This blog is based on the presentation given on 8 November 2018, as part of the History at Northampton Research Seminars series at the University of Northampton. It explores the origins of perinatal (premature baby) care in the UK from 1947 to 1965, using recently available archival material for Northampton, made possible through the generosity of... Continue Reading →
Needy knights and rich old ladies: Sir John Sandys and social mobility in late Medieval England
In 1980, Terry Jones, actor, presenter, writer and Monty Python member, published what has become something of a literary event. Chaucer’s Knight: Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary is a book that had medieval historians foaming at the mouth for many a year afterwards. It generated much debate and forever altered the landscape of the knightly class and... Continue Reading →
Elizabeth Greenhalgh. Military Historian.
Jim Beach of UoN History reflects on the passing of a remarkable historian. This is not an obituary. Nor is it a eulogy. It’s probably ‘an appreciation’. But Elizabeth, who died this month, would perhaps have pulled a face at that description. So let’s call it a paean; a song of praise that the Ancient... Continue Reading →
Wolverhampton First World War Conference Report
One symptom of a good conference is that you find yourself struggling to decide which parallel session to attend. It’s a good problem to have and it plagued me throughout the recent conference entitled 1918-2018: The End of the War & The Reshaping of a Century. At one point I had to decide between the... Continue Reading →
“If You’re Happy and You Know It Clap for Stalin!”
Preparing teaching materials for a new term can lead to some surprising discoveries. My highlight this year, while getting things together for my history of Communism module, was coming across the Revolting Russians episode of Horrible Histories on Box of Broadcasts, the video streaming service for schools and universities. The show takes a typically light-hearted,... Continue Reading →
Nothing to Fear: An Experience of Writing an Undergraduate History Dissertation
The ‘D’ word is often most feared when you are studying your undergraduate degree, that is until you reach third year and there is no escape from it. I remember when I started undergrad and I thought to myself ‘How am I ever going to be able to write 10,000 words? Let alone find a... Continue Reading →
Bygone needles: An unexpected journey through the fabric of history
In this blog, mature student Melanie Marsh reflects on her journey through two History degrees at the University of Northampton, and her successes in winning funding for a PhD project. My Undergraduate degree: I was one of the oldest mature students in my undergrad intake, and had a disability. I had a lot to... Continue Reading →
Hapsburgs & Haribo: University of Northampton History Society returns to Vienna.
Following on from the success of last year’s trip, fifteen third-year students travelled to Vienna in the first week of June. Organised by the History Society, the group were again guided by Jim Beach, one of the History lecturers, who took them around many locations connected to modules they had studied during their degree. UoN... Continue Reading →
BACK TO THE FUTURE? COMPARING RADICAL RIGHT REFERENDUM RESULTS, 1975 AND 2016
It is hard to deny Brexit’s important place within recent radical right discourse and activity. Recently, Paul Stocker’s excellent book English Uprising has captured this part of that debate. The radical right had a significant impact in dictating the tone and trajectory of the Leave campaign, especially away from the official Vote Leave platform. Equally, those in... Continue Reading →
Signals Intelligence under Fire
Dr Jim Beach recently contributed an article for the GCHQ blog, which begins: At five in the morning on 21 March 1918, Vince Schürhoff woke to the thunderous sound of a bombardment. After many false alarms, the much-anticipated German offensive had begun. Vince was a twenty-six year-old corporal in the British army's Royal Engineers... Continue Reading →
