Posts by Martin Wilcox

The North East of England has a rich history of coastal defence that has received relatively little attention. During the 2014-18 period marking the centenary of the First World War, many commemorative activities have focused almost exclusively on the exploits of soldiers, while sailors and civilians have occupied a secondary role. Trends in family history…

With my PhD project focusing on Remploy, a placement with the company itself was a logical choice, if, perhaps, an unusual one. Rather than working with a heritage organisation, I would be working with a now private company to highlight its own heritage. Fortunately, Remploy has proved to be highly supportive of my project and…

Heritage Quay’s special collections on the institutional history of the University of Huddersfield dating back to its founding as the Young Men’s Mental Improvement Society in 1841 (which was swiftly renamed the Huddersfield Mechanics’ Institute) have been an integral component of my research on northern mechanics’ institutes. As a student of the university I was…

The summer of 2016. London. A heatwave: temperatures soared above 30 degrees. While the rest of England was melting, I was sat in the rather chilly staff area of the British Library pouring over hundred year old paper associated with World War One. The official title of the placement I undertook was ‘First World War…

First Impressions. Hi, my name is Nicole and I am a self-confessed modern art-phobe. Which probably isn’t the easiest thing for an art historian to admit. After dedicating my academic career to the study of ancient art, I confess I find it hard to rationalise the graceful forms of the art of the ancient world…