History at Large Archives

Evidence of Mao’s Hidden Famine, Inside China’s State Archives

Xun Zhou 29 November 201213 January 2023

Researching the history of the Great Famine in China through archival sources, by Zhou Xun

Protest at Destruction of Historic Student Records at Ruskin College, Oxford

Toby Butler 27 November 201216 December 2022

A protest will be held this Friday at 11 am, 30th November outside the Rookery entrance, Ruskin College, Oxford, demanding that the destruction of historic student records should stop and a petition signed by 7,500 people will be presented…

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African Soldiers in World War II

Martin Plaut 10 November 201213 January 2023

Martin Plaut, until recently the Africa Editor at BBC World Service News, tells the story of a remarkable cache of interviews with African soldiers in the Second World War, which has just been deposited with the Imperial War Museum

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The Women’s Library: Not Saved Yet

Laura Schwartz 18 October 201215 December 2022

Further information and discussion about the fate of the Women's Library, and the closure of the purpose-built, Heritage Lottery Funded building that housed the library in Whitechapel, by Laura Schwartz

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Losing the Memory of Generations

David Horsfield 11 October 20128 January 2023

David Horsfield, who was College Librarian at Ruskin from 1972 to 2004, reflects on the destruction of archives there

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Stall Stories

Sav Kyriacou 1 August 201219 January 2023

London’s street markets have always ebbed and flowed, but a recent oral history-based film project has shown that challenges still continue

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The Compositor in London: The Rise and Fall of a Labour Aristocracy

Administrator 30 July 20127 September 2022

Research into the political and social lives of compositors during the 1950's

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Review: Australian Aboriginal Protest in Interwar Europe

Fiona Paisley 15 July 201219 January 2023

A short review of the life of A.M. Fernando, the first an Aboriginal Australian activist to present the Aboriginal cause directly to the European public in the 1920's

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Framing East London 2012

Phil Cohen 8 July 201219 January 2023

Olympic legacies, the question of heritage and the Winning Words project at the Olympic Park in London's East End

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The Forgotten Women Evacuees of the Second World War

Gillian Mawson 2 July 201219 January 2023

The story of the hundreds of Guernsey mothers and their infants who were evacuated from the island in advance of the German occupation between the 20th and 28th June 1940

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Mexico’s Olympic Massacre

Bob Trevor 2 July 201219 January 2023

As London prepares to host the Olympics, the memories of Olympic veterans have turned to the Mexico games of 1968 - which saw momentous achievement on the tracks, black power salutes from the winners' rostrum ... and a terrible massacre of…

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Why Local Government Cuts to Archaeology Matter to All of Us

Jo Caruth 4 June 201219 January 2023

Jo Caruth of RESCUE, the British Archaeological Trust, writes about why anyone with an interest in history should be concerned about the long-term impact of cuts to local government archaeological services

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Researching at The Women’s Library

Gemma Romain 25 April 201219 January 2023

Amid growing concern about the future of the Women's Library at London Metropolitan University, Gemma Romain - last year's Vera Douie Fellow at the library - reflects on the unique value of its holdings, and the urgent need to safeguard…

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Who Cares About Working Men’s Clubs?

Ruth Cherrington 22 April 201219 January 2023

Working men’s clubs have a long past, but do they have a future? As June 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, Ruth Cherrington considers their importance to local economies and…

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Digital Engagement & the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive

Sam Roberts and Dr Laura Carletti 4 April 201219 January 2023

How 150 photographers used online communities to create a unique historical resource for the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive. Typically faded, and dating anywhere from the late 1800s to the 1950s, these ‘ghostsigns’…

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The Edwardian Press & Melodrama in the Aftermath of the Sidney Street Siege

Sam Connor 16 March 201213 December 2022

The 1911 Sidney Street siege in London marked a particular juncture in the history of British immigration, tying together Victorian concerns about the urban environment, along with modern fears surrounding immigration and the supposed…

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Oral History & Creative Non-Fiction: Telling the Lives of the Sugar Girls

Duncan Barrett 11 March 201213 December 2022

Duncan Barrett, co-author of the book, 'The Sugar Girls', writes about the women who worked at Tate & Lyle’s two factories in Silvertown, London, in the years following the Second World War, and methodologies in oral history

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Celebrating Martyrs

Dick Muskett 5 March 201213 December 2022

A reflection on the significance of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and how their story has been told over the last 178 years

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Campaign Against the Demolition of Historic Jewish Maternity Hospital in Spitalfields

Administrator 21 November 201119 August 2022

Petition to save a remnant of the former Jewish Maternity Hospital (1911-40), the Arts & Crafts building at 22 & 24 Underwood Road in Tower Hamlets, as the last example of its kind in the country and a memorial to the pioneering…

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Bollywood & Revolutionary Bengal: Revisiting the Chittagong Uprising (1930-34)

Madhu Singh 11 November 201113 December 2022

Madhu Singh, associate professor at the University of Lucknow in northern India, explores the anti-colonial episode of the Chittagong Uprising (1930-34) which Bollywood has recently brought back into the spotlight.

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Riots in London 1780 – Present Day

Jerry White 18 October 201113 December 2022

From time to time, every generation or so, rioting in London has challenged the forces of order and stretched them past breaking point. At times, too, London has seemed on the brink of civil war. This article discusses London's long…

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Remembering and Forgetting Anti-Fascism

Will Boisseau 1 September 201113 December 2022

An examination of the history of local anti-fascism in Southampton, when, on 18th July 1937, trade unionists in Southampton halted a Blackshirt rally.

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A Journey Through Occupation

Ursula Owen 28 July 201113 December 2022

As a participant of the 2011 Palestine Literature Festival, PalFest, publisher & writer Ursula Owen recounts her experiences travelling around Jerusalem and the West Bank.

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Terence Ranger: Life as Historiography

Diana Jeater 16 July 201113 January 2023

An interview with African historian, Terence Ranger, by Diane Jeater

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New Approaches to the History of Popular Protest Workshop: Online Video

Katrina Navickas 30 June 20116 November 2022

New approaches to the history of popular protest and resistance in Britain and Ireland, 1500-1900. A workshop at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK, 1 July 2011.

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God Gave the Land to the People: the Liberal ‘Land Song’

Andrew Whitehead 1 May 20116 November 2022

'The Land Song’ dates back to the glory days of Lloyd George Liberalism, and was revived from the 1960s by a new generation of Liberal radicals. History Workshop Journal editor Andrew Whitehead pursues the song’s history – discovers…

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There Has Always Been a ‘Big Society’

Pat Thane 30 April 201112 December 2022

Amid talk of a 'Big Society', Pat Thane explores the history of voluntary organizations and the shifting boundaries between state and society. She argues that government rhetoric masks a real shrinking of the voluntary sector.

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Angry Young Hope: A Photo Essay

Imogen Lee 9 April 201112 December 2022

Historian Imogen Lee has taken to the streets with hope, a camera and a few placards.

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Reading Room Only

Phil Cohen 25 March 201112 December 2022

The British Museum reading room opened in 1857 and was, until recently, the main reading room of the British Library. Phil Cohen gives a moving and at times very funny account of how his life as a (sometime) shoplifter, Situationist,…

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History, the Nation and the Schools

Barbara Taylor, Peter Mandler & Ed Webb 19 March 201112 January 2023

Amid an increasingly politicised discussion about the teaching of history in schools, History Workshop Online offers three perspectives on the current debate.

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History at Large

What

Where

When

Series

Evidence of Mao’s Hidden Famine, Inside China’s State Archives

Protest at Destruction of Historic Student Records at Ruskin College, Oxford

African Soldiers in World War II

The Women’s Library: Not Saved Yet

Losing the Memory of Generations

Stall Stories

The Compositor in London: The Rise and Fall of a Labour Aristocracy

Review: Australian Aboriginal Protest in Interwar Europe

Framing East London 2012

The Forgotten Women Evacuees of the Second World War

Mexico’s Olympic Massacre

Why Local Government Cuts to Archaeology Matter to All of Us

Researching at The Women’s Library

Who Cares About Working Men’s Clubs?

Digital Engagement & the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive

The Edwardian Press & Melodrama in the Aftermath of the Sidney Street Siege

Oral History & Creative Non-Fiction: Telling the Lives of the Sugar Girls

Celebrating Martyrs

Campaign Against the Demolition of Historic Jewish Maternity Hospital in Spitalfields

Bollywood & Revolutionary Bengal: Revisiting the Chittagong Uprising (1930-34)

Riots in London 1780 – Present Day

Remembering and Forgetting Anti-Fascism

A Journey Through Occupation

Terence Ranger: Life as Historiography

New Approaches to the History of Popular Protest Workshop: Online Video

God Gave the Land to the People: the Liberal ‘Land Song’

There Has Always Been a ‘Big Society’

Angry Young Hope: A Photo Essay

Reading Room Only

History, the Nation and the Schools