The Kensingtons Blog

Professor John Bourne talks about his interest and research on the  British 46th Division on the Western Front during the Great War. The 46th Division was […]

Historian Rob Thompson talks about how the British army supplied logistics and material for the Messines/Third Ypres Campaign of 1917. This was originally broadcast in […]

Authors and historians Simon Batten and Matthew Dixon talk about their recent book on Bloxham School and the Great War. Taking one small boarding school […]

Historian, clinical psychologist and author Dr Peter Hodgkinson talks about his recent book A Complete Orchestra of War, that is a history of the 6th […]

Historian Dr Michael Taylor talks about his new book that explores Brigadier General Frank Crozier’s command of the 119 Brigade during the Great War. Crozier […]

Author, tour guide, doctoral candidate and historian Clive Harris talks about his research into the military contribution of London during the great War. In 1914, […]

Author and historian Pauric Travers talks about his recent book ‘Donegal, The Irish Revolution, 1912-1923’, which looks at County Donegal through the Home Rule Crisis, the Great […]

Author and historian Fraser Skirrow talks about raiding on the Western Front during the Great War. Once the frontline became static and dominated by trenches, […]

Dr Michael Senior talks about his recent book Fromelles 1916. This explores the men from the Buckinghamshire village of Lee who fought and died in […]

Dr Daithí Ó Corráin and Dr Gerard Hanley talk about their recent book on Irish revolutionary and republican leader Cathal Brugha. This book is titled […]

Professor John Bourne talks about the role, impact and reputation of the British Expeditionary Force Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. He challenges […]

Professor Heather Jones talks about her recent book on King George V and the monarchy during the Great War. Her book examines how the First […]

Art historian, curator, film producer and lecturer Libby Horner talks about her research into artist Frank Brangwyn and the Great War. Brangwyn  (1867-1956) was born […]

PhD candidate Harry Sanderson talks about his doctoral research into the roll and impact of drill on the training of soldiers. Harry contents that close […]

Historian John Broom talks about his latest book that looks at cricket during the Great War. John discusses how the game at professional and amateur […]

Author, historian and battlefield guide Tim Lynch talks about his research into conscript morale during the final year of the Great War. He challenges perceptions […]

Professor Ian Beckett, Honorary Professor of Military History at the University of Kent, talks about the 1/1st Bucks Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, during the Great War. His […]

Andrew Wood talks about his recent novel Hanham. It is based on the true story of three brothers who fought in the First World war […]

Jonathan Vernon, Digital Editor for the WFA, talks about his research into Lewes during the opening months of the Great War. He focuses on the […]

Author, historian and educationalist, Sir Anthony Seldon talks about his new book ‘The Path of Peace’ which is his memoir of walking the Western Front […]

Author, historian, Irish Times reporter and videographer, Ronan McGreevy, talks about his recent book Great Hatred. This book, published by Faber, explores the assassination of […]

Jake Gasson, a doctoral candidate at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, talks about his research into how British soldiers experienced and endured boredom as part […]

Dr Robb Robinson, Honorary Research Fellow at the Blaydes Maritime Centre at the University of Hull, talks about British fishermen and their involvement in the […]

Historian and journalist Katherine Quinlan-Flatter talks about the German Army during the weeks of October 1918 before the Armistice in November. Katherine talks about how […]

Dr Niamh Gallagher,  University Associate Professor in Modern British and Irish History at the Faculty of History, St Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge and Professor […]

Author and historian Dr Viv Newman about her research into children and childhood during the Great War. She explores how the war affect children across […]

WFA European Officer Rocky Salmon talks about gas warfare during the Great War. Rocky talks about the types of chemical agents used, their efficacy and […]

PhD student Pauline Onderwater talks about her doctoral research into the Netherlands during the Great War. In the interview, she talks about how the war […]

Dr Viv Whelpton talks about the life and service of Great War poet Richard Aldington. Aldington (1892-1962) was an English writer and poet who is […]

Dr Alex Mayhew, a historian of the cultural, military, and social history of war and also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, talks about his […]

Jonathan Bratten talks about his history of the US 103rd Regiment during the Great War. The 103rd was a National Guard unit drawn from New […]

Historian and teacher Dr Andrew T. Jarboe talks about his recent book Indian Soldiers in World War I: Race and Representation in an Imperial War, […]

Dr Spencer Jones talks about The Darkest Year, a collection of essays he edited on the British Army fighting on the Western Front in 1917 […]

Historian Professor Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University in Australia, talks about his research into the […]

Historian Dr Frances Hurd talks about her research into officers who fall foul of the law in the 1920s. She examines three officers who found […]

In this special podcast, I talk to historian and photographer Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy about the launch of his book In the Centennial Footsteps of the Great […]

History teacher Gareth Williams and librarian Donna Saxby from Kingham Hill School in Oxfordshire, talk about how they teach the Great War to their pupils. […]

Historian and modern conflict archaeologist Dr Matt Leonard talks about subterranean operations in WW1. Matt discusses how the extent, scope and nature of below ground […]

Historian Craig Armstrong talks about his recent book The Boy Scouts in the Great War that looks at the movement during the First World War. […]

Dr Adam Prime talks about his research into dissent and indiscipline in the Indian Army during the Great War. Adam outlines the number of incidents […]

Author, teacher and historian Tom Strickland talks about his recent book, Following in the Footsteps of Heroes, which is a new guide to the battlefield […]

Jos Hoebe, talks about the new Great War computer game Isonzo, that he helped develop with Netherlands game developers Game Drive. Isonzo is the third […]

Dr Alexander Jackson talks about his recent book Football’s Great War, Association Football on the English Home Front. Alex talks about the so-called ‘anti-football debate’ […]

Historical researcher Giles Penman, studying at the University of Warwick, talks about his research into the use of Roman and Ancient Greek imagery on the […]

Historian Professor Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University in Australia, talks about his research into the […]

Historian and author Professor Joy Porter, Professor of Indigenous & Environmental History and Leverhulme Major Research Fellow at the University of Hull, talks about her […]

Historian Dr Neil Lanctot talks about his recent book, The Approaching Storm, that explores the domestic debates and discussions that informed America’s response to the […]

Historian and author Professor Robin Prior, talks about the Great War career of British general Sir Henry Rawlinson who served in the British Expeditionary Force […]

Historian and author Professor Nick Lloyd, Professor of Modern Warfare at King’s College London, talks about his recent book The Western Front. He considers the […]

Historian Peter Welsh talks about his research into the daily Northumbrian newspaper, the Illustrated Chronicle, and the coverage before, during and after the Great War. […]

Author and historian Dr Bill Mitchinson talks about his latest book ‘Of No Earthly Use’ that explores the role, contribution and effectiveness of 2nd line […]

Historian Dr Gavin Rand, Principal Lecturer at the University of Greenwich talks about the recent discovery and digitisation of 320k records of troops from the […]

Archaeologist, historian and author Andy Robertshaw talks about his work with the Centre for Experimental Military Archaeology (CEMA) at the Kent Event Centre in Detling. […]

Journalist and historian, Dr Brian Feeney talks about his recent book exploring the impact of the Great War and  Irish War of Independence on the […]

Swedish heavy metal front man for the band Sabaton Joakim Brodén talks about their 10th album that takes inspiration from the Great War. A War […]

Historian and author Alex Clifford talks about his recent book on Hindenburg and Ludendorff and how their Great War experience assisted in the rise of […]

Prof. Peter Stanley talks about the discipline and dissent in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the Great War. This interview is based on Peter’s […]

Historian Frances Hurd talks about her research into how the traumatic impact of the Great War affected former veterans and their families. Frances quotes the […]

Belgian battlefield archaeologist Simon Verdegem talks about his work recovering First World War casualties in Belgium. The former battlefields of Belgium still harbour their mortal […]

Military medical historian Dr Emily Mayhew talks about the role of stretcher bearers during the Great War. Stretcher bearers played a major role in extracting […]

Historian and author Dr John Burke talks about the history of Roscommon in the 1912–23 during the Irish revolutionary period which covers the Great War, […]

Author Frances Wood talks about her recent book, Betrayed Ally, China in the Great War, that she wrote jointly with Christopher Ardnander. Frances tells how […]

Ken Linge talks about the work he and his wife Pam have done on researching the stories of the ‘missing’ on the Thiepval Memorial on […]

Independent scholar Richard Hendry talks about his research into the 47th Division at High Wood during the Battle of the Somme in Sept 1916.

Independent writer and researcher Dr Barry Blades talks to me about his  books looking at schools, teachers and the Great War. These are ‘Roll of […]

Dr Jiří Hutečka, Associate Professor at the University of Hradec Králové, talks about his recent book on the motivation and morale of Czech soldiers during […]

Dr Michael LoCicero, an independent scholar and the Commissioning Editor at Helion & Co., talks about his recent book, A Midnight Massacre, that explores the […]

Dr George Hay, the Official Historian at Commonwealth War Graves Commission, talks about the recent Commission report on Non-Commemoration report that explores the inequalities in […]

Dr Samuel Foster, Visiting Fellow in the School of History, University of East Anglia, talks about his new book on Yugoslavia in the British Imagination. This book explores […]

Dr Ida Milne, Lecturer in European History at Carlow College, Ireland, talks about her recent book, Stacking the Coffins, that looks at the impact of […]

Doctoral candidate David Katz, studying at Stellenbosch University, talks about his PhD research into Jan Smuts and his conduct of operations in German East Africa […]

Teacher Dan Mclean talks about his book on the Royal Marines on the Western Front during the Great War. This book is published by Pen […]

Retired orthopaedic surgeon and military medical historian Tom Scotland talks about surgery during the Great War.

Professor Tim Grady, Professor of History at the University of Chester, talks about his research into German Jews and their response to the Great War.

Historian and author Christina Holstein about her research into the 1917 battle of Verdun and the battlefield today.

Jaime Jiménez Fernández  talks  about his research into British pacifist women during WW1. Jaime is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Seville.

Author Andy Friend about his biography of British artist John Nash and his military service and painting during the Great War.

Giles Penman talks about his research into the use of Britannia’s image during the Great War He is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of […]

Megan Kelleher talks about her research into public awareness of Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites in England. She is a doctoral candidate at the University […]

Amateur historian Ross Beadle talks about his research into the ten critical decisions of French, German and British commanders that shaped the failure of German […]

Amateur historian Ross Beadle talks about his research into the ten critical decisions of French, German and British commanders that shaped the failure of German […]

Historian and author Christina Holstein about her research into the 1916 battle of Verdun during the Great War.

Doctoral candidate David Spruce talks to me about his research into Recruiting and Training the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War.

Barrister and author Harry Potter talks about his research into the life and military career of prison reformer Sir Alexander Paterson.

Historian Dan Hill and Paul Johnson talk about their book that looks at the stories and experience of Hertfordshire residents and soldiers during the Great […]

Author Richard Merry talks about his latest book on the Great War in the Argonne Forest. This book is published by Pen and Sword.

Author and pilot Mark Hillier about talks his latest book on the equipment and clothes of the RFC Great War. This book is published by […]

Historian Pratap Chettri talks about his research into the Assam Rifles in the Great War.

Historian Dr Edward Madigan, Senior Lecturer in Public History, Royal Holloway, University of London, talks about his research into the experience of British Jewish communities during […]

Historian Dr Paul Harris about his recent book on the life and career of General Sir Herbert Lawrence. This book is published by Helion and […]

Author Philip Bujak talks about his latest book on John Sherwood Kelly DSO VC and his career and action-filled life during and after the Great […]

Dr John Spencer talks about his recent work on the influence and career of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson during the Great War. This book […]

Historian Nick Perry about talks about his recent book on the life and Great War career of Major General Oliver Nugent. This book is published […]

Dr Fionnuala Walsh, lecturer in Modern Irish History at University College Dublin, talks about her recent book Irish women during the Great War. This is […]

Dr Anne Samson talks about her recent book on Field Marshall Lord Kitchener. This is published by Helion.

Extra edition: Simon Bendry of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission talks about the Commission’s War Graves Week that takes place between 21-28 May 2021. More […]

Historian Dr Paul Harris about his work on the British General Staff during the Great War.

Historian Phillip Tardif talks about his recent book on the North Irish Horse during the Great War. This is published by Pen & Sword.

American historian and author Stephen L. Harris talks about his book Harlem’s Hell Fighters which examines the service of the American 369th Infantry Regiment in […]

Historian Wendy Moore about her recent book Endell Street on the hospital of that name established and run in Convent Garden, London, by pioneering doctors […]

Professor Roger Reese, Professor of History at Texas A&M University in the USA talks about his research into the Russian Army before and during the […]

Dr Spencer Jones, Senior Lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, talks about the wartime letters of General Edward Pereira which he recently edited with Michael […]

Professor Ian Van Der Waag, Professor and Head of Department of Military History at Stellenbosch University, and Dr Tony Garcia, Research Fellow History at Stellenbosch […]

Historian Rob Thompson talks about how the British army supplied logistics and material for the Messines/Third Ypres Campaign of 1917.

American historian and author Stephen L. Harris talks about his book recent book Duty, Honor, Privilege that looks at the New York’s Silk Stocking Regiment […]

Canadian historian Professor Christopher Bell, Professor of History at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, talks about his recent book Churchill and the Dardanelles that examines […]

Historian Professor Robert Gerwarth, Professor of Modern History at University College Dublin and Director of the Centre for War Studies, talks about his recent book […]

  Historian and writer Professor Edward G Lengel talks about his book, Never in Finer Company: The Men of the Great War’s Lost Battalion.  This book […]

Historian Dr Seamus Cullen talks about his recent book Kildare, The Irish Revolution, 1912-1923, that looks at County Kildare through the Home Rule Crisis, the […]

Freelance historian Simon Jones about his research into chemical weapons during the Great War.

PhD candidate Kieran Taylor, studying at the University of Stirling, talks about his research into Belgian refugees in Glasgow during the Great War.

American historian and author Stephen L. Harris talks about his recent book Duffy’s War that looks at the wartime service of the US 69th Infantry […]

 Historian Dr James Connolly, Lecturer in Modern French History at University College London about his research into the French experience of military occupation by German […]

Author Dr Aaron Pegram, Senior Historian at the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial, on the life, career and reputation of General Sir […]

Historian Louise Bell talks about her research into the rehabilitation and treatment of limbless service personnel after the Great War.

Doctoral candidate Joshua Bilton talks about his research into the military identities of British soldier conscripts during the Great War. Joshua is a student at […]

 Social historian Dr Mary Fraser, talks about her research into police and policing in Britain during WW1.

Peter Anderson talks about the role of Folkestone Harbour during the Great War.

Historian and author Dr Meleah Hampton, a historian in the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial, talks about her research into the Anzacs […]

Historian Dr Barbara Walsh about her recent book on Irish servicewomen during the Great War. This is published by Pen & Sword.

Mark Scott talks about his new book, Among the Kings, that gives a new story on the Unknown Warrior. This is published Blacstaff.

Historian George Morton Jack talks about his recent book on India and the Great War, entitled The Indian Empire at War: The Untold Story of the Indian […]

Author Dr David Murphy, a lecturer in military history and strategic studies at Maynooth University in Ireland, talks about his recent book, Breaking Point of […]

Author Neill Gilhooley talks about his recent book on the service of the 9th Battalion, Royal Scots, during the Great War. This book is published […]

Richard Pursehouse talks about on his recent book on German POWs held at Brocton Camp on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, during the Great War. This book […]

Dr Timothy Bowman, a Reader in modern British military history, University of Kent, Dr William Butler, the Head of Military Records, The National Archives, UK […]

Lawyer and lecturer Dr Catherine Bond, Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales, talks about her recent book on law in Australia during […]

Dr Rich Willis and Richard Fisher, Founder and Director of the Vickers Machine Gun Research Association, talk about their research into the legend that ten […]

Dr Aaron Pegram, Senior Historian at the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial, talks about his recent book on Australian POWs on the […]

Professor Mark Connelly, Professor of Modern British History, University of Kent and Dr Stefan Goebel, Reader and Director of the Centre for the History of […]

Dr Michael Freemantle, a freelance Science Writer, talks about his book the Chemists’ War 1914-1918 that looks at the role of chemists and chemistry during the Great War.

Matthew Ball talks about his research into the community of Sevenoaks during WW1.

Author David Martin talks about his recent book on the 58th Division (London) during WW1. This is published by Pen & Sword.

Professor Ian Van Der Waag, Professor and Head of Department of Military History at Stellenbosch University, and Dr Tony Garcia, an independent scholar talk about […]

Neil Story talks about his book on the service of the Territorial Battalions of the Norfolk Regiment during the Great War, and in particular, the famous […]

David Tattersfield, Development Trustee of the WFA, talks about Operation Alias, a project by the WFA to identify men who fell in the Great War […]

Professor Alison Fell, Professor of French Cultural History at the University of Leeds, talks about her recent book on women as veterans in post-Great War […]

Peter Welsh talks about his research into the community of Washington during the Great War.

Simon Bendry, the former Programme Director of the First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours Programme based at University College London, talks about the programme that […]

Pratap Chhetri talks about his research into Rana Jodha Jung Bahadur, the first Gurkha officer in the British Army during the Great War.

Gerry White, Chair of the Cork branch of the WFA, talks about his research into Tom Barry, who was a British soldier in WW1 and […]

Kate Imy, Assistant Professor of History at the University of North Texas, talks about her recent book Faithful Fighters. Her book explores the Indian Army’s […]

Professor Matthew Stibbe, Professor of Modern European History at Sheffield Hallam University about his book on civilian internment during the Great War. This is published […]

Historian Nigel Atter about his book on the Great War service of the 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment. This is published by Helion. 

Michael Nugent talks about his recent book into the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers at the 1915 Battle of Festubert. This is published by Reveille […]

David Marks about his recent book on the German Zeppelin Offensive as documented in propaganda, postcards and pictures. This has been published by Pen & […]

Damien Burke, archivist at the Irish Jesuit Archives, talks about his research into the responses of Irish Jesuits to the end of WW1.

Dr Adam Prime, lecturer in the Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford, talks about his research into the Indian Army during the […]

Professor Jerry White, Professor in History at Birkbeck, University of London, talks about his social history about London during the Great War. This is published […]

Author Dan Mclean about his book on Rugbeians in the Great War, published by Pen and Sword.

David Martin talks about his recent book on the 66th Division (East Lancs) during the German Spring Offensive. This is published by Pen & Sword.

Dr Rory Sweetman talks about his recent book on the defence of Trinity College Dublin during the Easter Rising in 1916. This is published by […]

Andrea Hetherington talks about her research into soldiers who deserted in Britain during the Great War.

Professor Sir Hew Strachan, Patron of The Western Front Association and Professor at University of St Andrews, talks about the social, political and economic consequences of […]

Journalist and writer Vanessa Holburn talks about her recent book on the 1919 Amritsar Massacre. This is published by Pen & Sword.

John Cornwell talks about his book on the first recruit and last survivor of the 12th Battalion, Yorks and Lancs Regiment (Sheffield City Battalion). This […]

Charles Fair talks about his research into Officer Cadet Battalions during the Great War.

Kathryn White, a PhD history student at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, talks about her doctoral research into religion and the YMCA in WW1.

Alan Gow and Robert Jardine about their book (written with Richard Hannah) on the lives and war serviceof the men who commemorated on the Bo’ness […]

Dr Anne-Marie Foster, Lecturer, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queen’s University Belfast, talks about her research investigating the ethical, legal and policy […]

Dr Toby Haggith, Senior Curator, Department of Second World War and Mid-20th Century Conflict, Imperial War Museum, talks about his research into the 1916 Battle of […]

Tony T, Oral Historian and Producer from Sweet Patootee productions, talks about a historical documentary he made with colleagues interviewing former black veterans who served […]

Diane Stephens, Manager of the Heugh Battery Museum (http://www.heughbattery.co.uk/) about the battery and its role in WW1.

Former cabinet minister and MP, David Laws about his latest book, Who Killed Kitchener?, examining the life and death of Field Marshal Lord Kitchener. This […]

Sue Laffey talks about the research she and Ida Atkinson did into the community of Bilsdale, North Yorkshire, during the First World War and the […]

  Pratap Chhetri talks about his research into companies of the Indian Labour Corps during the Great War.

Professor Gary Sheffield, Professor of War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, talks about a collection of papers, In Haig’s Shadow, that he has recently […]

Dr Rachel Duffett, Research Officer, Department of Sociology at the University of Essex, talks about on her recent book the Stomach for Fighting that looks […]

Dr Michael Reeve, Academic Skills Tutor and History Lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, talks about his doctoral research into coastal communities in the NE of […]

On this week’s Dispatches podcast, Dr Helen Brooks, Reader in Theatre and Cultural History, School of Arts, and Dr Philippa Gregory, History HPL Tutor, both […]

Dr  Amanda Nagel, Assistant Professor of Military History at the School of Advanced Military Studies, US Army Command and General Staff College, talks about African-American […]

Dr Richard Batten, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, talks about a collection of papers relating to the wartime experience of Hugh Fortescue, […]

Colin Campbell about his book on the 51st Highland Division during the Great War that has been reprinted by Pen and Sword.

Dr Bruce Cherry talks about his book on the sex life of the Tommy on the Western Front, They Didn’t Want to Die Virgins: Sex […]

Pär Sundström, bass player in the Swedish heavy metal band Sabaton, talks about their new album, the Great War, inspired by the First World War, […]

Dr Samuel Foster, Visiting Academic in the School of History, University of East Anglia, talks about Serbia in the Great War.

Emile Coetzee, from North West University in South Africa, talks about the 1914 Afrikaner Rebellion.

Dr Chris Kempshall, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Army Leadership, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, talks about his book on The First World War […]

Antonio Garcia talks about his recent book on the South African campaign against German South West Africa in 1914/5 (published by Helion).

William Franklin talks about the First World War career of Archibald Wavell.

Mike Hally, PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, discusses his research into veterans’ response to Peace Day that was held on 19 July 1919.

Marietta Crichton Stuart talks about Percy Shuttlewood, who served in her grandfather’s battalion during the Great War and she describes as the ‘Welsh Walter Mitty’.

Dr Brian Hall, Programme Leader at the University of Salford, talks about his book on communications and operations on the Western Front during the Great […]

Prof Catriona Pennell, from the University of Exeter, talks about her book on the popular responses to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 […]

Wenlan Peng, from the Meridian Society (www.themeridiansociety.org.uk), talks about the Chinese Labour Corps on the Western Front during the Great War.