We study the local legacy of the WW1 mortality shock and its effects on British soldiers' behaviour in WW2. Using parish-level data, we show that those places suffering more losses in WW1 also experienced more deaths in WW2. For identification, we rely on instrumenting WW1 deaths with predicted deaths constructed by aggregating battalion-level mortality rates. We then turn to individual-level data from military records to show that WW2 soldiers born in hard-hit parishes and households are more likely to be awarded gallantry honours and to die in battle in WW2,  respectively. We present further evidence that the legacy of the Great War may run through and be amplified by a civic capital channel that is fostered by the process of the remembrance and commemoration of fallen soldiers.