Forthcoming Military History Conferences/Lectures

A couple of good ones coming from the Battlefields Trust-
"Battle of Tewkesbury 1471

Sunday 2nd January 2011
Another chance to walk over one of the most important battles of the Wars of the Roses, organised by the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society. Meet at 2.30 pm at the Crescent Tewkesbury, (near Tewkesbury Abbey).
N.B. This walk will be repeated on Sunday 6th February 2011, Sunday 6th March 2011 and Sunday 3rd April 2011.


Read More


Battle of Ashdown 871

Sunday 9th January 2011
A walk around the site of Alfred the Great’s first victory over the Danes. Meet at 2pm outside ‘The Bell’ pub in the village of Aldworth. (Stout footwear and warm clothes are advisable)."

Read More

And from the South Manchester Tactical Society-
"Monday 10th January 2011.
Tim Cockitt - Battlefield Preservation (and Tourism), with examples including Gettysburg & Flodden. "
http://www.smats.org.uk/

 

More from the Battlefields Trust-
"Battle of Nantwich 1644

Saturday 22nd January 2011

Morning Holly Holy Day talk and walk. Meet at St Mary¹s Church, Acton at 10am for 10.15. Tower visit if possible. Acton is about 1.5 miles north-west of Nantwich on the A534 and (coming from Nantwich) there is a car-park on the right shortly before you get to the Church. Walk can be muddy. Cap proceeds divided between St Mary's Church and Battlefields Trust."
Read More
"Battle of Barnet 1471

Sunday 23rd January 2011
As part of the newly launched Battle of Barnet project we will be visiting the site of this decisive battle which witnessed the defeat and death of Warwick ‘the kingmaker’. Meet outside the ‘Olde Monken Holt’ public house in Barnet at 11.00 AM"
Read More


"2nd Battle of St. Albans 1461

Saturday 29th January 2011

The St Albans City Museum (Hatfield Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3RR) will be running a family event on 29 January 2011 to commemorate the battle. There will be medieval knights, a model (or models) of the battlefield as a miniature re-enactment of the fighting on Bernards Heath. There will also be brass rubbing and shield making."
Read More


"Battle of Alton 1643 and Battle of Cheriton 1644

Saturday 29th January 2011

Joint event with the Trust's newly-formed Wessex Region. A visit to the site of Waller’s successful surprise attack and the battle-scarred church where the Royalists made their last stand, followed by a brief walk round part of the Cheriton battlefield."
Read More

 

More from the Battlefields Trust-

"Battle of Nantwich 1644
Saturday 22nd January 2011
Morning Holly Holy Day talk and walk. Meet at St Mary¹s Church, Acton at 10am for 10.15. Tower visit if possible. Acton is about 1.5 miles north-west of Nantwich on the A534 and (coming from Nantwich) there is a car-park on the right shortly before you get to the Church. Walk can be muddy. Cap proceeds divided between St Mary's Church and Battlefields Trust."
Read More

"Battle of Barnet 1471
Sunday 23rd January 2011
As part of the newly launched Battle of Barnet project we will be visiting the site of this decisive battle which witnessed the defeat and death of Warwick ‘the kingmaker’. Meet outside the ‘Olde Monken Holt’ public house in Barnet at 11.00 AM"
Read More

"2nd Battle of St. Albans
Saturday 29th January 2011
The St Albans City Museum (Hatfield Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3RR) will be running a family event on 29 January 2011 to commemorate the battle. There will be medieval knights, a model (or models) of the battlefield as a miniature re-enactment of the fighting on Bernards Heath. There will also be brass rubbing and shield making."
Read More

"Battle of Alton 1643 and Battle of Cheriton 1644
Saturday 29th January 2011
Joint event with the Trust's newly-formed Wessex Region. A visit to the site of Waller’s successful surprise attack and the battle-scarred church where the Royalists made their last stand, followed by a brief walk round part of the Cheriton battlefield."
Read More

No chance of me making any, unfortunately, but if any other British rogues can manage to attend, I'd love to read a report.

 

The South Manchester Tactical Society (‘SMATS’) next Lecture/Discussion will be:

"Poland has not perished yet, so long as we still live"

The Warsaw Uprising of 1944

Tuesday 8th February 2011 7.30pm at the Scout Building, Knivton Street, Godley, Hyde, SK14 2PU. Click here for directions.

All are welcome, click here for more info.

 

Thanks for that, Ian.
Can't get the link to open though.

 

Hi Gordon,

Which link, they all seem ok for me...

Ian

 

Cancel that, it's ok now.

 

Mahross posted this in the other place, and I hope he doesn't mind me taking the liberty of posting it here too.
Hope it goes well for him.

"Transformation and Innovation in the British Military from 1642 to 1945
Here are details on an event that I have been in the process of organising for the past couple of months that may be of interest to the membership...

Centres for First and Second World War Studies
Transformation and Innovation in the British Military from 1642 to 1945
A Symposium for Postgraduate and Early Career Historians​

This symposium, organised by the Centres for First and Second World War Studies at the University of Birmingham, intends to give postgraduate and early career historians the opportunity to examine the process of transformation and innovation in the British military as recent literature on the subject has highlighted a need to evaluate the process from 1642 to 1945. The symposium will be held at the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham.

The symposium will also give delegates the opportunity to present aspects of their research to a wider audience and engage with the academic community in military history. The symposium programme is attached, and includes eighteen papers on aspects of transformation and innovation in the British military from the early modern period to the modern and from a range of perspectives. Professor John Buckley, Chair of Military History at the University of Wolverhampton Military History, will deliver the keynote lecture. Professor Gary Sheffield, Chair of War Studies at the University of Birmingham, will deliver the symposium’s closing address.
The symposium fee, which includes tea & coffee and lunch on the day, is £10 for postgraduate students and Friends/Members of the Centres for First and Second World War Studies and £20 for other interested parties.

If you wish to attend the conference please print out and return this Symposium Booking Form and send it by Monday 4 April to:


Ross Mahoney
C/O School of History and Cultures
College of Arts and Law
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT


For informal enquiries please email us at birminghamwarstudies@gmail.com


Symposium webpage – Transformation and Innovation Symposium « Birmingham "On War"

Symposium Timetable

8:45 – Registration

9:15 – Introduction and Welcome – Ross Mahoney, Stuart Mitchell and Michael LoCicero

9:30 – Panel 1: Transformation and Innovation in the Early Modern Era, 1642-1815


Chair: Victoria Henshaw (University of Birmingham)

Sara Regnier-Mckeller (University of Essex) – Honour and Manhood in the Armies of the British Civil Wars

Britt Zerbe (University of Exeter) – Amphibious Brotherhood: 1664 or 1755? What Foundation and Establishment mean to Marine Identity

11:00 – Tea

11:15 – Panel 2A: Transformation and Innovation in the 19th Century


Chair: Aimée Fox (University of Birmingham)

Peter Randall (University of Reading) – The Influence of the Napoleonic Wars upon the British Military, 1815-1854

Andrew Duncan (University of Birmingham) – British Army Medicine, 1854-1914: Resistance and Reform

Edward Gosling (University of Plymouth) – The Cardwell-Childers Reforms, 1868-1881

11:15 – Panel 2B: Transformation and Innovation at the Fin de Siècle


Chair: Michael LoCicero (University of Birmingham)

Dr Spencer Jones (University of Wolverhampton) – Countdown to the ‘Mad Minute’: The Reform of British Musketry, 1899-1914

Dr Peter Grant (Cass Business School, City University) – Learning to Manage the Army: The Army Administration Course at the London School of Economics

Martin Gibson (University of Glasgow) – The Royal Navy’s Conversion from Coal to Oil, 1900-1914

12:45 – Lunch

13:30 – Keynote Address by Professor John Buckley, Chair of Military History, University of Wolverhampton

14:30 – Panel 3A: Transformation and Innovation in the First World War


Chair: Stuart Mitchell (University of Birmingham)

Paul Harris (King’s College London) – Soldier Banker: Lieutenant-General Sir Herbert Lawrence as the BEF’s Chief of Staff in 1918

Simon Justice (University of Birmingham) – Vanishing Battalions: The Reorganisation of British Infantry prior to, and as a result of, the German Spring Offensives of 1918

Dr Jonathan Boff (King’s College London) – Innovation and Victory: The British Army during the Hundred Days Campaign, 1918

14:30 – Panel 3B: Transformation and Innovation in the Second World War


Chair: James Pugh (University of Birmingham)

Neal Dando (University of Plymouth) – From ‘Jock Column’ to Armoured Column: Transformation and Change in British and Commonwealth Unit Tactics in the Western Desert, January 1941 to November 1942

Sarah McCook (University of Durham) – Wartime Communications: British Dispatch Riders and the need for reliable communications during the Second World War

Dr Matthew Ford (University of Hull) – Learning the Lessons of Battle: Organisational Learning, Small Unit Tactics and the Problems with the Force Transformation Literature

16.00 – Coffee

16:15 – Panel 4: Transformation and Innovation in the Third Dimension

Chair: Ross Mahoney (University of Birmingham)

James Pugh (University of Birmingham) – Oil and Water: Military and Naval approaches to Air Power Doctrine and Technological Innovation, 1911-1914

John Alexander (University of Birmingham) – Transformation and Innovation in British Air Defence, 1922-1936

Richard Hammond (University of Exeter) – British Aero-Naval Co-Operation in the Mediterranean and the Formation of RAF No. 201 (Naval Co-Operation) Group

17:45 Closing Address by Professor Gary Sheffield, Chair of War Studies, University of Birmingham
Ross"

 

Not a problem Gordon. I hope a few forum members can make it...

Ross

 

If any British rogues are anywhere near Birmingham on March 3rd, the Royal Meteorological Society have an interesting lecture on the Met Section at Bomber Command HQ in WW2-
"The British Meteorological Office at HQ Bomber Command during the Second World War

Date:Thursday, 3rd March 2011 Time:16.00 Location:Room 125, Geography Department, Birmingham University, Birmingham B15 2TT
Info:Mr Brian Booth, Former Chief Forecaster at RAF High Wycombe (the Defence Meteorological Centre, Headquarters Strike Command)."
http://www.rmets.org/events/detail.php?ID=4523

 

The Centre for Battlefield Archaeology postgraduate conference

‘We go to gain a little patch of ground’: postgraduate research in conflict archaeology

First call for Papers
7th - 9th October 2011, University of Glasgow
Email: conflictpg@gmail.com

The Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at the University of Glasgow will be hosting a three-day postgraduate conference bringing together researchers working within the field of conflict archaeology. It is intended that this conference be a postgraduate answer to the Fields of Conflict conference cycle. The first Fields of Conflict conference, held in Glasgow in 2000, represented a significant horizon for those eager for the opportunity to share pioneering research in the burgeoning field of conflict archaeology. In the last decade, conflict archaeology has transformed from a radical sub-discipline into an established, yet dynamic, academic subject covering a myriad of research avenues.

This postgraduate conference will bring together postgraduate researchers with the aim of providing a platform to present a new generation of research in the field of conflict archaeology. It will provide a venue for postgraduates to present their work, offering a chance not only to be informed of the latest research trends, but also to give students the opportunity to connect with others within this rapidly developing field of specialisation. It is hoped that this conference will address a perceived lack of forum for the discussion and presentation of postgraduate work in all facets of conflict archaeology and will in turn foster a vibrant postgraduate research community that forges intellectual, international and interdisciplinary connections. We go, therefore, ‘to gain a little patch of ground’ (Hamlet IV.iv.18).

Papers will cover a wide range of research interests, reflecting the multifaceted nature of conflict archaeology, covering all time periods from the ancient to the contemporary.

We welcome submissions including, but not limited to, topics such as:

• Methodologies and new approaches
• Landscapes of conflict
• Warfare, violence, resistance
• Politics and propaganda
• Memorialisation, remembrance and forgetting
• Imprisonment / internment
• Colonial encounter
• Heritage management of sites of conflict and public engagement
• Battlefield tourism, thanatourism
• Recreation, re-enactment and ersatz experience
• Ethics of studying violence and conflict
• Investigating and interpreting uncomfortable / problematic histories
• Recovery of remains

We invite 20-minute papers that touch upon any of the themes raised above. Papers on related topics or those that offer comparative perspectives are also welcome, as are A0- and A1-sized research posters. Please send a 250-300 word abstract to conflictpg@gmail.com by 1 July 2011. Selected papers will be published in a special edition of the Journal of Conflict Archaeology.

For further information contact Natasha Ferguson, Jennifer Novotny or Jonathan Trigg.
Centre for Battlefield Archaeology
University of Glasgow
Gregory Building
Lilybank Gardens
Glasgow G12 8QQ
+44 (0)141 330 2304
conflictpg@gmail.com

 

All this learned stuff is making me feel a bit of a thicko.....

 

Nah...what would these young whippersnappers know about the RAF compared to you, Martin?

 

Next meeting of the South Manchester Tactical Society-

"Poland has not perished yet, so long as we still live"
The Warsaw Uprising of 1944
Tuesday 8th February 2011 7.30pm

 

And the latest rom the Battlefields Trust-

Sunday 6th February 2011

Battle of Tewkesbury 1471

Another chance to walk over one of the most important battles of the Wars of the Roses, organised by the Tewkesbury Battlefield Society. Meet at 2.30 pm at the Crescent Tewkesbury, (near Tewkesbury Abbey).
N.B. This walk will be repeated on Sunday 6th March 2011 and Sunday 3rd April 2011."
Read More

Saturday 19th February 2011

Visit to Fort Nelson
Joint event with the Trust's newly-formed Wessex Region. One of a chain of forts built in the 1860s to protect Portsmouth from French invasion, Fort Nelson houses much of the Royal Armouries collection of artillery. Over 300 large guns are on display and there are daily live firings of one of the field guns. Meet 11.00am in Fort Nelson, Portsdown Hill Rd, Fareham, Nr Portsmouth PO17 6AN

Read More

Weekend of 26/27 February 2011

2nd Battle of St Albans
26th-27th February 2011
Series of talks and events to commemorate the 550th anniversary of the 2nd Battle of St Albans.

Read More

 

"The Modern Conflict Archaeology Conference.

The Bristol Modern Conflict Archaeology Postgraduates are pleased to announce that they will be hosting the 3rd Postgraduates Students Conference in 2011.

The provisional date is Saturday, October 22nd.

This established postgraduate conference will be open to all delegates who pre-register, however speakers should be current postgraduate students
during October 2011.

Please forward this email to any of your collegues who you think may be interested.

*Call for papers*

Postgraduate students are invited to submit a proposal for a paper to be presented at the 3rd. *Modern Conflict Archaeology * conference, to be held at Bristol University on Saturday, October 22nd 2011(TBC). All conference speakers will be postgraduate students and the conference will be both an opportunity to present research and a forum for critical discussion.

Attendance at the conference is open to anyone with an interest in Conflict Archaeology, however pre-registration will be required.

*Theme.*

The theme of the conference is *Modern Conflict Archaeology (20th and 21st centuries)*

*Papers.*

Proposals should be consistent with the theme, demonstrating a multidisciplinary approach to the study of conflict and its legacies, and where possible they should be theoretically informed.

*Please supply (by email) a title and a synopsis (up to 200 words) of your proposal and you should include your name, contact email address, phone number and details of your affiliation to a university or other institution.

All proposals will be reviewed by the conference organisers and if chosen you will be invited to present a paper of 20 minutes duration using PowerPoint illustrations.

*Eligibility.*

Speakers must be, or plan to be, a postgraduate student of a university or other recognised institution during October 2011.

*Timetable.*

Proposals for papers must be submitted no later than May 6th 2011; late submissions will only be considered if programming allows. Invitations will be sent to speakers by June 20th 2011.

*Blog.*

The abstracts of selected papers will be published on the Blog, other web pages and distributed on the conference email list.

Further enquiries and proposal should be sent to:

John Winterburn

JW1703@bristol.ac.uk

See *www.tinyurl.com/conflict3* for further details."

 

Talks: Wartime Posters, Bethnal Green Disaster And The Blitz Legacy February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm · View Comments · Arts and Events ·

London Transport Museum continues its fascinating run of WWII events.
On Tuesday 1 March, Head Curator David Bownes and art historian Jonathan Black discuss London Transport’s posters during the conflict. The modernist designs provided information on where to shelter and how to keep to the blackout, as well as celebrating everyday heroism and looking forward to a bright post-war future."
Talks: Wartime Posters, Bethnal Green Disaster And The Blitz Legacy | Londonist

 

"Talks: Wartime Posters, Bethnal Green Disaster And The Blitz Legacy February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm ·

London Transport Museum continues its fascinating run of WWII events.
On Tuesday 1 March, Head Curator David Bownes and art historian Jonathan Black discuss London Transport’s posters during the conflict. The modernist designs provided information on where to shelter and how to keep to the blackout, as well as celebrating everyday heroism and looking forward to a bright post-war future."
Talks: Wartime Posters, Bethnal Green Disaster And The Blitz Legacy | Londonist

 

Just a reminder about the 6th Fields of Conflict Conference at Osnabruck 15-18th April-
6th Fields of Conflict Conference, Osnabrück and Kalkriese

 

Next meeting of the SMATS is next Tuesday, at their new venue-
"The Men in the Shed - uncovering the wartime history of St Vigor des Mezerets​

In 2004, Colin Foster began an investigation to unearth the story & personalities behind a set of names of 18 Allied Servicemen recorded on the inside wall of a wooden shed in Normandy owned by a friend of his. Seven years later, the research is still ongoing... lots of answers have been found... and plenty more questions raised!"
http://www.smats.org.uk/​