World War 1914-1918 A Pictured History

Published on 9 April 2024
Submitted by David Tattersfield

The publication in 1934-35 of a weekly magazine called 'World War 1914-1918 A Pictured History' was probably intended to bring images of the war to a large proportion of the UK population. The first issue had a foreword written by the well known author HG Wells. Each of the issues, which ran to 55 in total, cost just 7d. 

A full set of these magazines, which comprise over 2000 pages, have been acquired and carefully scanned and made available to 'interrogate' via our Searchable Magazine Archive'.

This enables keywords to be searched in this and the other magazines. For instance a search for 'cavalry' gives in 'Pictured History' a total of 262 'hits'. A search for 'lancers' (if you wish to narrow down the criteria) will give 16 hits.

Alternatively keyword search 'barbed' (if looking for barbed wire) will provide 72 results and 'Bapaume' will be found 35 times in 'Pictured History'

Of course, these searches can be extended to our other collections ('Bapaume' will appear 395 times across Stand To!, I Was There, Twenty Years After and all the other magazines that we've made available).

Within the 55 issues are a number of chapters, starting in Issue one with 'Heralds of War'. In the penultimate issue we have chapter 119 'Armistice on All Fronts' and then in the last issue (number 55) we have the final chapter (number 120) entitled 'The March to the Rhine'. 

Other Articles

1.25Th Cyclists
5 December 2025

From Putney Bridge to Jallianwala Bagh: The 1/25th County of London Cyclists 1914-1919

Read more
Ludendorff Offensive 1918
28 November 2025

Revisiting the Ludendorff Offensives, March-July 1918

Read more
Whicker Thumb Ypres
22 November 2025

Alan Whicker meets the ‘merry mass of men’ returning to Ypres in 1961

Read more
Seaplane Hadaway
19 November 2025

More than just Gallipoli: Naval operations in the Eastern Mediterranean 1914-16

Read more
Picture9
11 November 2025

The Fijian Labour Corps

Read more