Following on in similar vein to my recent article on sailors in the Royal Navy during the First World War, this article will expand upon sailors’ attitudes to killing and death in the Great War by considering their diaries. At this juncture it is worth revisiting Joanna Bourke’s interesting study: An Intimate History of Killing.[i] […]
Following Women’s International Day on 8 March 2014, it is appropriate that the role of women and their voices be given attention. Port Towns are ostensibly about men, masculinity and male bonds of friendship. Men have arguably shaped our understandings of port towns, their projected identity and this has left a lasting presence on the […]
Following the recent announcements of shipyard closures in Portsmouth it is pertinent to explore the significance of Royal Navy shipbuilding in Britain. Although BAE Systems decided to retain its operations on the Clyde in November 2013, there was a fierce debate around whether it was Glasgow or Portsmouth who were best placed to emerge as the […]
On 10 May 1914 William Alexander Smith – the founder of the Boys’ Brigade – passed away after being taken ill at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the organisation in London.[2] Smith had said to his son Stanley that to see St. Paul’s full with boys would be an impressive sight.[3] The location […]
Middle-England seemingly went into shock when it was announced that David Dimbleby, broadcaster and establishment figure par excellence had succumbed to having a tattoo. Although some time has now elapsed since Dimbleby’s tattoo made headline news, getting the tattoo whilst filming a documentary about ‘Britain and the Seas’ taps into something that time has not weakened. […]
Given the upcoming centenary of the Great War this year it is understandable that we find ourselves saturated with discussions of the tragedy that befell the European empires in 1914. Yet, despite this wide and encouraging engagement with the topic, the key focus of popular debate is centred on the many millions who died fighting […]
