Britain & Ireland

What was it about industrialisation that led to the emergence of a woman’s movement in Victorian Britain? Why do we see so many people fighting for so many rights and liberties in this period and what are the origins of some of the issues we still campaign on today? This section includes our major series on Social and Political Change in the UK from 1800 to the present day. There are also articles and podcasts on the often violent relationship between England and Ireland during this period and England’s changing relationship with Scotland and Wales. Read more

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  • Strange Journey: the life of Dorothy Eckersley

    Article

    Meeting in Berlin Three days before the outbreak of the Second World War, William Joyce, the leader of the British Nazi group, the National Socialist League, was in Berlin. He and his wife, Margaret, had fled there fearing internment by the British government if war broke out. Yet as war...

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  • The President's Column 119

    Article

    The final version of the National Curriculum for History was published over the summer. It is pleasing to see that the improvements recommended by the Historical Association and other History societies have been included. There is now provision for longer chronological study at both Key Stage 2 and 3, as well...

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  • Four faces of nursing and the First World War

    Article

    With the centenary approaching, article after article will appear on battles, the men who fought, those who refused, those that died, those who returned and those that made the decisions. There will be articles on the home front and the women that stepped into the men's shoes often to be...

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  • Marcus Morris and Eagle

    Article

    Marcus Morris and Eagle: Approved reading for boys in the 1950s & 1960s The National Art Library of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London's South Kensington held an exhibition in the first five months of 2012 devoted entirely to British adventure comics of the  1950s and 1960s, many taken...

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  • The President's Column 118

    Article

    The last three months have been a very busy period for the HA. The consultation on the draft National Curriculum for History ended on 16 April and we remain in dialogue with the Department for Education on the revised proposals. In May the HA's annual conference was held at York...

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  • Podcast Series: The Cold War

    Multipage Article

    An HA Podcasted History of the Cold War featuring Dr Elena Hore of the University of Essex, Dr Matthew Grant of Teeside University, Dr Holger Nehring of the University of Sheffield, Dr Michael Shin of the University of Cambridge, Professor Mark White of Queen Mary University of London, Professor Charles...

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  • The President's Column 116

    Article

    On 10 December an advance copy of a report (History for all) by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on History and Archives was publicised, which relied heavily on research and expert witness from the Historical Association. The report noted that ‘there is a great deal to be positive about in the way...

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  • The National Insurance Act 1911: three perspectives, one policy

    Article

    Sandwiched between the Parliament Act and the Home Rule Act, the National Insurance Act 1911 is easily overlooked and often forgotten. Yet, as Gilbert has pointed out, it was critical both of itself and as the foundation for social legislation up to current times. It came into force on 15...

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  • Women, War and Revolution

    Article

    On the surface, the period 1914 to 1945 seems to have encompassed massive changes in the position of women in Europe, in response to the demands of war and revolution. Yet historians have questioned the extent of the transformation, since the acquisition of the vote, as well as improvements in...

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  • Podcast Series: Britain's Cold War

    Multipage Article

    In this set of podcasts our author Dr Helen Parr examines Britain's role in the Cold War. Katharine Hudson, General Secretary of CND, looks at the history of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in Britain.

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  • The Origins of the Second Great War

    Article

    This pamphlet provides a detailed account of  the events leading up to the outbreak of war in 1939, covering the various factors that played a role in the outbreak of war such as tension over Poland and the Spanish Civil War, as well as the nature and effect of diplomatic...

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  • The Great Powers in the Pacific

    Article

    This pamphlet covers a very large period of history in a very important region with great detail and focus. Themes that are covered include the transition of power and dominance in the pacific region, the conflicts that frequently arose in the struggle for pacific dominance throughout the centuries, as well...

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  • Central and Local Government in Scotland Since 1707

    Article

    This pamphlet provides an interesting approach to a historical topic which has been too frequently covered from a single viewpoint. The pamphlet delivers a thoroughly Scottish approach to the nature of the 1707 Union and the changing nature of Scotland in the following centuries. It highlights the disparity of the...

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  • 'Women and Children first!' a lost tale of Empire and Heroism

    Article

    In January 1852, under the command of Captain Robert Salmond, HMS Birkenhead left Portsmouth carrying troops and officers' wives and families from ten different regiments. Most were from the 73rd Regiment of Foot, and were on their way to South Africa to fight the Xhosa in the 8th Kaffir War (1850-1853),...

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  • Woodcraft Youth: the interwar alternative to scouting

    Article

    ‘We should recognize once and for all', exclaimed ‘White Fox', a rebel London Scout leader, ‘that the ideas and ideals which may have fitted fairly well into the social fabric of 1908 [year Scouts formed] may be very ill-fitting "reach-medowns" in 1920'. During the First World War, the enthusiastic support...

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  • Antarctica 100 years on from Captain Scott

    Article

    No longer "A Pole Apart": Antarctica 100 years on from Captain Scott At last on 12 November 1912 the search party found the tent almost totally buried in snow. According to Thomas Williamson: ‘Mr Wright came towards us, and said it was the Polar Party ... it was a great blow...

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  • Royal Women: Queen Anne, Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II

    Multipage Article

    In June 2012 the Historical Association and Historic Royal Palaces joined forces to offer a fantastic CPD opportunity in line with the Queen's diamond jubilee. Two CPD events around the theme of Royal Women charted the private histories of queens of the past from within the walls of their palaces. What...

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  • TV: modern father of history?

    Article

    Bettany Hughes Norton Medlicott Medal Winner Lecture In 1991 I travelled to the BBC for a meeting with a senior television producer. It seemed to me that history just wasn't getting a fair crack of the whip. I talked animatedly about the on-screen discoveries that could be made and the...

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  • The President's Column 114

    Article

    The last three months have provided me with some wonderful opportunities to catch up with HA members. In April I got as far as Carlisle, one of my favourite places, to talk to the Cumbria branch and in May I went to Grimsby, where the branch was celebrating its 50th...

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  • Robert Peel: Portraiture and political commemoration

    Article

    On 4 March 1856, during a debate in the House of Lords on a motion to form a ‘Gallery of National Portraits', the Conservative peer Earl Stanhope quoted Thomas Carlyle's view that ‘one of the most primary wants [of the historian is] to secure a bodily likeness of the personage...

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