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Terriers in India
Historian Article
Peter Stanley is working on the largely unexplored history of the thousands of British Territorial soldiers who served in India during the First World War using their letters and diaries. He is trying to discover what happened to these men when they returned to Britain. Did their service in India...
Terriers in India
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1851 by Asa Briggs
Classic Pamphlet
This classic pamphlet is being re-published in digital form to coincide with the special edition of The Historian devoted to the memory of Asa Briggs. He was one of the most illustrious members of the Historical Association and a devotedly loyal member all his life.
One Historian has said that...
1851 by Asa Briggs
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Folkestone in World War One
Historian article
Grahame Jones contributes to our determination to explore the wider involvement of the community in responding to the challenges of the Great War, in this case two inspirational women who provided refreshments for soldiers en route through Folkestone harbour.
A fading Edwardian resort and handy for that trip through the...
Folkestone in World War One
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The development of the Department of Health
Historian article
Health as a specific feature of central government strategy is a relatively recent phenomenon and Hugh Gault identifies how this feature of everyday headlines in our newspapers has been managed until the present time.
At the start of the twentieth century Lord Salisbury’s Cabinet comprised four Secretaries of State –...
The development of the Department of Health
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British organised youth and the First World War
Historian article
This posthumously published article by John Springhall was presented to us, with recommended illustrations, shortly before his death. It reflects his interest in popular culture and how people lived their lives in quite a remarkable manner.
Adult-directed British uniformed youth movements played a significant but often overlooked role during the...
British organised youth and the First World War
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The Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge Disaster of 1845
Historian article
Many communities have cataclysmic disasters which tend to dominate or define their local history. Gareth Davies reveals that the sudden collapse of the Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge is a telling example of this trend.
Beside the waters of the River Bure in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk stands a shiny black memorial...
The Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge Disaster of 1845
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Admiral Lord Mountbatten: man of science and royal role model
Historian article
Mountbatten was a controversial figure who died in tragic circumstances but Adrian Smith demonstrates that, behind his aristocratic facade, he was a very adept, talented and formative personality.
Four years have passed since the re-opening of Broadlands, the Hampshire home of Lord and Lady Brabourne. The house was subject to...
Admiral Lord Mountbatten: man of science and royal role model
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British armoured cars on the Eastern Front in the First World War
Historian article
Charlotte Alston reveals a little-known British involvement on the Eastern Front in the Great War.In early January 1918, Lieutenant Commander Soames of the British Armoured Car Division at Kursk, in Russia, telegraphed to his commandingofficer Oliver Locker Lampson, who was in London, to thank him for his Christmas greetings. All...
British armoured cars on the Eastern Front in the First World War
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The Somme: a last innings for Yorkshire and England
Historian article
Ronan Thomas explores a tragic sporting outcome of the Battle of the Somme.
At the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, the losses suffered by the British Army still have the power to shock. On 1 July 1916 alone nearly 60,000 men became casualties, of whom almost 20,000 were...
The Somme: a last innings for Yorkshire and England
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Tank development in the First World War
Historian article
The emergence of the tank as a further weapon of war is inextricably associated with Lincoln where various early models were developed.
By 1915 the Great War had gone just about as far as it could and for the first time, the way an entire war was fought was described...
Tank development in the First World War
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Social Unrest in the Isle of Man in 1916
Historian article
The Isle of Man played a remarkable role during the First World War. Over 8,000 men enlisted, which was 82.3% of the island’s men of military age. Even by the standards of the time this was high. Over 2,000 were either killed or wounded and two Victoria Crosses were awarded....
Social Unrest in the Isle of Man in 1916
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Promoting the First World War, 1914-16
Historian article
The popular image of the First World War is of young men leaving the tedium of the factory or the mine to volunteer for service on the Western Front in one of Kitchener’s new armies. Less well known is the background effort that went into maintaining and strengthening morale as...
Promoting the First World War, 1914-16
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Earth in vision: Enviromental Broadcasting
Historian article
Joe Smith, Kim Hammond and George Revill share some of the findings of their work examining what digital broadcast archives are available and which could be made available in future.
The BBC’s archives hold over a million hours of programmes, dating back to the 1930s (radio) and 1940s (television). It...
Earth in vision: Enviromental Broadcasting
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Battle of the Somme: the making of the 1916 propaganda film
Historian article
The versions of history on our cinema screens have an important influence upon public perceptions of the past. In his article Taylor Downing explores how the wartime British government used the cinema for propaganda purposes and how the film Battle of the Somme contributes to portrayals of that battle to this...
Battle of the Somme: the making of the 1916 propaganda film
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First Zeppelin shot down over Britain
Historian article
In the First World War Britain suddenly became vulnerable to aerial attack. Alf Wilkinson records a memorable turning-point in the battle against the Zeppelin menace.
On the night of the 2-3 September 1916 Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson became the first pilot to shoot down a Zeppelin raider over Britain. He...
First Zeppelin shot down over Britain
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A Zeppelin VC remembered
Historian article
Ronan Thomas introduces the bravery of Rex Warneford who was the first pilot successfully to bring down a Zeppelin in 1915.
Rex Warneford was one of Britain’s ‘bravest of the brave’. A Royal Navy fighter pilot during the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George...
A Zeppelin VC remembered
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Women in British Coal Mining
Historian article
With the final closure of Britain’s deep coal mines, Chris Wrigley examines the long-standing involvement of women in and around this challenging and dangerous form of work.
With the closure in 2015 of Thoresby and Kellingley mines, the last two working deep coal mines in Britain, leaving only open-cast coal...
Women in British Coal Mining
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WWI and the flu pandemic
Historian article
In our continuing Aspects of War series Hugh Gault reveals that the flu pandemic, which began during the First World War, presented another danger that challenged people’s lives and relationships.
Wounded in the neck on the first day of the battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, Arthur Conan Doyle’s son Kingsley...
WWI and the flu pandemic
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Amphibious Warfare in British History
Classic Pamphlet
The term "Amphibious Warfare" was adopted a few years ago to indicate a form of a strategy of which the characteristic was the descent of the sea-borne armies upon the coasts and ports of an enemy. It is not a method peculiar to Great Britain, for all maritime nations from...
Amphibious Warfare in British History
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Elementary Education in the Nineteenth Century
Classic Pamphlet
All schemes for education involve some consideration of the surrounding society, its existing structure and how it will-and should-develop. Thus the interaction of educational provision and institutions with patterns of employment, social mobility and political behaviour are fascinatingly complex. The spate of valuable local studies emphasizes this complexity and makes...
Elementary Education in the Nineteenth Century
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Driver Ben Cobey 8th Royal Field Artillery
Historian article
Alf Wilkinson asks why three men were awarded the Victoria Cross during the retreat from Mons in August 1914 and the fourth involved in the action wasn’t. What does that tell us about Britain during the arly days of the Great War?
In August 1914, when war broke out, the...
Driver Ben Cobey 8th Royal Field Artillery
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Waterloo's prizefight factor
Historian article
Image: 'Pierce Egan celebrates the Boxiana touch as Napoleon is floored'
David Snowdon examines the impact of the world of ‘pugilism' on the army during the Napoleonic Wars and looks at some famous boxers who perished in the battle.
By 1815, one writer, and one sporting publication, had become synonymous with...
Waterloo's prizefight factor
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Medical aspects of the battle of Waterloo
Historian article
Michael Crumplin explores the medical facilities of the British Army and asks how likely soldiers wounded at Waterloo were to survive.
The road to Waterloo
One of the very few benefits of conflict is the advancement of medical practice. The recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistanhave been dealing with relatively...
Medical aspects of the battle of Waterloo
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The Battle of Waterloo: Sunday 18 June 1815
Historian article
John Morewood explores the events of 18 June 1815 in detail and asks just how accurate is our view of what happened on the field of Waterloo.
Summary
Waterloo is the most famous battle in a four-battle campaign fought from 15 June to 19 June 1815. On one side were...
The Battle of Waterloo: Sunday 18 June 1815
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The Victorian Age
Classic Pamphlet
This Classic Pamphlet was published in 1937 (the centenary of the accession of Queen Victoria, who succeeded to the throne on June 20, 1837).
Synopsis of contents:
1. Is the Victorian Age a distinct 'period' of history?
Landmarks establishing its beginning: the Reform Bill, railways, other inventions, new leaders in...
The Victorian Age
