The Magazine of the Great War

[Norrette]

Hi all,

I've finally found some time to start to look at my 10 CD set of this part work. I had assumed it was created some time after the war had ended, but by looking at a couple of the issues I was surprised to see that it was being produced whilst the war went on. For example issue 10 was published w/e Oct 25th 1914; Issue 153 (vimy & arras) was published in July 1917.

I am surprised that from as early as 1914 the conflict was already being dubbed "The Great War" almost as soon as it started and also that readers were urged to keep the parts so they can be bound in volumes - so it wasn't going to be over by Christmas then!

Have I got something wrong datewise or was the magazine a monumental piece of propaganda?

Does anyone know if there is a full contents list anywhere (not the index) but a single chronological map to each issue? (By the way happy to look anything up - when I work out how to find which chapter is on which CD :-)

[johnreed]

I have a CD set of The War Illustrated which comprised of 9 CD's.

CD 1 Volume 1 Parts 1-26 22nd August 1914 to 13th February 1915

CD 2 Volume 2 Parts 27 - 52 20th February to 14th August 1915

CD 3 Volume 3 Parts 53 - 78 21st August 1915 to 12th February 1916

CD 4 Volume 4 Parts 79 - 104 19th February to 12th August 1916

CD 5 Volume 5 Parts 105 - 130 19th August 1916 to 10th February 1917

CD 6 Volume 6 Parts 131 - 156 17th February to 11th August 1917

CD 7 Volume 7 Parts 157 - 182 18th August 1917 to 9th February 1918

CD 8 Volume 8 Parts 183 - 208 16th February 1918 to 10 August 1918

CD 9 Volume 9 Parts 209 - 233 17th August 1918 to 8th February 1919

It is a wekly picture record of events by land, sea and air. Originally published during WW1.

John

[Chris_Baker]

There were quite a few contemporary magazine-style journals that set out with good intentions to record the war. Inevitably there was good deal of jingoisim and propaganda, and the editors were hampered by the news flow and censorship in place, but they are in general as much an artefact of their times as a war diary. Many of them ceased publication after a while.

I am fortunate to have an original set of War Illustrated when they were produced as bound volumes (not terribly rare) and of the Manchester Guardian's journal too (which is more scarce).

[Norrette]

Chris & John, I'd be interested in how your journals viewed the war in the early issues - did they give the impression that this was to be a long part-work - was it called the "great" war?