Kids today won't know anyone from the war

[raindropbox]

Our grandparents or parents were children during the war, and they had stories from their parents or grandparents, who had lived experience of WW1.

So we had a direct connection with somebody with first-hand experience of the world wars. It just occured to me that babies born now won't have that.

Does that mean WW1/2 will feel as distant to them as the victorians do to us? Will it have some kind of subconscious impact on society?

Well, yes. It was the best part of 80 years ago since ww2 started.

Its almost exactly the same amount of time between the Victorian era ending and me starting school!

Basically the babies being born now will be the first generation ever to not have a living history of war

I'm 42 and I don't know anyone from the war?

My parents were born in the early 40s so had no memories of the war. Obviously my grandparents did, but it wasn't a subject that was spoken much of - one grandparent died before I was born, another was unwell and had dementia when I was a choice.

But I'm approaching my mid 40s and my parents had me in their mid to late 30s so I don't think it was typical even of my classmates at school to have parents who were children during the war. Most of my schoolfriends had 50s born parents.

There will be other wars that the current and future generations can refer back to and talk to relatives about - God knows there's never any shortages of wars.

If you're defining "war" as WW 1 and WW2, no there won't be many. But there's also been the Falklands, Iran/Iraq, Afghanistan...

My children met my grandfather. He was an ambulance driver as he was a conscientious objector. Was on the Isle of Dogs during the blitz.

You never met any of your grandparents?

Yes I'm 55 my paternal grandfather was born in 1897 so he was a Victorian baby. Let's say to remember anything other than vague snippets about the war you would need to have been 10 in 1945 which means you are now about 88 to have been involved as an adult you would've been born in 1927 at the latest so would be 96.plus. to remember rationing you are in your mid to late 70s. My DD is 13, my father died last year aged 98 so yes she does know someone involved in WWII, but I guessmost of her peers wouldn't.

I have bought WW2 diaries for myself. And a children's version for DC.

I think it's important that we read and remember what happens. We mustn't let time dilute the memories.

I was never taught anything about WW1 or WW2 at school. So my knowledge of events is awful and embarrassing. I'm 37!

I get what you're saying but fundamentally I think this is a good thing.

If you're defining "war" as WW 1 and WW2, no there won't be many. But there's also been the Falklands, Iran/Iraq, Afghanistan..

And currently Ukraine. It's had more of an impact here in Ireland than Iraq etc.

My grandma was born in 1929, my great aunt in 1927, both still going strong, my daughter is 5. They won't be around forever but she will have a good recollection of both of them. I also think culturally we focus a lot of both world wars more than we do much more recent conflicts such as the Falklands, Iraq etc. They've never felt particularly recent to me (I'm 40) but they've felt significant in shaping the modern world, I don't think that'll change any time soon.

I remember as a child in the 1980s, every "old" person you encountered had been in the war. I think a lot of people still have the mentality that all elderly people have lived through the war.

Of course there have been terrible wars since, but not on the UKs doorstep. I'm just wondering whether with time certain things will fade, for example the memorial events, poppies, things like that. Is it inevitable that as generations progress, the memory of war fades to the point it stops being marked?

I'm also wondering whether jn the future, say in 2100, the disconnect from this "lived experience" of war will make society generally more or less prone to starting them.

And if you're reading this from 2100: hi! 😁

No I didn't.

2 died before I was born, 1 lived abroad and 1 was estranged.

Except the Iraq invasion did involve British troops? So still very much a British connection and involvement.

Although I guess it’s different in that Britain was on offensive rather than defensive and there wasn’t conscription.

The poppy appeal stopped being about WW1 and WW2 a long time ago and more about the armed forces, so I don’t think that in itself will fade, but agree about the memorials. Whilst they are also now about the armed forces, the majority do associate them with the world wars.

Well, there are a fair amount of people about who fled the war in the Balkans, and Syria, and Ukraine. These people live here today.
but most people won’t have relatives that have been in The War

I agree as far as them actually 'knowing' someone who served in the World Wars. And even our (US) Korean and Viet Nam vets are starting to 'leave us'. For my generation and my children's generation the only way to learn their stories was to hear them first hand.

But I think one of the benefits of the 'internet age' is that the stories of those who served or otherwise experienced the Wars are being kept alive through 'living history' websites. We can teach this generation about the past and have them hear and see actual stories online from those who served.

I find it odd to think we are as far away now (roughly) from the 1st world war as they were from the Napoleonic wars

My grandfather was in the 2nd world war and talked often about his father who died in the 1st

I'm 51 and it felt pretty distant to me tbh. My grandad mentioned it sometimes, but I don't feel I have anymore connection to it than my own dc do really.

What do you actually mean by this? Billions of people from 100,000+ years of human history lived just fine with no knowledge of WWI and WWII.
If you mean any war at all, there is literally a war in Europe right now this minute.

I don't think it will fade from public psyché, Britain is very wedded to tradition and a sense of ye olde days when your kids could play out in the street and buy an ice-cream for tuppence, so I think it will be very much remain a 'public' feature when it comes to things like memorials but more generally I think the issue perhaps is that the general attitude or respect it once commanded will fade as it becomes less and less historically relevant to younger generations.

Exactly.
OP you're correct from a Western European perspective.
Unfortunately there's always more wars.
My grandfather was a refugee from the Ukraine.
Now my brother is worried about the Russians going near Ukraine's nuclear centrals. And from my hometown people can see my country's army mobilising tanks to the border.

Of course there have been terrible wars since, but not on the UKs doorstep.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in Northern Ireland who still vividly remember the Troubles....

Well I’m 52 and though I knew all 4 of my grandparents, all of whom had ‘lived experience’ of WW2, for varying lengths of time war was never a topic of discussion. My parents were born post war. I’ve know more people who’ve experienced conflict more recently however, mainly thanks to the war crimes of Blair. I think it’s a good thing that we consign WW1/2 to the past