| Abstract | In this essay, prompted by Williamson's “At The Menin Gate” (Journal of Historical Sociology. Vol. 9, No. 1, March 1996), the notion of historical anonymity is explored in the context of a brief ethnography of the changing form, content andz meaning of War Remembrance, and its relationship to wider forms of remembrance of the dead.Ypres is a lovely town and the Menin Gate is a decent memorial. Gordon has a good spot there. They play the last post every night and stop the traffic. There is something comforting to see parties of school children visiting the place. The names of those on the wall will not be forgotten, though they are now almost beyond living memory. (At the Menin Gate. Williamson B. Journal of Historical Sociology. Vol.9. No.1. March 1996).St. Martin was a demolished village about a mile behind the battle-line. As we entered it I noticed an English soldier lying by the road with a horribly smashed head; soon such sights would be too frequent to attract attention … But … in 1917 I was only beginning to learn that life, for the majority of the population, is an unlovely struggle against unfair odds, culminating in a cheap funeral. (Sassoon S. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer. Faber & Faber. London. 1965. 1st Published. 1930. p147).
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