The Szlumper Cuttings
Sir James Szlumper Sir James Szlumper, 3 times mayor of Richmond (1893/1900/1904) and president of the Victoria Working Men’s Club collected 11 volumes of cuttings from local and national newspapers…
Follow the Drum: a reflection [Part 2] – The Home Front Response
‘Let us remember Spring will come again…’ (May 1915, Charlotte Mew) The Armistice Agreement had been reached, signed and implemented at am on the 11 November 1918. Permanent security was not…
Follow the Drum: a reflection [Part 1] – Post-hostilities
Guerre Finie! Boche Napoo! A grainy image of a German car emerging from the mirk of a battlefield caught my imagination as I was researching this last piece for the…
Spanish Influenza – 100 years on
One hundred years ago this month, as the Great War was coming to an end, another desperate fight was raging. The Spanish Flu is hardly remembered now, but at the…
Artists at war: Dame Laura Knight
Introduction During her lifetime Dame Laura Knight was one of the most successful and popular British artists. She was a household name but, after her death in 1970, she slowly…
The Royal Air Force -100 years in the air
Badge of the Royal Air Force, granted by the College of Arms in 1923. 1 April 2018 represents the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Royal Air Force, the…
Follow the Drum: Christmas 1917
Springbok Blue December 1917 To celebrate Christmas one hundred years ago in 1917, it was necessary for people to dig deep within their own personal reserves of strength as the…
Follow the Drum: South African Military Hospital
Leading the way The special collection of materials available in the Local Studies Library & Archive provides a unique insight into the ground-breaking treatments and therapies that were available to…
Artists at War: Stanley Spencer and the Second World War
In Artists at War: Paul Nash and the First World War, we looked at the role of official war artists and in particular the work of Paul Nash. In this…
Artists at War: Paul Nash and the First World War
When war was declared on 4 August 1914 many artists - the profession was then still predominantly male - began to enlist. The Royal Army Medical Corp (RAMC), which provided…