Enduring War: Grief, Grit and Humour – British Library

Until 12 October 2014, a free exhibition in the Folio Society Gallery of the British Library, Enduring War: Grief, Grit and Humour, is on display to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War. The exhibition uses posters, poetry, books and pamphlets to look at how soldiers from home and overseas, and civilians back in “Blighty”, coped with the conditions of the war. It is really interesting – and sobering – to look at diaries, letters and journals from the conflict. The range of responses is fascinating and I thought it made an interesting foil to the recent exhibition of First World War portraits at the National Portrait Gallery.