-
The peace treaties of 1919
Historian article
Over the last five years the Historical Association has run a regular feature in this journal about the First World War from some lesser-known perspectives. Its purpose has been to capture some of the stories not always told about that life-changing, society-transforming conflict. As the centenary of the Armistice has...
The peace treaties of 1919
-
Out & About: On the Somme
Historian feature
Paula Kitching demonstrates how to interpret and understand the memorial features of the Somme landscape.
One hundred and five years ago, a piece entitled ‘Out and about on the Somme’ would have been a travel piece for would-be tourists to the French countryside. The rolling hills and valleys provide a...
Out & About: On the Somme
-
Verdun: the endless battle
Historian article
Most can agree that the battle of Verdun started 100 years ago, on 21 February 1916, when the Germans began attacking French positions north and east of the old fortress town on the Meuse river. Few can agree on when it ended. The Germans might draw a line under it...
Verdun: the endless battle
-
Mission to Kabul: Destabilising the British strategic position, 1916
Historian article
Jules Stewart gives us an insight into how the Germans attempted to destabilise the British strategic position in Afghanistan during the Great War.
On a state visit to Berlin in 1928, the Emir of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan was shown a display of the latest in German technology, which included a...
Mission to Kabul: Destabilising the British strategic position, 1916
-
Real Lives: Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial: Edward George Keeling
Historian feature
Trevor James introduces a victim of an earlier pandemic.
As we explore churchyards and appreciate the range of memorials that are revealed, they convey a variety of emotions and other messages. Sometimes they still contain quite unexpected surprises.
The single Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial in the relatively remote rural Staffordshire village...
Real Lives: Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial: Edward George Keeling
-
Florence Nightingale and epidemics
Historian article
Richard Bates reveals how the expertise of Florence Nightingale is just as relevant now as it was in her own life-time.
Late in 2020, the Merriam-Webster dictionary chose ‘pandemic’ as its word of the year, writing that, ‘it’s probably the word by which we’ll refer to this period [i.e. Covid-19...
Florence Nightingale and epidemics
-
Eyam: the plague village 1665-66
Historian article
Richard Stone explores the self-sacrifice of a Seventeenth Century village during an epidemic.
History shows us these ‘unprecedented times’ are not that far from previous historical experiences. Lockdown, quarantine, self-isolation, ‘second wave’, ‘third wave’, airborne disease, churches closed; the Covid-19 experience resonates with the plight of the villagers of Eyam, three-and-a-half centuries...
Eyam: the plague village 1665-66
-
Women’s friendship in late eighteenth-century America and its relevance to lockdown
Historian article
Rowan Cookson offers us the opportunity to compare our contemporary anxieties with a stressful era in American history.
Eighteenth-century women’s friendship is worth considering at this time. In my undergraduate dissertation, I concluded that white wealthy women’s friendship in eighteenth-century America equired long distance communication, involved labour and perpetuated race and class...
Women’s friendship in late eighteenth-century America and its relevance to lockdown
-
‘Power to the people’? Disputed presidential elections in US history
Historian article
Michael Dunne reveals the complex background to the modern elaborate constitutional process of electing a United States President.
On Wednesday, 20 January 2021, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., was inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America. In years to come these simple words may seem prosaic and...
‘Power to the people’? Disputed presidential elections in US history
-
My Favourite History Place: St James Church, Gerrards Cross
Historian feature
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, is a well-to-do town in the Chilterns and a wealthy commuter dormitory for London. It also harbours what might be one of the most remarkable, under-appreciated churches of the mid-nineteenth century. St James, the parish church, was built for the ‘unruled and unruly’ agricultural labourers and traders who inhabited...
My Favourite History Place: St James Church, Gerrards Cross
-
History Abridged: The census
Historian feature
History Abridged: This feature seeks to take a person, event or period and abridge, or focus on, an important event or detail that can get lost in the big picture. Think Horrible Histories for grownups (without the songs and music). See all History Abridged articles
Most of us are aware...
History Abridged: The census
-
Losing sight of the glory: five centuries of combat surgery
Historian article
Michael Crumplin traces developments in surgery that can be directly attributed to changes in the conduct of war.
Little doubt exists that war accelerates and innovates medical care. Today, our armed services can rely upon sound medical treatment if they are sick or wounded, with survival rates of above 90%. This...
Losing sight of the glory: five centuries of combat surgery
-
Richard III and the Princes in the Tower: update
Historian article
Richard III is one of the most famous kings of England, as much for his Shakespearean mythology as for the reality of his reign. Here, the different accounts of him are explored to shed light on some of his actions and legacy.
The fascination evoked by Richard III and the...
Richard III and the Princes in the Tower: update
-
Out and About: Tynemouth Priory
Historian feature
Approximately 10 miles east of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and just over 10 minutes walk from my home, the imposing ruins of Tynemouth Priory command sea, river, and land from the promontory between King Edward’s Bay and Prior’s Haven. While the Priory dates back to the eleventh century, the headland on which it sits,...
Out and About: Tynemouth Priory
-
The Waggoners’ Memorial
Historian article
Paula Kitching introduces a very remarkable First World War memorial to a specific group of Yorkshire workers.
The Waggoners’ Memorial
-
My Favourite History Place - Barnard Castle
Historian article
Paula Kitching invites us to look at Barnard Castle with new eyes.
Over the summer there was a lot of talk about Barnard Castle – I won’t go into the politics, but it did make me reflect on the actual town of Barnard Castle. Growing up, it was one of...
My Favourite History Place - Barnard Castle
-
My Favourite History Place - Magdeburg
Historian feature
Magdeburg (‘Magdeburg überascht') is situated on the banks of the River Elbe in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. First mentioned by Charlemagne in 805, Magdeburgtoday attracts much attention by being a major historic venue on the Straße der Romanik or Romanesque Route that has opened up a large number of...
My Favourite History Place - Magdeburg
-
At home with Amanda Ira Aldridge
Historian article
Stephen Bourne examines the life of Amanda Ira Aldridge, the multi-talented singer, composer and voice teacher.
Amanda Ira Aldridge may have lived a quiet life but she was a trailblazer in the world of music. After a career as a concert singer, she became a composer in a male-dominated profession, for which she adopted a male pseudonym, Montague Ring. In her...
At home with Amanda Ira Aldridge
-
Grave matters
Historian article
Diana Laffin considers what study of the styles, planning and planting of Brookwood cemetery reveals about nineteenth century mindsets.
Graves are serious sources for historians. There is nothing casual about the choices made at death: the size and design of the monument, the text on the stone, even the location...
Grave matters
-
Stories, sources and new formats: Digitising Archives
Historian article
In the last two decades or so there has been a movement towards digitising large collections of original sources. These projects have had a range of purposes, approaches and target audiences but there can be little doubt that they have had a profound impact on the practice of history in...
Stories, sources and new formats: Digitising Archives
-
Private Lives of the Tudors
Historian article
Tracy Borman explores the distinction between the public and private lives of the Tudor monarchs.
The Tudors were renowned for their public magnificence. Perhaps more than any royal dynasty in British history, they appreciated the importance of impressing their subjects with the splendour of their dress, courts and pageantry in order to reinforce their authority. Wherever...
Private Lives of the Tudors
-
The Sykes-Picot agreement and lines in the sand
Historian article
Paula Kitching reveals how a secret diplomatic negotiation 100 years ago provides an insight into the political complexities of the modern-day Middle East.
The Middle East is an area frequently in the news. Over the last ten years the national and religious tensions appear to have exploded with whole regions...
The Sykes-Picot agreement and lines in the sand
-
The Memory of a Saint: Managing the legacy of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Historian article
When Bernard of Clairvaux died in 1153, the Cistercian Order was faced with a problem. The self-proclaimed ‘chimera of his age’ had enjoyed an unusual and varied monastic career, as abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Clairvaux and papal confidante, making him remarkably well-known for a monk. At the funeral the...
The Memory of a Saint: Managing the legacy of St Bernard of Clairvaux
-
Britain: the regional battlefields that helped to create a nation
Historian article
In this article Geoffrey Carter will be taking a look at battlefields as key elements in British history and how these can be incorporated into the study of history at various levels and in various periods. The regional nature of many historic conflicts is sometimes forgotten but this is an...
Britain: the regional battlefields that helped to create a nation
-
A precious jewel: English Calais, 1347–1558
Historian article
For 200 years the English Crown held the town and fortress of Calais, thereby providing a gateway into France for English exports and influence.
The conquest of Calais
On 26 August 1346 an English army led in person by King Edward III was confronted by a French army commanded by...
A precious jewel: English Calais, 1347–1558
