Dr Gary Willis
@garywenvhist.bsky.social
Focus: environmental impact of warfare. Academic/Environmental Rep, National Archives' User Advisory Group; writing book on the military-industrial enclosure of Britain's countryside in the 2nd World War for Bloomsbury. Accepts commissions. Views my own.
Environmental history reaches the big screen: 'Pressure' about how the weather influenced the timing of D-Day. www.pressurefilm.co.uk
Pressure | Official Website | 9 September 2026
Watch the trailer, find screenings & book tickets for Pressure on the official site. In cinemas 9 September 2026 brought to you by STUDIOCANAL. Directed by: Anthony Maras. Starring: Andrew Scott, Bren...
pressurefilm.co.uk
Royal Historical Society lunchtime online seminar, Thursday 24 September, 1 to 2pm: Historical Context, The Climate Crisis. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/historical...
Historical Context: The Climate Crisis
A panel discussion, hosted by the Royal Historical Society, in which expert historical researchers provide context for current events.
eventbrite.co.uk
Royal Historical Society lecture, free and online, 'In All Our Footsteps', 6 to 7.30 pm at Institute of Historical Research, London, 25 September. Register at: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rhs-lectur...
RHS Lecture: 'In All Our Footsteps?' with Professor Glen O'Hara ONLINE
'In All Our Footsteps? Rights of Way and the Battle for the Land after the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act' - Online
eventbrite.co.uk
'Landscapes of coastal defence in the Second World War' free talk at the University of Leicester, Saturday 27 June: royalhistsoc.org/calendar/sha...
- 'Shall we fight them on the beaches?’ Landscapes of coastal defence in the Second World War - RHS
Join us on the 27 June for Hoskins Day 2026: the University of Leicester's annual celebration of local and landscape history. This year's keynote lecture is about coastal landscapes of the Second Worl...
royalhistsoc.org
Exhibition by Forensic Architecture exposing genocide of Namibian people by German colonisers through forensic examination of landscapes - at Spore Initiative in Berlin until April 2027: www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
‘They are disturbing the dead’: reconstructing the site of the forgotten first genocide of the 20th century
At least 3,000 Herero and Nama people died in a German concentration camp at Shark Island, Namibia. A new forensic exhibition in Berlin is using digital technology to unearth how colonisers scarred a ...
theguardian.com
ARCHIVE ALERT! Footpath Preservation / Open Spaces Society archives that were to be transferred from the Parliamentary Archives to The National Archives have instead been deposited with Special Collections at the Museum of English Rural Life, Univ.of Reading. Please repost this to spread the word.
Not envhist but can't help sharing the info that my doctor's surgery (aka healthcare practice) no longer has reception staff - instead they are "care navigators".
Looking forward to presenting my paper 'A Mixed Grill': the Lake District National Park and West Cumberland's Atomic Coast' at ASEH 2026 in Kansas City. Part of the 'Wilderness and Militarized Spaces' panel, 26 March, 1200 to 1.15pm in the Plaza, Pavilion Two - Pavilion Level @aseh.bsky.social
We've just updated our overview of environmentally damaging incidents in the Israeli-US war against #Iran. We've identified more than 300 incidents and remotely assessed 232 for harm. Read more about these incidents and trends here: ceobs.org/operation-ep... #IranWar #Iran 1/5
Yay! Submitted my draft manuscript to Bloomsbury Academic: 'The Military-Industrial Enclosure of Britain's Countryside in the Second World War: Fields Into Factories' @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social A way to go before publication but still, will allow myself some modestly priced fizz tomorrow night.
Thursday 12 February 6pm London time, online only: 'Fifteen Years of New York City's High Line'. www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Fifteen Years of New York City’s High Line: A Closer Look at its Impact on Urban Design
history.ac.uk
CALL FOR PAPERS - Modern British History and the 'Environmental Turn'. A two-day workshop organised by @maxlong.bsky.social and myself at Lincoln College, Oxford, 16-17 September. Deadline for abstracts is 15 May. Details in poster below, please share.
What a nice way to start 2026 - HMRC have told me I'm due a tax rebate of £408 for 2024/25, and they intend to give it to me in the next five days. Any envhist books I should buy with it?
Great Xmas present from my wife; which I'll very much enjoy reading: Hugh Clout's 1996 'After The Ruins' about the restoration of the Northern France countryside after the First World War: www.exeterpress.co.uk/products/aft...
After The Ruins
After the Ruins uses both official and unofficial records to explore a relatively ignored aspect of recent rural history: how the fields, farms, villages and market towns of Northern France were resto...
exeterpress.co.uk
Just started reading Irus Braverman's 'Settling Nature: the Conservation Regime in Palestine-Israel' - how the Israeli State steals Palestinian land under the guise of nature conservation in order to fuel the Zionist colonial-settler project.
My weekend brunch will never be the same again: regenerationinternational.org/2024/06/09/i...
Inside Mexico’s Anti-Avocado Militias - Regeneration International
The spread of the avocado is a story of greed, ambition, corruption, water shortages, cartel battles and, in a number of towns and villages, a fierce fightback
regenerationinternational.org
Must go to see the British Library's 'Secret Maps' exhibition before it closes in mid-January @britishlibrary.bsky.social events.bl.uk/exhibitions/...
Secret Maps | British Library
Step into the shadows at Secret Maps, a major new exhibition revealing the stories hidden in some of history’s most mysterious maps.
events.bl.uk
Fight back against illegal Israeli colonizers of Palestine's West Bank, who are trying to destroy the Palestinian olive harvest. Buy Palestinian olive oil from Zaytoun: zaytoun.uk
Zaytoun - Ethically Sourced Fine Foods from Palestine
Ethically sourced olive oil and fine foods from Palestine. Medjoul dates, za'atar & other award winning products from Palestinian producers.
zaytoun.uk
The conference on 7 November is now available to go to online via Microsoft Teams; email Lars Cook (below) or it might be available if you register for the 'Bannocks & Bombs' event on Eventbrite.
Dr Gary Willis@garywenvhist.bsky.social · last yr.Looking forward to presenting my paper: 'High, Open, Bleak and Boggy: How Scotland's Environment Shaped Its Involvement In The Second World War' at the 'Scotland and World War Two' conference at Perth UHI on Friday 7 November, 9am to 3pm. Contact Lars Cook at Lars.Cook.Perth@uni.ac.uk for more info.
Have just been round it- fantastic as always. Still another hour of it if you're anywhere near Senate House, Bloomsbury and want to drop in
Royal Historical Society@royalhistsoc.org · 12mo agoThe enthusiasm for #History at this year's #HistDay25 is considerable and palpable. History's popularity and appeal is an asset we must work with to better demonstrate the personal, professional, civic and social value of historical knowledge and understanding. @ihr.bsky.social #Skystorians
It's also on Eventbrite. Search for 'Bannocks & Bombs! Scotland & World War Two
Dr Gary Willis@garywenvhist.bsky.social · 12mo agoThis coming Friday 7th November; am presenting my paper (below) at UHI Perth's 'Bannocks and Bombs' conference. Free and in-person @uhiperth.bsky.social
This coming Friday 7th November; am presenting my paper (below) at UHI Perth's 'Bannocks and Bombs' conference. Free and in-person @uhiperth.bsky.social
Dr Gary Willis@garywenvhist.bsky.social · last yr.Looking forward to presenting my paper: 'High, Open, Bleak and Boggy: How Scotland's Environment Shaped Its Involvement In The Second World War' at the 'Scotland and World War Two' conference at Perth UHI on Friday 7 November, 9am to 3pm. Contact Lars Cook at Lars.Cook.Perth@uni.ac.uk for more info.
During the #SecondWorldWar the government’s efforts to obscure Britain’s skies put it at odds with the National Smoke Abatement Society. 🔒 Gary Willis’ article from the November issue is now in the archive www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...
The Smog of War: The Battle for Britain’s Clean Air
historytoday.com
An excellent event for finding out about various archives
Institute of Historical Research@ihr.bsky.social · 12mo ago1 week to go until History Day - don't forget to sign up! Read about why History Day is such a fantastic event in this blog by Claire Langhamer: buff.ly/ySfBuWR #HistDay25 @senatehouselib.bsky.social
Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive is now open for registration! 🏭🌊 In person symposium at The National Archives on 4th December: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/talking-re... Afternoon of online talks on 5th December: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/talking-re... #envhum #envhist
Talking Records: Pollution in the Archive (in person)
Explore histories of pollution, contamination, and environmental damage in the archive at this one-day symposium at The National Archives.
eventbrite.co.uk
My article in History Today is now out, about the Government's programme of deliberate smoke production during the Second World War to try to obscure industrial targets from the Luftwaffe. @pastpreservers.bsky.social
