Soldiers of the King's Royal Rifles* The First World War was ended (on the Western Front at least) by the armistice that came into effect at 11 o’clock on the 11thNovember 1918. This is why we hold the service of remembrance at 11am on the closest Sunday to the 11 November. Of course today we... Continue Reading →
Learning in Lambeth
Jim Beach reports on the second-year field trip to the Imperial War Museum. February’s weather has been fickle these past few years. The First World War module’s visit to the Imperial War Museum has often coincided with snow flurries or clear, bright winter’s days. But this year’s story was, on the way in at... Continue Reading →
A Tale of Two Articles
Jim Beach reflects upon taking an intelligence history investigation from initial idea to publication. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Depending on how you voted. Our project was born in Dundee on the evening of Thursday 23 June 2016. The Dil’Se restaurant provided some great food, ideas... Continue Reading →
Remembering a war after ‘The War’
Jim Beach of the University of Northampton reflects on a visit to the Czech Republic. Speaking neither Czech nor Polish, it was with some trepidation that I accepted an invitation to speak at a workshop on the Seven Days’ War between the Czechs and Poles in 1919. The initial invite came from Tomáš... 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 →
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 →