ABSTRACT

By examining how emotions and memory were shaped by the auditory landscape of World War I, this chapter argues that the sensory experience of war deserves wider attention from scholars. Three case studies frame the soundscape of war as central to understanding emotions and memory: how battle is experienced and remembered through sound which created a range of emotions from terror and shock to fear and anxiety; the range of bird sounds and the emotional impact of these on soldiers; and how sound shaped public memory of the London Zeppelin bombings. This chapter is a contribution towards a cultural history of the emotional experience of civilians and combatants and their memories mediated through sound.