ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by discussing how visions of peace emerged on the Western Front, before discussing exactly what 'hope' means in a psychological context. It argues that soldiers' hope became focused on victorious peace, which formed around visions of a future devoid of war. The chapter highlights the role of hope in English soldiers' morale – underlining the ways in which internalised visions of the future were prevalent and contrasted with and combated the men's present. It examines men's desire for peace across the war and consider how this interrelated with morale, before arguing that their frame of reference – the war and the Western Front – constrained their perspective on the world. Peace offered the opportunity for men to plan the consolidation of all that was good in their lives and encouraged them to live with a vision of this possibly idealised future.
