Chevron Photos: Chevrons on sale in military stores
These images were collected as part of The Chevrons Project. As I was volunteering in Ukraine at the time anyway, I started to take photos of chevrons as I saw them. Above photo taken in a military store in Lviv, February 2025 Above photo taken…
Chevron Photos: Chevrons on sale in souvenir stores
These images were collected as part of The Chevrons Project. As I was volunteering in Ukraine at the time anyway, I started to take photos of chevrons as I saw them. Above photo taken in a street market in Kyiv, February 2025 Above photo taken in…
Ukraine Interviews: David Mitch
My interview with Richard Mitch about Ukraine and chevrons
Ukraine Interviews: Roman
My discussion of chevrons with Roman, a Kyiv resident
Ukraine Interviews: Aidan Lynch
My conversation with Aidan, a volunteer from New Zealand
Ukraine Interviews: Andrey and Olha
After their individual interviews, I asked Andrey and Olha some questions jointly.
Ukraine Interviews: Andrey
Andrey is a Kyiv resident whom I met a couple of years ago. He is the founder of Rooftop Drones, a group which encourages his fellow Kyiv residents to learn to make drones.
Ukraine Interviews: Mary Heslin
My interview with Mary, who worked in Ukraine as an official observer prior to the start of the full-scale invasion
Ukraine Interviews: Michelle
Chatting chevrons with Michelle, including important cultural signifiers to keep in mind when designing them
Ukraine Interviews: Richard Woodruff
An interview with Richard Woodruff of the Front Line Kit!
The meanings of my chevrons
Some of the chevrons I've collected during my time in Ukraine, and why they're important to me
Ukraine Interviews: Tony Keane
My interview with Tony, a fella forger for NAFO and volunteer in Ukraine
Chatting about chevron design with a NAFO Fella Forger
Chatting chevron design with Tony, a NAFO fella forge
The practicalities of research in Ukraine
Collecting primary sources is time-consuming at the best of times. Add in the complexities of a language barrier and a war? Even worse. Here’s how the project went for me in practical terms.
The Chevrons Project
An overview of my project collecting information about chevrons in Ukraine
Who’s Grim? A Proposed Name Change, and Conclusions
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Sometimes, name changes are clearly suggested. Grim’s Ditch, once known as Grim’s Dyke, sits in the London Borough of Harrow. The architect of the house built upon it…
Who’s Grim? The many names of the Antonine Wall
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Another famous example Grim as a personal name causing confusion can be found in Grim’s Dyke, also known as the Antonine Wall. Perhaps this is in part due to the large…
Who’s Grim? Grim the Fisherman
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction The town of Grimsby in the north of England still bears the moniker Grim. It is locally accepted that the town is named after a fisherman named Grim (This is Grimsby, 2008). Grim was…
Who’s Grim? Grim as a Personal Name
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In 1896, Isaac Taylor published a compendium of placenames to preserve historical names, and to detail the origins of said names (Taylor, 1896). He notes that in England, personal…
Who’s Grim? Grim as the Devil
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction The practice of naming awe-inspiring locations after Odin is also be applied to the Devil. Harte notes that many locations which are now named for the Devil were once named after other…
Who’s Grim? Grim as Odin
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction It has been proposed that Grim as a place name derives from Grim, Grimr or Grímnir as alternative names for Odin- with some claiming that Grimnir means “hooded or masked one” (Fateful Signs,…
Who’s Grim? The Grim Reaper
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Despite the obvious naming similarity, the Grim Reaper does not appear to have been seriously conflated with the Grim that earthworks have been named after. The closest relationship…
Who’s Grim? Grim as a Church Grim
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction The name Grim appears within the world of folkloric creatures. The Church Grim is a creature which is said to protect churchyards from “thieves, vandals, witches, warlocks, and even…
Who’s Grim? Grim as a Dog
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In North Yorkshire sits the Kilgrim Birdge. The tale behind it is that bridges built by the local people were always washed away by floods. The Devil promised that he would build a…
Who’s Grim? Grim as the Sun
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In an 1839 book on modes of travel, J. W. Parker describes a location known as Grim’s Dyke, or as Devil’s Dyke by the local people (Parker, 1839). According to Parker “Grim may be only…
Who’s Grim? Grim the Giant
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction In 1858 it was “known” that Grimsdyke in Chiltern was created by a wizard. Since then, the dyke has also come to be known as Grim’s Ditch, with a new set of folklore. The story presented by…
Who’s Grim? A Grim Magician
The introduction for this series can be found here: Who’s Grim? An Introduction Historical records for Buckinghamshire tell us the history of the Grimsdyke passing through the Chiltern Hills (Pickburn, 1858). The records report that the name is ancient, citing a…
Who’s Grim? An Introduction
This essay was written as part of a university assignment. I've decided to break it up into chucks, as it's a pretty lengthy post! Introduction In his book Cloven Country, Jeremy Harte dedicates a chapter to describing how the Devil’s hands have shaped the British…
“In the eighteenth century, people believed cheese could cure leprosy.”
I suspect I’m not going to change a lot of minds on this one, but one thing I’ve thought about a lot is how we discuss historical ‘beliefs’ like this more carefully. (1/n)
