Scottish Centre for War Studies and Conflict Archaeology

Black and white photo of a World War 2 battleship exploding. HMS Barham, 1941.

Previous post's photo: "1928 séance revealing Duncan with dolls (by Harvey Metcalfe)". Authorities' interest began when Duncan told of the 1941 (secret) sinking of HMS Barham (photo below), allegedly channelling a dead sailor's spirit. More likely contemporary gossip (a leak later confirmed). #WW2

Black and white photo. Woman sitting in a chair wearing a blindfold, inside a house, and with a human size doll next to her, used in seances, a portion of material connecting the doll to her face. Photo description: "1928 séance revealing Duncan with dolls (by Harvey Metcalfe)". Photo caption: "Plate XV "Phantoms" photographed during a seance with Mrs. Duncan at her home. Note mask-like faces, "coat-hanger" shoulders, and warp and weft of material".

In 1944, Helen Duncan was the last person jailed under the 1735 Witchcraft act, for false claims to procure spirits. A #WW2 security measure, it is suggested authorities feared her leaking military secrets (possibly D-Day?). Churchill wrote the charge was "Obsolete Tomfoolery". #Halloween

Archaeologists recover hundreds of Jacobite projectiles in unexplored area of Culloden Archaeologists from the University of Glasgow and the National Trust for Scotland have recovered more than 100 projectiles, including lead musket balls and cannon shot, from Culloden Battlefield.

Archaeologists from @uofgartshums.bsky.social and @n-t-s.bsky.social have uncovered more than 100 Jacobite projectiles at Culloden Battlefield.

Led by NTS DerekAlexander and UofG's Prof Tony Pollard, the discoveries offer new insight into the final moments of the 1746 battle. ⛏️

Sudanese army cedes Darfur to paramilitary group amid fears of mass killings - UPI.com More than two years after the start of Sudan's civil war, the nation's military has ceded nearly all of Darfur to a paramilitary group in an effort to prevent more death and destruction there.

Sudanese army cedes Darfur to paramilitary group amid fears of mass killings https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/10/28/sudan-civil-war-mass-killing/5881761665076/

Sudan's cultural heritage becomes a casualty in its civil war Sudan’s civil war has become a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering scale, marked by famine, ethnic cleansing and sexual violence. Over three years, an estimated 150,000 people have been killed, and...

A piece I produced recently for the PBS News Hour on the impact of the civil war in Sudan on the country's rich cultural heritage:

www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...

Roman grave marker found in New Orleans yard left there by US soldier’s granddaughter Erin Scott O’Brien says grandfather Charles Paddock brought back artifact with him from second world war

The story deepens! We now know the person who brought a #Roman tombstone to New Orleans was a US soldier stationed in Italy during WW2; I like to think that Sextus Congenius Verus - the tombstone 'owner', & a military man himself - would have understood...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Syria's First Post-Assad Election: Analysis from Damascus Under less than perfect circumstances, a new government is heading to Damascus. But events continue to remind us that Syria's politics go far beyond elections.

Under less than perfect circumstances, a new government is heading to Damascus. But events continue to remind us that Syria's politics go far beyond elections, writes Dr Serhat Erkmen in the latest RUSI Commentary.

A color photograph of President John F. Kennedy sitting at a desk in the White House and signing a copy of the Limited Test Ban Treaty, as a group of senators stands behind him. Vice President Lyndon Johnson stands at the far right in the dark suit, hands clasped.

Today in 1963, the Limited Test Ban Treaty—shown being signed by President John F. Kennedy on October 7 after US Senate ratification—entered into force, ending 18 years of unconstrained atmospheric nuclear testing by the United States (215 tests), the Soviet Union (219), and the United Kingdom (21).

HMS Ivanhoe, pictured prewar. 📷 IWM FL 22376 (Destroyer moored to a buoy, smoke coming from her after funnel)

Destroyer HMS Express 📷 IWM A 17867 (Warship stationary in calm waters, carrying the hull number ‘H 61’)

Prewar image of HMS Esk 📷 IWM FL 10196 (Front 3/4 view of a destroyer moored to a buoy, her guns trained to starboard. She carries the number ‘H 15’)

On the night of 31st August-1st September 1940, a sortie by Royal Navy destroyers to lay mines off the Dutch coast went disastrously wrong. Shortly before 11pm, a large group of German ships was reported off Terschelling, leading to fears that they may be part of an invasion force
#NavalHistory
🧵1/8

The cover of the September 12, 1983, issue of TIME magazine, showing a brightly colored painting depicting KAL 007 exploding in the air (just the forward section of the 747 is visible) as three Soviet interceptors, one in the foreground and two in the background, fly by. The headline is, "SHOOTING TO KILL: The Soviets Destroy an Airliner."

The cover of the September 12, 1983, edition of Newsweek featuring a color graphic showing a 747 in Korean Air Lines livery over a map showing Japan, North and South Korea, the eastern Soviet Union, and Alaska, with yellow targeting circles and crosshairs superimposed on the midpoint of the fuselage just above the left wing. The headline is "Special Report: Murder in the Air."

Today in 1983, a Soviet Su-15 interceptor shot down a Boeing 747 operating as Korean Air Lines Flight 007 en route from New York City to Seoul via Anchorage, killing 269 passengers and crew, after it accidentally strayed into restricted airspace over the Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island.

The Haulers memorial. Pays tribute to those who dragged the Vietnam People’s Army artillery, including 105mm howitzers captured from the Americans by Chinese in Korean War, through the mountains. A move which sealed fate of entrenched French Union forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

Dien Bien Phu. Sunset over Laos from Dominique 2. This position was manned by Moroccan, Algerian and T’ai troops when it fell to 209th regiment of the Vietnam People’s Army on night of 30/31 March 1954.

Dubbed Peterloo by Manchester Observer. Meeting called for Parliamentary reform and repeal of corn laws. 4 women and a 2 yr old among the dead. The Waterloo veteran killed was John Lees, the son of a mill owner who joined the Royal Artillery aged 15, a regiment which had two guns present but not used at Peterloo. He was beaten horrendously and died of wounds 3 weeks later.

OTD 1819 Peterloo Massacre. 18 killed & hundreds wounded when pro-democracy meeting of c.60,000 people charged by Cheshire yeomanry, Manchester & Salford Yeomanry & 15th Hussars with 31st & 88th Regts & artillery also deployed. 15th fought at Waterloo & a Waterloo veteran among marchers killed.

Another reminder of the war in the Far East for VJ Day 80:

When we were first given this battered old Officer’s cap it was covered in cobwebs and dust, with several holes in the fabric, and, at first glance, looked like something that had been used for amateur theatre.

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Where they were tasked with peace keeping duties. Witnessing the aftermath of Japanese occupation would stay with Ted for the rest of his life and like many who fought in the Far East it was not until 1947 that he finally returned home.

We often hear that #VJDay marks ‘the end of the Second World War’. It may have marked the end of hostilities but war service continued for many for years after. My Grandad, Capt Ted Syms of 44 Royal Marine Commando, was posted to Hong Kong. Here 3 Cdo Provost Detachment set up base on Lantau

Medieval war galleys

Ancient Roman and Greek war galleys are famous for their use of an underwater ram as their main armament. Rams fell out of use by the Sixth Century when more resilient hull designs made them obselete. Later Byzantine warships used a heavy spur ... (1/2)

Incredibly the atomic bomb air crews visited Nagasaki a few weeks after they'd bombed it. For some crew members what they saw would haunt them for the rest of their lives...

Listen here 🎧
coldwarconversations.com/episode416/
#Hiroshima #Nagasaki #nuclearbomb

Secret plan to liberate Channel Islands found in dusty box A copy of the plan sets out the successful British plan to liberate the Channel Islands during WW2.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

"Survivors from the bomb tell horrific stories."

Eighty years ago, an American B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The bomb changed the world forever - Sky's Helen-Ann Smith explains why we need to remember it.

trib.al/CwEEiWs

#OTD in 1943, operation Gomorrah "created one of the largest firestorms raised by the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces in #WW2 killing 42,600 civilians and wounding 37,000 in Hamburg and virtually destroying most of the city". #HISTORY

Kicking off our July #HuttedHistories, the fantastic Stephen Barker joins us with his talk ‘Watershed – Mahatma Gandhi and the First World War’

#OTD in 1945, USS Barb "sank" a train when a landing party went ashore at Karafuto, Japan, and planted the sub's scuttling charges on a track. As the party returned to the sub, the explosives detonated and wrecked a train. A train victory mark was added to the Barb's battle flag.

Oppenheimer the actor: the curious 1946 film Atomic Power featuring the scientist as himself Atomic Power was pioneering in communicating the history behind Robert Oppenheimer’s work.

The first #Nuclear bomb detonation, #TrinityTest, occurred 80 years ago #OTD 1945. Key #ManhattanProject figures, from Robert Oppenheimer to Leslie Groves, played themselves in an often overlooked 1946 film about it, explored in my 2023 'The Conversation' article. theconversation.com/oppenheimer-...

Just published - Football and War Event and Exhibition at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC by Alex Alexandrou. This event was a partnership between the Army FA, The WFA, @wolvesfc.bsky.social Museum and the Centre for Historical Research at @wlvuni.bsky.social
Read @ www.armyfa.com/vacancy/2025...

It is just over a week until our July #HuttedHistories, on Wednesday 23rd, when we are delighted to welcome Stephen Barker for his talk: ‘Watershed - Mahatma Gandhi and the First World War’

For more information and tickets for this fascinating talk:

rb.gy/lxxuuy

#BastilleDay #OTD in 1944, Courseulles-sur-Mer in France, one of the first towns liberated in France. #WW2 #HISTORY

Call for papers for the Conflict, War and Violence in the Early Modern World Conference, taking place at the University of Exeter on 30-31 October. We are exploring early modern conflict in all its forms. We particularly seek to unpack the interactions between the more traditional aspects of conflict, such as the political, tactical and strategic, with the more human side of it, including sociocultural approaches that explore experiences, representations and impacts of violence. As such, we particularly welcome proposals that look beyond purely military history and break chronological, geographical and disciplinary boundaries. We welcome proposals for individual papers of up to 20 minutes, or full panels of three to four papers, on any aspect of conflict, war and violence in the early modern period. Speakers might consider, but are not limited to, the following themes: Physical, tactical, operational and strategic aspects of warfare. Martial identities, values and motivations. Notions of gender, race, class and religion. Remembering, (re)imagining and representing violence and/or conflict. The experience of violence, its impact and the everyday at war. Popular allegiance in early modern conflict. Maritime violence and naval warfare. The bureaucracy of conflict, finance and the law. Abstracts of up to 300 words, along with a biographical note, should be sent to earlymodernwar@gmail.com by Friday 5th September.

We are thrilled to announce that the Conflict, War and Violence in the Early Modern World Conference, with a keynote address by Professor Mark Stoyle, will be held on 30-31 October at the University of Exeter.

Please help us spread the world, and consider submitting a proposal!🗡️

Call for papers: US Foreign Policy Working Group annual conference- US Foreign Policy | BISA - US Foreign Policy Working Group

🚨 Call for papers 🚨

US Foreign policy WG call for papers for their annual conference is still open! 🇺🇸
Theme this year: 'Foreign policy in the post-unipolar world' 🌎
Keynote - Prof Christopher McKnight Nichols
Submit deadline - 21 July 🌟

Read more - buff.ly/gnkCHp6

@gloefflmann.bsky.social

MICRO GAME PLAYTESTERS NEEDED! I am leading a micro game design jam with designers from around the world. The theme is "warfighting" and we need some blind playtesting and feedback. Any help would be appreciated, instructions below. 🎲

🔗https://shorturl.at/Sk7hE