Wartime Rumours and Legends
Research centre
Communication and Computing Research Centre
Date
2008
The Angels of Mons has remained one of the best-known legends of 20th century warfare, but the mystery remains
The legend of the Angels of Mons was the subject of a research grant I received from The British Academy in 2001. Outcomes of the research conducted included a research article (published in the journal Folklore vol 113 (2002): 151-173) and a book, The Angel of Mons (Wiley: 2004).
The legend can be traced back to 1914, as German troops advanced through Belgium, they met at Mons with the British Expeditionary Force. Ill-prepared and vastly outnumbered, the British troops were forced to retreat, with little hope of saving the lives of those at the Front. It was in these circumstances that many of the wounded and dying soldiers, brought back from the Western Front, reported having been rescued by supernatural forces from a massacre.
Since then The Angels of Mons has remained one of the best-known legends of 20th century warfare, but the mystery remains. Did British soldiers really see angels, saints and bowmen leading them against the Germans? Or were the stories the result of hallucinations experienced by battle-wearing men, carefully planted propaganda or simply the misinterpretation of a short story in a London evening newspaper?
Praise for The Angel of Mons
'An indispensable digest of original accounts and the routes whereby fiction and hearsay crystallised into myth' (Fortean Times).
'A fine book thorough and meticulous, a fascinating exposure of the lines between fact and myth' (Yorkshire Post).
'Fascinating reading. His book is a must for folklorists interested in contemporary legends or in twentieth-century concepts of the supernatural.' (Jacqueline Simpson in Follklore, the journal of The Folklore Society).
'This detailed investigation leaves no stone unturned, reaching a logical and entirely credible conclusion' (Ann Clayton, The Journal of the Western Front Association).
'The great strength of this book is that it shows how a combination of actual events, propaganda, and existing folklore can combine to create a fresh 'truth', highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the weirder byways of military history' (Peter Brookesmith, The Shooter's Journal).
Researchers involved
Dr David Clarke - Course Leader, Journalism
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