Gobowen War Memorial, a limestone replica of the Whitehall Cenotaph, stands at the heart of the Shropshire village. It commemorates 26 local men who died in the First World War and 11 who lost their lives in the Second World War.
Dr Tom Thorpe MCIPR
@kensingtons.bsky.social
Belfast Green Badge tour guide/conflict historian/spin dr/policy wonk - @drtomstours.bsky.social - Host The Western Front Assoc Mentioned in Dispatches podcast. - Rts≠support - Views own.
Memorial to H.M.S. CONWAY, Royal Navy training ship in Birkenhead. Operated on Mersey and North Wales from 1859 to 1974. Stirring Victorian motto: "Quit ye like men - Be strong".
In this episode of the Western Front Association's Mentioned in Dispatches podcast, Rebecca Clarke examines the sinking of HMS India in 1915 and the extraordinary stories of the survivors who were interned in Norway. kensingtons.org.uk/.../ep388-th...
Watch the talk my editorial colleagues Charles Fair and @parhistory.bsky.social and I gave on our latest publication looking at the London TF in the Great War at @nationalarmymuseum.bsky.social Museum in June. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhxR....
Mentioned in Dispatches pod, Ep387: Patrick Taylor explores the experiences of shell-shocked soldiers returning to civilian life after the First World War, examining rehabilitation, family relationships and the roles of charities and the state. Listen: kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep38...
Ep386 – Framing the Great War – @draefox.bsky.social, MikeFinch and David Morgan-Owen discuss their edited volume on how the First World War was perceived and interpreted by those who experienced it. Pub by Uni Press of Kansas kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep38...
A review by legend John Lee on Volume 1 of London Pride that I edited with Charles Fair and @parhistory.bsky.social. John said that as a ‘native-born Londoner I couldn’t be prouder of this book and the men commemorated in it’. Copies available here: www.helion.co.uk/military-his...
My review of @gerardshannon.bsky.social's excellent Rory O’Connor: To Defend the Republic (Dublin: @merrionpress.bsky.social Press, 2025) in Stand To! 142 (July 2026), p.57.
Out in the city to day exploring the troubles with a some folk from stateside. Weather bearable but the rain held off for most of the walk.
Many thanks to the National Army Museum for hosting Charles Fair, @parhistory.bsky.social & me last Fri to discuss London Pride: The London Territorial Force in Peace and War, 1908–1921. A recording will be available soon. Vol I is available now via Helion & Company, with Vol II due later this year.
Missed my recent talk at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland? Dr Stephen Sandford and me discuss the London Irish and the London Pride project in this recorded presentation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=igwQ... #LondonIrish #MilitaryHistory #FirstWorldWar #IrishHistory
PRONI | The London Irish and London Pride: Identity, Memory and the Citizen Soldier
YouTube video by PRONI - Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
youtube.com
Join @parhistory.bsky.social, Charles Fair and I at @nationalarmymuseum.bsky.social on 26 June at noon for a free talk on The London Territorial Force in Peace & War, 1908–1921. Details & booking: www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/lon... #MilitaryHistory #FirstWorldWar #LondonRegiment #TerritorialForce
Ep385 – The Barnbow Disaster – Antony Bell In this Mentioned in Dispatches podcast, Antony Bell discusses the historical background to his novel A Penny a Shell, focusing on the 1916 Barnbow munitions factory explosion. kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep38...
Ep384 – The Saxons in Flanders, 1914-8 – Andrew Lucas This week on WFA's MiD pod, discussion about the Saxon army on the Western Front.https://kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep384-the-saxons-in-flanders-1914-8-andrew-lucas/
Concert yesterday in Victoria Square Shopping Centre with the East Coast Orchestra; lots of fun and raising money for charity.
Next concert of The Sanctuary Singers Summer Concert with the East Coast Orchestra In aid of the Alzheimer's Society The Great Hall, Stormont, Belfast Sat 20 Jun 2026, 7:30PM Tickets: www.ticketsource.com/booking/sele... In Aid of @alzheimerssoc.bsky.social
At PRONI talking about London Pride and the London Irish in the London TF 1908 to 1915. Thanks to PRONI for hosting us. Sharing the stage with Dr Stephen Sandford.
Ep383 – Smith Dorien saving the British army – Charles Barrington In this ep of the WFA's Mentioned in Dispatches pod, the life and career of Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, focusing on his decisive actions during the early stages of the FWW. kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep38...
Grave of Sir Harim Maxim, inventor of the Maxim Machine Gun, which was the first portable, self powered, fully automatic MG. Born in US, moved to UK in 1880s; died in Streatham in 1916. Grave in W. Norwood Cem.
Saturday Park run. Made it round as youth and geriatrics raced past me. I deserve a medal!
Excellent interview yesterday with Brian Gervat for The WFA's Mentioned in Dispatches pod on her book There Will Come Soft Rains about her journey across the Western Front. Due out later this year. www.theperegrinepilgrim.com
Top afternoon at the The Tank Museum last week. Absolute beasts of machines, loads of history and a proper good wander round. Worth it just to stand next to them and feel tiny. #TankMuseum #Bovington #History
Looking forward to presenting on the London TF on Sunday (noon) at the @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social conference.
My review of Linden Macintyre's excellent An Accidental Villain: Sir Hugh Tudor, Churchill’s Enforcer in Revolutionary Ireland (Newbridge, Co. Kildare: Merrion Press, 2025) in Stand To! 141 (March 2026).
Upcoming/out on WFA's Mentioned in Dispatches: Ep380 Henry Tudor in Ireland (11 Apr); 381 Britain, oil & Baku 1918 (15 Apr); 382 Three Sons for the Kaiser (1 May); 383 Smith-Dorrien saves army (15 May); 384 Saxons in Flanders (1 Jun); 385 Barnbow Disaster (15 Jun); more in Jul-Aug.
Latest two podcasts out on The WFA's Dispatches podcasts: Ep381 – Britain, oil and Baku in 1918 – Nick Higham kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep38... Ep380 – Henry Tudor in Ireland – Linden MacIntyre kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep38...
Put in cold and blustery Belfast doing a trek of the Falls and Shankil. Lovely group from minnesotta.
Put in cold and blustery Belfast doing a trek of the Falls and Shankil. Lovely group from minnesotta.
Out at the Dub Park Run. Very much with the slow horses today.
Delighted to be part of GWG online Conf on 26.4.26. Talking about Cockneys in the Trenches in the London TF, 1914–18 based on the volume London Pride that I edited with @parhistory.bsky.social & Charles Fair. Book conf here: greatwargroup.com/product/onli... London Pride tinyurl.com/54ex98e3