of their meetings. Might be interesting to see if the records of the society have survived.

 

18th Sept 1925 Dover Express

 

12 hours ago, seaJane said:

 

I'm not raising anything at Kew.* 

 https://www.kentarchives.org.uk/ might be able to help.

Thank you both very much - this Forum is really wonderful in the ways members offer advice! Yperman