Barnaby Phillips

The Burma Boy: 15 Years On Join a panel of experts as they discuss public understanding of African service in the Burma campaign and how it has evolved over the past decade.

Africa, Burma, and the 2nd WW. The National Army Museum Chelsea hosts a special screening of my film 'Burma Boy', with chat after with Ed Keazor and Prof David Killingray. It should be great. Book now...for January 22nd 2026, always good to plan ahead...!

www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/bur...

5 African countries get a new UNESCO World Heritage site The 47th session of the UNESCO World Cultural Committee, which is now taking place from July 6 to July 16, 2025, has already brought much pride to the African continent, with numerous African monument...

Five beautiful but fragile African landscapes gain UNESCO World Heritage Status #Cameroon #Mozambique #SierraLeone #GuineaBissau #Malawi

africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifest...

So was that a good day, or a terrible day, for Test Cricket? I am confused #EngInd #WIAus

Rectangular wood shelf with 11 terracotta replicas of Benin Bronzes and a bust of a British man. https://se.royalacademy.org.uk/2025/artworks/yinka-shonibare-ra/105

“Archive of Lost Memories” by Yinka Shonibare RA. Clay replicas of Benin Bronzes and a bust wrapped in trade fabric of Harry Rawson, who led the British capture of Benin Palace, 1897. In the @royalacademy.bsky.social Summer Show 2025 (#105) until 17 August.

Trump says Liberian president uses 'such good English' During a White House event, President Trump praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for using "such good English." Liberia's national language is English, with many of those living there being the de...

From 'Chairman Moe' to 'Such good English'. American leaders ignorant not only about Africa, but their own country's history. www.nbcnews.com/video/trump-...

West Reservoir Hackney, 7 am swim. Bliss. And most encouragingly, the sky above full of swifts.

Should UK museums display mummies? One institution is asking its visitors for their view The Manchester Museum is running a public consultation about the future of Asru, a woman who lived in Thebes, southern Egypt

Should UK museums display mummies? One institution is asking its visitors for their view.

www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/07/02/s...

Slave trader statues given plaques detailing 'enormous wrongdoings' The City of London Corporation reinterprets the statues of slave traders Lord Mayor William Beckford and MP Sir John Cass.

BBC News - Plaques on slave trader statues reveal wrongdoings
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Reports of the demise in the market in looted Benin Bronzes would appear to have been exaggerated. 357,500 Euros for plaque which had apparently belong to André Derain. Paris auction 25/6/25

www.gazette-drouot.com/en/auctions/...

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Returns Two Works of Art to the Oba of Benin BOSTON (Friday, June 27, 2025)—The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), today returned two works of art from the Benin Kingdom to His Royal Majesty O

The MFA has restituted 2 looted Benin objects to HRH Prince Erediauwa on behalf of the Oba of Benin. This is the MFA's 1st ownership resolution since our colonial prov project began in 2021. Rooted in prov research, the return affirms a commitment to ethical restitution.
www.mfa.org/press-releas...

Dealers Say They’re Struggling to Sell Looted Artefacts From Africa These Days Global attitudes towards objects looted during the colonial period are changing.

Estimation '60-80,000' Euros for the plaque. A lot of money but perhaps a lot less than it would have fetched a decade ago. My article on the market in colonial looted objects, impact of restitution debate, stigma of 1897.

3/3
www.vice.com/en/article/l...

see my book 'Loot' on Derain and Benin Bronzes.
2/3

This is extraordinary- Benin plaque for auction Paris 25/6/25. 'Late 16th or 17th century'- implication looted by the British 1897. Part of the famous collection of artist André Derain. drouot.com/en/l/2959701...

1/3

Ukraine war crime trial: A Russian soldier takes the stand for an execution Dmitriy Kurashov is the first Russian soldier to stand trial in Ukraine over a battlefield execution.

BBC News - Ukraine war crime trial: A Russian soldier takes the stand for an execution - fantastic reporting here.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Alot of (not unjustified) talk of Broken Britain. So only fair to say that HM Passport office (painfully slow a few years ago) is now excellent. Filled out the form Thursday 5th at night, posted the old one in Friday, new one arrived today Weds 11th (regular service) bravo !

You might like this exquisite torc, Asante, Ghana. Gold, almost 1 kg, royal regalia. Looted by the British army in 1874, bought by British Museum in 1877. Loaned back by BM to Asante king's museum in Kumasi Ghana in 2024, where I took this pic.

BTW, the best journalist's account, by far, of the Nigerian Civil War 1967-70

When Frederick Forsyth was sent by the BBC to cover the Nigerian civil war (he on the Biafra side, Martin Bell on the federal side) he befriended Emeka Ojukwu and eventually wrote this v sympathetic biography

Jeremy Harding · Paths to Restitution: Leopold’s Legacy The Royal Museum of the Belgian Congo became the Royal Museum of Central Africa after Brussels choked back its fury and...

‘In 2001, a Belgian parliamentary committee concluded that the government of the day "bore a moral responsibility" for Lumumba's murder. How was the museum mean to broach this episode?’

Jeremy Harding on the Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Having risked my life in war zones for the BBC, I know this: cuts to the World Service will be disastrous | Martin Bell In an age of disinformation, our broadcaster is trusted to find and tell the truth. Now more than ever we need it, says former reporter, MP and Unicef ambassador, Martin Bell

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Thursday night London, this should be an interesting evening, do please come.

Do come to this free screening of 'Dahomey' and discussion. 15/5/25, evening, central London
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dahomey-sc...

Poetic justice for the Parthenon marbles | Apollo Magazine In ‘Frieze Frame’, A.E. Stallings collects the responses of poets and artists to the marbles. She explains to Fatema Ahmed why they now deserve a new lease of life

In her new book, ‘Frieze Frame’, @aestallings.bsky.social collects the responses of poets and artists to the Parthenon marbles since the early 19th century. She talks to @hekale.bsky.social about why they now deserve a new lease of cultural life www.apollo-magazine.com/ae-stallings...

Sudan: How war ravaged museums and priceless artefacts Sudan's national museum is among the institutions that have been looted and vandalised during the war.

BBC News - From prized artworks to bullet shells: how war devastated Sudan's museums
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Filming Gabon’s Forgotten Bonds with Elephants and Lions Kristina Obame, our friend of the month for April, is a bilingual Gabonese writer/producer currently residing in Libreville, Gabon.

A wonderful story from #Gabon on the inspiring woman leading the way in wildlife documentaries.

www.elephantprotectioninitiative.org/post/filming...

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to Close Benin Kingdom Gallery on April 28 MFA to offer free evening admission on April 24

Boston MFA is closing its gallery of superb Benin Bronzes, and returning most to Robin Lehman, the 88 yr old owner. Complete breakdown of agreement between him and MFA, which had explored possibility of return to #Nigeria. He is 'v opposed to restitution', I'm told.

www.mfa.org/press-releas...

#PolicyExchange If you release a big new report 'Principles for Restitution' but are *still* confusing Republic of Benin with Benin City (Benin Bronzes) in #Nigeria, you will struggle to convince anyone of your knowledge of West Africa...arrggghh

Intense. Great start, and strong last 15 mins. But Real scary on counter.

The SoA's message to Meta: don't steal our books - The Society of Authors On Thursday 3 April, the Society of Authors (SoA) organised a day of action to deliver a message to Meta. Read all about it here.

Read our letter to Meta, sent last week, condemning their unlicensed use of authors' work to train AI. #DoTheWriteThing #MetaBookThieves - societyofauthors.org/2025/04/04/t...

LinkedIn post from journalist and author Barnaby Phillips: Writing these books brought me great satisfaction. In a very modest way, I hope they helped extend the frontier of human knowledge. They were years of work. The financial rewards, however, were very modest. Now, thanks to the excellent journalism of the Atlantic, I find them on the database that Meta has apparently used to train its AI models. Like thousands of writers and academics, I feel cheated that a company worth billions can access my work without compensation or consultation, to develop a technology that will bring it more profits, and which depends on the creative industries it is busy destroying. Thank you to the Society of Authors for organising this protest in London today. How pathetic of Meta to not even accept our letter... (and, no, LinkedIn, I don't want to 'rewrite with AI').

I’ve read Barnaby’s excellent books and this is both sad and infuriating to see.