After the lamps went out, what next? Most people understand that the First World War saw a new kind of warfare and an apocalyptic scale of loss among its soldiers. But in the first weeks and months, there was an abrupt dislocation between the men who fought and the people left at home. Were civilians really as blimpish and as gullible as parodied? Was the media really the lackey of those in power? As for the men fighting, were they spurred on to obedience by anything more creative than the fear of execution?

David Hargreaves, ex-Housemaster and History teacher at Westminster School, now turned educational consultant, has been writing a weekly article on The First World War for The Browser Looks Back since 4 August. On 3 November 2014, he will be giving a talk addressed to the idea August-December 1914: The Death of Old Europe? The talk will last for 40 minutes, followed by questions.