What matters, of course, is how it is used. It is, however, certainly true that many history teachers do use Blackadder in their lessons: I am one of them.

I have never met a single history teacher who does this, though I am sure that examples can be found. I wish to be clear here: any history teacher who thinks that sticking Blackadder on the screen constitutes an education about the First World War should not be in the job. One of the most famous modern depictions of this is Blackadder Goes Forth. Gove and Johnson were keen to rescue the image of the generals who, in common culture, are portrayed as ‘donkeys’ sending brave British ‘lions’ into battle. I want in this post to focus on question (2), though the points I make here will apply equally well to (1) and (3).Ī recent political spat broke out between Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Tristram Hunt over how the British generals from the First World War were portrayed. What role was played by non-English troops?.The debate about the First World War, at least within the UK, centres on three key questions. We can, therefore, be quite confident in stating that schools – for once – probably do play an important role in determining the historical consciousness of the country. The First World War battlefields – particularly those of Flanders and the Somme – are visited by vast numbers of pupils each year. It is worth noting, first, that the First World War is one of the most commonly taught periods of history in school: there is probably not a single pupil in the country who has not studied it. The recent furore over how the First World War should be interpreted has, directly and indirectly, raised questions about how the period should be taught in schools.

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