Spirits and Friends Beyond (The Seas): Spiritualism and the Creation of Universalism During the First World War and Its Aftermath

During World War One and its aftermath, most Spiritualist activity supported the war effort or comforted grieving families. However, a distinct strand of Spiritualism promoted universalism over nationalism, aiming to heal past and present conflicts and create a harmonious post-war world. This article examines the careers of Edward Bligh Bond, William Packenham-Walsh, and Margaret Murray, showing how they used Spiritualist contact with Tudor-era figures to rewrite Reformation history and reunite England culturally with its dead. Their work advocated collective reconciliation and a shared psychological, anthropological, and cultural heritage to overcome the rationalist nightmare of the war years and bring Europeans together.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This article commences by noting that most accounts of Spiritualism during World War One and its aftermath consider that it was harnessed to assist either with the war effort, or to provide comfort for those on the Home Front who were grieving for the dead or missing. However, as this article uncovers and elaborates, there was a brand of Spiritualism which looked beyond this nationalism to provide a form of universalism which sought to heal the wound of both current and past conflicts, instead to provide a world of harmony in the post war world. The population of England was to be reunited culturally with its dead through a rewriting of the history of the Reformation, informed by Spiritualist contact with the Tudor World and individuals within it. By looking at the wartime and immediately post wartime careers of three individuals (Edward Bligh Bond, William Packenham-Walsh and Margaret Murray) the article demonstrates the work of this area of Spiritualism to suggest collective approaches to reconciliation and the writing of past historical wrongs. These individuals also provide evidence of a commitment to creating a shared psychological, anthropological and cultural heritage that would bring Europeans together to transcend the rationalist nightmare created during the war years.