Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book originates from the joint Imperial War Museum/University of Bristol conference 'Conflict and the Senses'. In the case of hunger and thirst, our senses can lead us far beyond the mechanical satisfaction of bodily requirements. The act of excreting might not engender such longings, but are an ever-present aspect of military life. When envisaging conflict landscapes, we should not forget war museums. These present another locale in which the senses are engaged. Beyond war too, hitherto emotionally neutral domestic smells could be reconfigured to possess a powerful if mournful resonance. Confinement brings its own inescapable engagement with smells, of which the most extreme example given here is a stench which gets, whether metaphorically or psychologically, inside the man who smelt it. Understanding the sensory experience of war also helps temper the seductive power of celebratory war history.