The Talk
The lives of Britain’s First World War widows remain largely unexplored despite the explosion of interest in the conflict during the Centenary period. This talk looks at the phenomenon of war widows’ emigration to the Dominions of Australia and Canada.
Using information from passenger manifests, census returns and documents supplied by the descendants of war widows this talk will look at the lives of some of the plucky women who did attempt to make new lives overseas after the death of their soldier husbands.
The Speaker
Andrea Hetherington is an independent scholar based in Leeds. She has a particular interest in the social history of the First World War. Andrea is the author of three books on the First World War – Lawnswood’s Great War Stories (Friends of Lawnswood Cemetery, 2015), Britain’s First World War Widows- the Forgotten Legion (Pen and Sword, 2018) and Deserters of the First World War – the Home Front (Pen and Sword, 2021). She has also contributed chapters to several anthologies. Andrea is also the Book Reviews Editor for the Western Front Association. Andrea has provided consultancy services to a number of Great War commemorative projects and conducted research for several strands of BBC programming. She is a regular speaker at a wide range of venues and enjoys helping people frame their own family history in a wider historical context.