On behalf of the Society's President and Council, we wish a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our members and online followers. And if your Christmas gifts disappoint, our full booklist is now available online to give you some ideas to treat yourself. www.sahr.org.uk/view-book-li...

Two posts available at UCL’s groundbreaking Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery: www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

Several hours later than planned thanks to a power cut but our tree is up, and only involved one bout of tears from tge 14-year-old.

Receiving referee reports is emotionally complicated, even when the recommendation is to accept subject to revisions. Today’s (a week before Christmas) arrived with the request that I complete the regions and upload the new version in two weeks, adding outrage to everything else I’m feeling. #aclife

Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252: Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email. Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

Oxford Brookes University has a huge raft of AHRC-funded PhD studentships in the Arts, Humanities and allied subjects! Both fees and a stipend covered. Take a look at the ad below - the closing date is 30th January 2026. Anyone interested at all, get in touch! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM937/p...

We drew on the collection of @historians.org essays analysing the film by Santanu Das, Susan Grayzel, @thehistorygirl1.bsky.social, and Catherine Robson. Students were drawn to the soundscape and narrative but queried the silences and omissions. All agreed it was an impressive piece of cinema!

Can a story about #FWW soldiers carry a warning for the nuclear age? This month Anne Marie Einhaus returns for Robert Graves' short story 'Christmas Truce' where a veteran recounts his wartime experience to his anti-Nuclear Weapons campaigning Grandson. ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/chri...

Good showing of @fwwsoc.bsky.social members at this year’s Society for the History of War conference, both in person and in references. #fww #ww1 #milhist #historyofwar

Days 18-23. Border 1 complete.

Spending International Men's Day writing about how Britain culturally represented men who returned from the First World War across the 20th century. Given there were over 4 million of them, the story is a bit more complicated than 'forgotten heroes' and 'cheerful cripples'. #fww #ww1 #amwriting

An excellent PhD opportunity for someone to work on family separation during WW1 or WW2. I've done some research on Italian emigrant families separated when the father was serving in the Italian Army and it's a really fascinating area of study. royalhistsoc.org/calendar/phd...

I spy pumpkin pie.

🕊️November 11, 1918 – The Armistice of Compiègne On November 11th, 1918, at 11 a.m., The fighting of the First World War came to an end. The armistice ended hostilities, and led to a complex post-war era defined by reconstruction, remembrance, and reimagined international relations. 🧵

📣 The WFA PhD Grant Scheme is currently open to applicants! We want to hear from anyone researching the First World War as part of their doctoral thesis, no matter what the topic! #fwwhist Full details and application form can be found below ⬇️ www.westernfrontassociation.com/latest-news/...

Ending today with the words of SWW ENSA performer Joyce Grenfell: If I should go before the rest of you Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone Nor when I'm gone speak in a Sunday voice But be the usual selves that I have known Weep if you must Parting is Hell But life goes on So sing as well.

Day 9. Centre completed. On to the borders from tomorrow.

A short 🧵 in response to some of the outrage expressed in this post and responses to it. In both world wars, communal singing, including (indeed especially) of popular music was hugely important to the maintenance of morale. (1/)

Days 7 and 8. Yesterday’s stint was knitted while awaiting the start of the Merseyside WFA’s November meeting, after which I was a bit busy speaking about RAMC innovation and improvisation, so no time for photographs.

PhD Studentship: Announcing 3 PhD Studentships within Royal Holloway funded by the AHRC Doctoral Landscape Awards Royal Holloway, University of London - Doctoral School #skystorians 🗃️www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH439/p...

It has been a hot minute since I did a writing accountability post. This was due to a) half term, which is not conducive to focussed writing and b) trying to write both #menandwar and #thereturnofthesoldier at the same time. (1/2) #amwriting

I must admit, one of the nicer parts of this job is writing references for former students who are applying for programmes of further study. #aclife

A film you’ve seen more than 7 times with a gif.

From tomorrow I’ll be knitting every day for a month in aid of Dementia UK. I will try to post a picture of my progress each day. This is my starting point, just over half way through the central section of a shawl with three borders. If you can, please donate: www.facebook.com/donate/83589...

The unexpected sweetness of teenage boys on a local train discussing Hairy McLairy.

Job Opportunity! Teaching Fellow in Twentieth Century Black British History University of Leeds - Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Cultures - School of History www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPF977/t...

Late writing on the 18:33 from London to Leeds. A couple of messy paragraphs on 18th century regulars and impressment. Tomorrow will be French conscription and lots of references to @historymatt.bsky.social’s work. #amwriting #menandwar

Today’s writing accountability: 1 sentence. Crowded Grand Central trains are not good places to write, and I still can’t work out how to get from where I am to mercenaries and where camp followers fit. A problem (again) for tomorrow. #amwriting (slowly) #menandwar

Quick reminder that this is 3 weeks today! Please sign up if you haven't already - in-person and online.

On a train heading for a very #20s30s sort of day. An appointment with the Marie Stopes letter @wellcomelibrary , followed by the launch of @tricksterprince.bsky.social’s exciting new book, with a bit of writing about interwar disabled ex-servicemen thrown in for good measure.

Today’s writing accountability post: two more paragraphs, probably in the wrong place at the moment. I’ll think about moving them tomorrow. #amwriting #menandwar

Today's writing stint has involved trying to summarize the events and significance of the Hatian Revolution, something I have not attempted since I lectured on the subject for @gsoh31.bsky.social's Atlantic Histories module nearly twenty years ago. #amwriting #menandwar

Looking forward to co-convening this with Kat Rawling and an awesome bunch of colleagues.

This November, I'm knitting everyday and raising funds for Dementia UK. I would be grateful for your support, however large or small. Anything you can give will make a difference. Thank you! www.facebook.com/share/1A8YcH...

Today felt like I spent more time crossing out than writing, but there is another paragraph on the page (and a lot of reading about the Latin American Wars of Independence to do), so I'm taking that as a win. #amwriting #menandwar

The 2026 SSHM Conference will be @universityofleeds.bsky.social. The theme will be In/Out and we are inviting papers that consider experiences of being in and/or out of health or health care in any period or geographical location. #HistMed #HistSTM sshm.org/sshm-2026/

Based on this, a considerable portion of my cultural history research corpus may have, in fact, been selected based on sausage content. (No euphemism intended, says the historian of masculinity…)

🎉 We are delighted to announce that Dr Sofya Anisimova (@sdanisimova.bsky.social) has been elected President of the International Society for First World War Studies starting in January! 🧵

It has been what is known as a mast year, a reference to beech masts and the abundance of fruits and nuts. This is the result from my garden and the local hedgerows. Everything here is home grown or foraged, including apples, plums, blackberries, sloes, bullaces, elderberries and rose hips.

And hear scholars like them speak. To be able to ask them questions. And then, over the course of the next few days, have them also listen to your own work and ask you questions about it. The support of leading scholars for the past (nearly) 25 years is a huge part of the Society's success. 5/

Reposting purely to continue mortifying @chriskempshall.bsky.social for as long as possible! 😂

There were topics covered from Hawaii to Japan and many countries in-between (going the long way round), including strategy, diplomacy, social history and literary and cultural work. A reminder: @fwwsjournal.bsky.social is very keen to have more literary/cultural papers (email me if interested).

Closing out this year’s @fwwsoc.bsky.social’s conference in Thessaloniki with a guided tour of the Allied Military Cemetery at Zeitenlik. An appropriate end to an intense, enjoyable and educational few days.

Great news! JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month www.jstor.org/action/showL...

After more than a year in the making, it is finally here! Check out the programme of the bi-annual Society conference dedicated to naval aspects of the First World War

With two book projects on the go and two more in the planning stages (plus various other professional and domestic projects on the go), what I *really* don’t need is to suddenly develop an interest in the family tree and all the family history materials my mother collected and which I inherited! 📜

The launch of my new @manchesterup.bsky.social book Songs of Seven Dials will be at 6pm, Tues 21 Oct, at Waterstones Covent Garden. I'll be in conversation with the wonderful @julialaite.bsky.social. Please do come along. Free tickets, but register in advance www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/songs-of-s...

Some big news: the University of Birmingham is launching a new MA in Gender & Sexuality. It's interdisciplinary, with a focus on combining theory & practice. It's going to be amazing. I'm convening it: message or email with questions. www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/postgr... @unibirmingham.bsky.social

Such an honour and a pleasure to have contributed to this amazing event. I’m heading back to my writing enthused and inspired.