Martin Polley
banner
historymartin.bsky.social
Martin Polley
@historymartin.bsky.social
Professor Emeritus at De Montfort University, UK, and former Director of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture. Sport, arts, music, places, statues, plaques, heritage, and more.
https://martinpolley.co.uk/
Reposted by Martin Polley
I've always felt that Johnson and Farage put self-interest over the national interest - hence their dallying with Putin and his oligarchs. But directly colluding with a foreign government to take down the BBC feels like an act of supreme treachery
November 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
Expertise in the history of Sport in Asia or Latin America? We are looking for new editors to join us in these areas. Details can be found via link below

Deadline is 3rd Dec

think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
Editor needed for The International Journal of the History of Sport
Editor needed for The International Journal of the History of Sport
think.taylorandfrancis.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
@bssh.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social Sports and Leisure History Seminar, 17 Nov, 18.00 hybrid. Atlanta Tsiaoukkas of the Centre for Research in Children’s Literature at Cambridge will speak on The Schoolgirl Sporting Heroines of Early Twentieth-Century Girls’ Fiction. tinyurl.com/2y5jhp2x
The Schoolgirl Sporting Heroines of Early Twentieth-Century Girls’ Fiction
This session will explore how early 20th-century girls’ fiction recast the schoolgirl as a sporting heroine, redefining femininity through athleticism, patriotism, and modern ...
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
Thanks Martin. Glad you like it. Anyone interested can buy Cutting the Mustard here: www.robinireland.com
New book alert: Cutting the Mustard: 50 years of dreaming by @robinireland.bsky.social, a history of commercialisation in English football through a case study of Norwich City. Great research, lively style, and brilliant design based around photos of ephemera. #SportsHistory #norwichcity #otbc
November 6, 2025 at 11:54 AM
New book alert: Cutting the Mustard: 50 years of dreaming by @robinireland.bsky.social, a history of commercialisation in English football through a case study of Norwich City. Great research, lively style, and brilliant design based around photos of ephemera. #SportsHistory #norwichcity #otbc
November 6, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Now that's what I call a celebrity endorsement... 10 years on, Anil's Cafe in Chaar Dukaan, Landour, India, still celebrates the time that cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar came for breakfast. #cricket #india #sachintendulkar
November 4, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.
October 30, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
Farage: epic grifter
October 27, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
This week we look forward to meeting with historians at the University of Suffolk along with archivists from Suffolk Archives for the next RHS Visit.

The day closes at The Hold, Ipswich (5.30pm, Weds 22 October) with a guest lecture by Prof Tim Grady to which all are welcome: bit.ly/43oqsKb
Britain and the Memory of the Two World Wars
A public lecture as part of the Royal Historical Society's visit to historians at the University of Suffolk, with Professor Tim Grady
bit.ly
October 19, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
Exciting News! The project's very own @d-oneill.bsky.social will be talking about tobacco sponsorship in F1 and its associated public health challenges at the Silverstone Museum next weekend. Do consider attending if interested. Info is in the linked post.
I'll be presenting at @silverstonemuseum.bsky.social on Saturday 18 October as part of their annual research forum. Hear me talk about the history of tobacco sponsorship in Formula One and the challenges this posed for public health. Info and tickets here: www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk/whats-on/eve...
Silverstone Museum Research Forum: 75 Years of Formula 1
Join Silverstone Museum’s Research Forum celebrating 75 years of Formula 1, featuring expert talks, museum exhibition access, and refreshments.
www.silverstonemuseum.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
New blog post on my website: La Piscine: A Swimming Pool Re-Imagined #gallery #roubaix #france #lapiscine #heritage
martinpolley.co.uk/2025/10/09/l...
October 9, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
For Oxford colleagues - 21 October:

talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/326...
The Symphony Concert in Nazi Germany: Orchestras and their Audiences
talks.ox.ac.uk
October 9, 2025 at 7:02 AM
New English Heritage Blue Plaque at 65 Audley Street, Mayfair, for actor and UNICEF humanitarian ambassador Audrey Hepburn (1929-93) #audreyhepburn #blueplaque #englishheritage www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/search...
Blue Plaque for Silver Screen Icon Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn, the Oscar-winning star of Roman Holiday and one of the most enduring icons of film and fashion, has been honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque. The plaque marks 65 South Audley...
www.english-heritage.org.uk
October 8, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
📙 Bluesky is the only platform where I haven’t circulated my book, as I’d recently joined and was waiting for the physical copy. So here it is (last book post, I promise) 📙

☀️ Sunbed in Britain: Tanning Culture from Fad to Fear is free to download via: dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781...
October 8, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
REMINDER: Just a week left now to submit abstracts to the CfP below.
CfP: Excited to announce our first workshop, exploring histories of Commercial Determinants of Health. Workshop to be held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 15 April 2026. Please circulate widely/consider submitting an abstract by 13 October 2025.
October 6, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
International Football History Conference 2026 - CALL FOR PAPERS! Further information at the below link and via @garyjames.bsky.social - gjfootballarchive.com/2025/10/02/i... #sportshistory
International Football History Conference 2026
The call for papers/presentations has been released for the 2026 International Football History Conference (#Footycon26). If you are interested in attending or presenting the details are here: Inte…
gjfootballarchive.com
October 2, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
CfP: Excited to announce our first workshop, exploring histories of Commercial Determinants of Health. Workshop to be held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 15 April 2026. Please circulate widely/consider submitting an abstract by 13 October 2025.
July 25, 2025 at 10:21 AM
1/3 Great day at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social yesterday for the 1st Advisory Board meeting for @kthabitproject.bsky.social . This is a @wellcometrust.bsky.social funded project on the history of addictive sport sponsorship in UK 1965-2025, with strands on alcohol, tobacco, and gambling
October 2, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
REMINDER: There’s just under a month left until the CfP for 'Historicising CDoH' closes. Please do share & circulate widely/consider submitting an abstract by 13 October 2025 if you’re interested.
CfP: Excited to announce our first workshop, exploring histories of Commercial Determinants of Health. Workshop to be held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 15 April 2026. Please circulate widely/consider submitting an abstract by 13 October 2025.
September 15, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
If you write professionally in the UK, make sure to sign up to ALCS for your fair share of royalties
September 22, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
'"When it comes to AI adoption, many companies aren't guided by strategy, but by 'fomo'". For 'companies', read 'universities'.
America’s top companies keep talking about AI — but can’t explain the upsides
FT analysis of hundreds of filings suggest the S&P 500 businesses are clearer about the risks than benefits
www.ft.com
September 23, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Reposted by Martin Polley
Academia.edu is changing its Terms and Conditions, and they're so outrageous (AI training; signing over ownership to them etc) I closed my account today.

A thread with some practical tips if you want to delete your account (5 steps):
September 20, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Martin Polley
A new exhibition at @lselibrary.bsky.social looks at 200 years of trade union history. Some great stuff on display.
sslh.org.uk/2025/09/17/e...
Exhibition marks 200 years of trade union history
Two hundred years of trade union history is celebrated and commemorated in an exhibition now running at the LSE Library. LSE Library Exhibition Gallery. Organised jointly by the London School of Ec…
sslh.org.uk
September 17, 2025 at 6:17 AM