Portrait of a Branch: The Historical Association and History in Nottingham before the Second World War

A major feature of the Historical Association's branches has been their strong links with a variety of voluntary organisations focused on, or with interests in, history. The Association's initial aims drawn up in June 1906 included 'Co-operation for common objects with the English Association, the Geographical Association, the Modern Language Association, and the Classical Association'. The Nottingham branch was one of the Association's earliest, its fifteenth, founded in July 1911.1 The Association has always sought to be 'the voice of history'. While appealing to a large professional body of people, its emphasis early on was on those teaching history. Its first description of itself began, 'Teachers of History have long felt the need for some organisation to promote the study of that subject in schools, and to