Looking forward to presenting my paper: 'High, Open, Bleak and Boggy: How Scotland's Environment Shaped Its Involvement In The Second World War' at the 'Scotland and World War Two' conference at Perth UHI on Friday 7 November, 9am to 3pm. Contact Lars Cook at [email protected] for more info.

I had a mid-career fellowship and it was exactly what I needed to finish my book. The BA application forms are far simpler than you might expect if you’ve only ever seen forms for other funders. So, if you’re eligible, do explore further. Best of luck if you apply.

Delighted to have signed a contract with @edinburghup.bsky.social to produce a scholarly edition of Fred Urquhart’s war-time letters. Urquhart, an accomplished writer, was a lover of men and admirer of flamboyant women. His letters offer a Rabelaisian account of the British #SWW home front.

This piece on the distribution of aid in Gaza paints a picture so awful it is hard to conceive on.ft.com/4lzxFOQ

Page proofs time … plus slight tweak of subtitle (in UK edition). Out November 6 in Britain and late November in N America. #AdvanceBritannia

Great to see the Policy Histories series, which I worked on when I was at the British Academy, in the New Statesman.

Hugely enjoyed speaking on this panel last week!

80 years ago a bus strike meant many people had to walk to central London for #VEDay. A potent marker of how Churchill had fought a Tory War but the peace would belong to Labour. Read more in my book: global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Then Historiographies panel with @georgedevans93.bsky.social Geoff Hicks and David Thackeray - these pics from David illustrating Māori women and parliament in 1890s #QMCBS 🗃️

Our free festival of ideas - the @britishacademy.bsky.social Summer Showcase - is on 20/21 June. With workshops, panels, film, research exhibits and more. I’ll pick out a few highlights on this occasional thread, but you can see the programme and book here www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/summe...

Great news! I am recruiting a(nother) PhD student! 'Ulster Americans' is a collaborative PhD with National Museums NI, specifically the Ulster American Folk Park, and is open to home and international students so please spread the word! More details in the link. www.qub.ac.uk/courses/post...

Since it's Commonwealth Day, here's my 2020 article on "Brexit and Empire", on free-access in the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. Quite a lot in here on the hopes and fears vested in the Commonwealth, and their relationship with the Brexit debate. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

North American / UK and rest of Commonwealth covers, out November 2025

Fixed-term post: Teaching and Research Fellow in Black British History @hcaatedinburgh.bsky.social www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLU474/t...

For the @newstatesman.com i wrote a profile of the historian Correlli Barnett, which charts the perils of self-loathing nationalism and the rise of Britain's new right www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2025/0...

Enjoyed a fantastic paper from @jtthalstead.bsky.social last night on doctrine within the 'Imperial Army'.

I'm delighted to share the advert for a collaborative PhD which I'll be co-supervising with Dr Paddy Fitzgerald of the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies (Omagh). This project, 'Finding "home" in a cultural landscape of migration & belonging' has a deadline of 10 March www.qub.ac.uk/courses/post...

Honoured to be reviewed by Richard Evans (and to be called a young historian!). I’m glad he found it enjoyable and that it “provides a stimulating and thought-provoking reassessment of Tory thinking in the war years.” Some of the critiques are fair but I want to push back against the main one (1)

I'm pleased to formally announce the new Editorial Team and International Editorial Board of 'The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'. @jich.bsky.social @yiannicart.bsky.social @jonasgjerso.bsky.social @evansmithhist.bsky.social @helengilmour.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/journals/fic...

Interesting thread and paper.