Making a new world

In the years following the First World War, countries, cities, towns, societies and individuals were tasked with rebuilding themselves on an unprecedented scale. From the devastation and loss of the preceding four years, a new world was beginning to emerge.

Traditionally, the years that immediately followed the end of the Great War have been a little overlooked by historians – and the general public. The exhibition ‘Renewal: Life after the First World War in Photographs’ at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in Lambeth, London, seeks to redress the balance, with more than 130 black & white photographs, documents and objects from the museum’s extensive collection.

A mix of amateur and professional photography, many images in the exhibition are previously unseen. British official photographers were still working shortly after