Dr Tom Thorpe MCIPR

You're welcome!

Cannon ball from Royal Navy’s three-day bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 aimed to seize the neutral Danish fleet before Napoleon could. Projectile placed in the building after the attack.

The WFA is offering grants of up to £2,500 to support PhD researchers in advancing original First World War studies. Applications close on Monday 1 December 2025. Info: tinyurl.com/2ue2582h @primeadam.bsky.social @profgsheffield.bsky.social

Brass Put and Take Spinning Top Dice - Horse Racing Gambling Game. The game started in Victorian times & became more popular during WW1 when soldiers could file their bullets into game pieces. The game was played until about the 1950's when its popularity declined.

Calling FWW geeks! Got this gaming piece for my b'day. Apparently, from the GW. Do people know what game this would have been used for?

Just interviewed Nick Higham about his book Mavericks for the WFA's podcast. Coming out early next year.

Leeds War Memorial stands on Victoria Square in Leeds, England. It was erected to honour those who fell in the FWW Designed by sculptor Henry Charles Fehr (1867–1940), it was unveiled on 14.10.1922 by Viscount Lascelles. The monument remains a focal point for remembrance services in the city today.

The York City War Memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, commemorates the city’s First World War dead and stands on Leeman Road, York. Unveiled in 1925 by the Duke of York, it features a 33-foot stone cross and is now a grade II* listed building. Image taken in early Oct 2025.

On this week’s MiD podcast journo @natehendley.bsky.social joins the podcast to explore one of the most shocking war crimes of the FWW—the sinking of the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle by a German U-boat in 1918.
kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep37...

My review of @richardbatten.bsky.social excellent For King and Country: The Role of Patriotism in Mobilisation in the First World War (Pen & Sword, 2025). Published in Stand To! No.199 (September 2025).

And the podcast is coming soon!

Visit to soggy Yorkshire Air Museum on Friday. Lots of interesting exhibits and some great Cold War era stuff. Well wroth a visit.

Tidy

Ep369 – Army Pay Services – Dr John Black
This week on MiD, Dr John Black, military historian and former pay sergeant, delves into the often-neglected history of the British Army Pay Services during the First World War.
kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep36...

Type 23 Frigate F82 HMS Somerset visiting Belfast over the weekend.

Out yesterday with German guests from the MSC Preziosa. We did the titanic experience and a city tour including the peace wall.

Cameron Telch, a Phd student @ Mount Saint Vincent Uni, discusses the underrepresentation of shell shock in Canadian war museums. His research challenges prevailing narratives and raises important questions about how shell shock is remembered in public history. kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep36...

It was great; we had a great chat and it was very enlightening. Pod out in early new year!

I enjoyed recording a 'Mentioned in Dispatches' podcast this morning with @kensingtons.bsky.social for the Western Front Association on my book 'The Guards 1915-17: An Elite Division at War'. It should be available in the New Year. Meanwhile, an ebook version has been released today by Helion

The WFA is offering grants of up to £2,500 to support PhD researchers in advancing original First World War studies. Applications close on Monday 1 December 2025. Info: tinyurl.com/2ue2582h @primeadam.bsky.social @profgsheffield.bsky.social

Courage without Glory – Gallipoli and the Western Front in 1915 | The Western Front Association

Less than 2 months until the Gallipoli Association/WFA joint conference:
Courage without Glory – Gallipoli and the Western Front in 1915

I’m really excited to be speaking alongside some stellar historians!
#fwwhist

www.westernfrontassociation.com/events/coura...

This autumn I’ll be teaching OLE3039: The Social History of Belfast and its Residents, 1798–1914 at Queen’s University Belfast. Across 10 weekly sessions (Wednesdays, 7.00–9.00 pm, starting 1 October 2025)
👉https://tinyurl.com/2dvu368v

In the latest ep of the WFA’s Mentioned in Dispatches pod @profgsheffield.bsky.social compares & contrasts the experience of the London Territorial Force in the 1st and 2nd WW. This talk was part of the London Pride Conf held in June 2024. Listen here tinyurl.com/5frhubwa or on your chosen platform.

Belfast Lough at 5.30 this morning!

Chirk Castle in Denbighshire was built in 1295 by Roger Mortimer as part of Edward I’s border defences. It is one of the few Edwardian castles still inhabited today.

Chirk War Memorial, designed by Eric Gill and unveiled in 1920, stands at the east end of Station Avenue in Chirk, Wrexham. Commissioned by Thomas Scott-Ellis, it commemorates the fallen of both World Wars and was designated Grade II* in 1998.

Birkenhead War Memorial, stands in Hamilton Square, Birkenhead, Merseyside, England, opposite the Town Hall. The memorial was designed by Lionel Budden, and the sculptor was H. Tyson Smith. Unveiled in 1925 by Lieutenant-General Sir Richard H. K. Butler.

At the end of Jul25, the WFA's Mentioned in Dispatches pod hit 751,410 d/loads since Feb17. I’ve hosted 379 eps many aspects of the GW. I’ve spoken to a heavy metal band about songs inspired by WW1 to academics about widows. It has been a great journey to date: onward! Listen kensingtons.org.uk

Ep365 – Honouring the Fallen Through ‘The Last Post’
On this week’s episode of the WFA's podcast Mentioned in Dispatches, Dr Brad Ulrich, trumpet performer, educator & FWW historian, joins the podcast to discuss his musical tribute to the fallen. Listen here: kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep36...

If you fancy listening to Dominiek talking about this, I interviewed him in 2023 on this book. kensingtons.org.uk/podcast/ep32...