Any First World War historian who still thinks that British servicemen did not write home about their experiences needs to read Sydney Frankenburg's incredibly detailed description of a raiding party (in which he was wounded and had a man from his platoon killed) addressed to his mother. #ww1 #fww

Because people have been asking how the writing is going… #amwriting #thereturnofthesoldier

Are you an academic based at a university in Africa? Does your research engage with the theme of ‘Africa’s entanglements in a global world’? Find out about our LUCAS-LAHRI Virtual Visiting Research Fellowships 2026-27. Deadline 20 May 2026. lahri.leeds.ac.uk/lucas-lahri-...

Job Opportunity! Lecturer in Global Medieval History University of Leeds jobs.leeds.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

📢 Undergraduate Dissertation Prize 2025–2026 The Women’s History Network is awarding £250 for the best dissertation in women’s and/or gender history. womenshistorynetwork.org/undergraduat... #WomensHistory #GenderHistory #AcademicTwitter #UndergradResearch #history

Feeling very, very seen (minus the rescue cat).

'Protecting what matters': a new government policy paper identifies history as central to social cohesion. At the same time, history teaching and research, in our schools and universities, is at risk as never before. To ensure cohesion, we must protect what matters: bit.ly/3QyZQCO #skystorians

New book review of Henry Wade's Lonely Magdalen. #fww #ww1 #goldenagedetectivefiction

Before I buy a book for single chapter, does anyone have access to a copy of Pat Thane's The Impact of World War I on Marriage, Divorce and Gender Relations in Britain in Brée and Hin (eds.), The Impact of World War I on Marriage, Divorce and Gender Relations in Europe (Routledge, 2020)? #ww1 #fww

'Gallipoli: Ottoman Fronts' by @blackmillgames.bsky.social releases on 21st May. Watch the release date trailer below and see the blog to catch up on everything we've announced about the game so far. 🗃️ youtu.be/1xjzolTHWFU?... store.steampowered.com/news/app/306...

We are delighted offer Methods and Sources for Historical Research 11-15 May 2026, an in person short course focused on archival research, including visits to archives and training in digital and online sources. Booking closes 3 May. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...

On the complications of starting to write again. #blog #blogging #writing #TheReturnoftheSoldier

For PhD/ECR members of @fwwsoc.bsky.social - the Society has a call for papers out for 'New Voices in First World War Studies' - a virtual conference planned for June. It's a great opportunity for members to showcase their amazing new research. See here for more: drive.google.com/file/d/12DLx... 🗃️

In the wake of Lord Roberston’s report, a quick reminder that spending on #defence v. #welfare has never been a zero sum game: historyandpolicy.org/opinion-arti...

Fully funded four year AHRC PhD project @swanseahistory.bsky.social on 'Rethinking Reparations: A Cultural and Social History of Post-First World War Compensation to Civilians in Britain and its Empire, 1918-25.' Closing date 22 May. Get in touch if you are interested!

We're currently recruiting for five (yes five!) Collaborative Doctoral Partnership awards at IWM See the full list of projects and partners here, with further details of how to apply: www.iwm.org.uk/research/doc...

I’m currently sat in the hospital café waiting for visiting hours to start and eavesdropping on a conversation straight out of Last Tango in Halifax. Small compensations in a grim situation. #tinyjoys

As a part of its mission to support the “study of the First World War”, and “to give young researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their work”, we invite applications for our second annual Undergraduate Essay Prize. More information at the link below! www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wm2sy...

A slightly incoherent blog post in the wake of a surreal and terrifying week. #blog #blogging #amwriting

This is not the post I meant to write I was planning to write my next blog post about popular histories of returning British ex-servicemen, comparing Adam Powell’s Soldiering On and Simon Fowler and Daniel Weinbren’s Now the War is Over. At some point I will write this post, as there is a lot I…

There’s no such thing as the history of science (and this is a blog post about it) (inspired by a great 2017 article by Lorraine Daston) williamgpooley.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/t... 🗃️

Yes, of course I have copies of everything George Orwell ever wrote *except* The Road to Wigan Pier, the book I actually need to reference. #amwriting #TheReturnoftheSoldier

And now a happy Sheila's/Sile's/Sheelagh's day to you all! A good day to remember that behind most great men in history there was a woman doing most of the work; and that behind so many of our modern holidays is a woman who has been written out of legend. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheelah...

Current status: completely rethinking the structure and argument of this chapter I have been working on for the past month. I hate this stage of chaos and keep having to remind myself that the time and words spent working through ideas have not been wasted. #writing #amwriting #TheReturnoftheSoldier

A day in Cambridge? Of course I’m going to spend it revisiting old haunts and indulging my passions. Not shown, the three books from the ever-wonderful Haunted Bookshop.

Have you had personal tutoring responsibilities in a UK HEI in the last five years? I'd love to hear from you! I'm running a short survey on interpersonal relationships & care within personal tutoring, which takes ~10 minutes to complete. Please do share: I'm keen to get a wide range of responses!

every quantitative measure is actually a stack of qualitative assumptions in a trenchcoat

For the evening crowd: armsandthemedicalman.com/2026/03/10/l... #blogpost #familyhistory #socialhistory #20s30s

Some further reflections on @tricksterprince.bsky.social's Songs of Seven Dials: #20s30s #socialhistory #familyhistory

PhD opening in Bergen. Come and work with me on my NFR project looking at violence and warfare in antiquity: www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

New call for book proposals 📚 The Boydell Studies in War and Military History series (Boydell & Brewer) is inviting proposals for monographs and edited volumes exploring warfare, armed forces, and military institutions across all periods and regions. Details below. ⬇️

🧵 American context, but very much applies to Britain as well.

PhD Funding! University of Leeds The School of History invites Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic scholars who wish to pursue a PhD to apply for the Access to Research Scholarship. Scholarship is open to those who are eligible to pay UK fees. phd.leeds.ac.uk/funding/387-...

A couple of months ago, I was a guest on the Global Health Histories podcast series, talking about the history of medical care provision for disabled ex-servicemen in Britain after the First World War. The episode is now available and can be found here: ahc.leeds.ac.uk/directories1... #ww1 #histmed

What does the #FWW look like when it arrives as an invasion of home, family, & childhood? We discuss 'My Soul, A Shining Tree', by Jamila Gavin that explores the war's opening months through the experiences of children, civilians, & young soldiers. 🗃️ ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/my-s...

Apparently having a very difficult thing to read for a deadline that you know is going to make you cross is a very good stimulus for avoiding writing procrastination. Serious progress has been made on my sample chapter revisions today! #amwriting #TheReturnoftheSoldier #ReturningHome

Hello, fellow historians, especially those in the north of the UK! Booking is open for the second of our events on Second Projects, organised by me and Tracey Loughran and supported by History UK - details of speakers and registration link below! ahc.leeds.ac.uk/events/event...

The Spectator published this attack on me & colleagues just as the High Court is considering Sussex’s request for review of the Office for Students fine. It accuses us of ‘repressing’ our students. The magazine ignored my request for to reply. Please disseminate. alanlester.co.uk/blog/smearin...

I'm sitting listening to a young woman with an extremely posh accent discuss her friends Martha and Albert and the #20s30s historian in me is starting to suffer from cognitive dissonance. #historianproblems

Current status: up to my eyes in the history of early twentieth century town planning and the Garden City movement. The North/South divide in the historiography, let alone the history, is fascinating. #amwriting #TheReturnoftheSoldier #returninghome

Sad news. A huge influence on my research and the work of so many of my students.

We are advertising 4 jobs at York for historians (1 year medieval, 2 years modern Britain and public history, 3 years modern China, and open ended modern Middle Eastern) features.york.ac.uk/history-jobs/

Entries are invited for the Labour History Review postgraduate essay prize. The deadline for entries is 30 June 2026 (Please share widely) sslh.org.uk/2026/02/19/l...

Reposting today’s blog post so I can tag @tricksterprince.bsky.social: armsandthemedicalman.com/2026/02/17/l...

It has taken a while, but I have finally managed to at least start my review of Songs of Seven Dials:

Niche (but passionate) popular culture take: the recasting of Dalziel and Pascoe as women for the revival is a travesty. Presumably this means Ellie Pascoe will be written out, and the entire dynamic with Wieldy will have to change.

Age verification? I made mix tapes.

Today's writing: 500 words of a now-1000-word+ (and still not completed) review of @tricksterprince.bsky.social 's Songs of Seven Dials, which tells you something of how much I enjoyed engaging with it. I think I'm going to have split this over two blog posts. #writing #amwriting #blog #20s30s

Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work. ‘It’s a bit more complicated…’

I missed out on these @imperialwarmuseums @libertylondon fabrics at first issue, so am delighted to have managed to get my hands on some this time around. I can’t wait to incorporate them into my next quilting project! 🪡 #quilting #culturalhistory #historyofwar #thehistoriancrafts