Nick Jenkins
@nickjhistorian.bsky.social
Journalist and historian, specialising in the First World War and its aftermath. Especially its aftermath.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Tis the season of giving, and I'm sure Ripa, Royal sandal maker to Ramesses XI, would have agreed!
Here he's offering one of his sandals on a small table to the gods Osiris and Anubis, ~1080BC
#FindsFriday
📍In the Fitzwilliam museum, Cambridge
📸 Mine
#archaeology #ancientegypt #photooftheday 🏺
Here he's offering one of his sandals on a small table to the gods Osiris and Anubis, ~1080BC
#FindsFriday
📍In the Fitzwilliam museum, Cambridge
📸 Mine
#archaeology #ancientegypt #photooftheday 🏺
December 26, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Tis the season of giving, and I'm sure Ripa, Royal sandal maker to Ramesses XI, would have agreed!
Here he's offering one of his sandals on a small table to the gods Osiris and Anubis, ~1080BC
#FindsFriday
📍In the Fitzwilliam museum, Cambridge
📸 Mine
#archaeology #ancientegypt #photooftheday 🏺
Here he's offering one of his sandals on a small table to the gods Osiris and Anubis, ~1080BC
#FindsFriday
📍In the Fitzwilliam museum, Cambridge
📸 Mine
#archaeology #ancientegypt #photooftheday 🏺
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
A watercolour painting I did from a watercolour teaching book. The Ponte Moro Bridge in Venice. #art #watercolour #painting
December 26, 2025 at 11:00 AM
A watercolour painting I did from a watercolour teaching book. The Ponte Moro Bridge in Venice. #art #watercolour #painting
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Since 1947, Oslo has gifted a Christmas tree to the people of London as a token of gratitude for British support to Norway during WW2. In 1940, the King of Norway sought refuge in Britain and the Norwegian government-in-exile was set up in London.
📍Trafalgar Square 🇬🇧
📍Trafalgar Square 🇬🇧
December 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Since 1947, Oslo has gifted a Christmas tree to the people of London as a token of gratitude for British support to Norway during WW2. In 1940, the King of Norway sought refuge in Britain and the Norwegian government-in-exile was set up in London.
📍Trafalgar Square 🇬🇧
📍Trafalgar Square 🇬🇧
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Christmas Day 1940. Free French soldiers attend a Mass at sunrise during the Siege of Bardia, Libya. Photo by Capt Geoffrey Keating. Source: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...
December 25, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Christmas Day 1940. Free French soldiers attend a Mass at sunrise during the Siege of Bardia, Libya. Photo by Capt Geoffrey Keating. Source: www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Hebden Bridge in snow, west Yorkshire, painting by Caroline Johnson.
December 25, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Hebden Bridge in snow, west Yorkshire, painting by Caroline Johnson.
"The boys are in high spirits for we have done with the trenches for a short time & we are hoping to have a good time Xmas Day"... posted from the Western Front in December 1916, shortly after the end of the Battle of the Somme.
December 25, 2025 at 4:10 PM
"The boys are in high spirits for we have done with the trenches for a short time & we are hoping to have a good time Xmas Day"... posted from the Western Front in December 1916, shortly after the end of the Battle of the Somme.
Still on the Great War postcard theme... this one was posted from northern France in December 1915 and look how bright the colours still are, 110 years on.
The silk embroidery formed an envelope containing a tiny "Gloire aux Alliés" (glory to the Allies) card.
The silk embroidery formed an envelope containing a tiny "Gloire aux Alliés" (glory to the Allies) card.
December 24, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Still on the Great War postcard theme... this one was posted from northern France in December 1915 and look how bright the colours still are, 110 years on.
The silk embroidery formed an envelope containing a tiny "Gloire aux Alliés" (glory to the Allies) card.
The silk embroidery formed an envelope containing a tiny "Gloire aux Alliés" (glory to the Allies) card.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
My Xmas Eve plans revolve around me digging through the Archives du Morbihan in Brittany. The département has digitized an insane amount of documents from the 18th century #maritime world.
December 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
My Xmas Eve plans revolve around me digging through the Archives du Morbihan in Brittany. The département has digitized an insane amount of documents from the 18th century #maritime world.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Castleford, Yorkshire, Christmas 1976, by Chris Killip. Terraced house and coal mine with a fence made of old house doors and a child looking out of the window.
December 24, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Castleford, Yorkshire, Christmas 1976, by Chris Killip. Terraced house and coal mine with a fence made of old house doors and a child looking out of the window.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
110 years ago today, Clara Grice waited all day at Walsall railway station for her husband to return on leave from the front, unaware that he had been killed six days before and his body lost in tunnels beneath no man's land (Walsall Observer, 1/1/1916).
![Walsall Observer, 1/1/1916
DEATH STOPS CHRISTMAS LEAVE
Walsall Wood Soldier's Tragic End.
Circumstances of a particularly pathetic nature are associated with the death of a Walsall Wood soldier, Sapper Herbert Grice, who is reported to have been killed while doing his duty with the Royal Engineers. Not long before he had written to his wife, who lives at Latham's Bridge, Walsall Wood, stating that he hoped to be allowed home on Christmas leave. Hearing nothing further, she waited at Walsall Station on Christmas Eve, hoping he would arrive, but, as events proved, he had already lost his life nearly a week before. On Tuesday [28/12/1915] she was greatly shocked to receive the following letter from the officer of battalion:
It is with deep regret that I have to inform you of the death of your husband. He was killed on the 18th by an enemy explosion whilst in the execution of his duty. Death was instantaneous. It is needless to say you have my very deepest sympathy in your terrible loss. It may be some small consolation to know that your husband gave his life for his King and country, and, after all, an Englishman can have no finer death. Your husband was a fine soldier and a brave man. He was always willing to do his share–in fact, more than his share–of work, and, believe me, I am very sorry to have lost him. He could always be trusted and relied upon, and was one of the best men in the section. I wish you to understand that I and other officers of the section feel his loss very keenly. May God comfort you and give you strength to bear your terrible trouble. With deepest sympathy,
Yours very sincerely,
LIEUTENANT H. R. Kerr.
The widow is left with three children, the eldest aged five years and the youngest twelve months.
A native of Clayhanger, the deceased soldier was 38 years of age, and prior to enlisting was employed as a miner at the Leighswood Colliery. Learning last August that skilled men were urgently required for tunnelling work at the Front, he offered hi…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:krmpsrjtpau5n5uxvs5mcq7k/bafkreiemro3dw4p7wm5kbx74rbckxwvsaiwnttybpnspbmjzdxc33znjy4@jpeg)
December 24, 2025 at 10:52 AM
110 years ago today, Clara Grice waited all day at Walsall railway station for her husband to return on leave from the front, unaware that he had been killed six days before and his body lost in tunnels beneath no man's land (Walsall Observer, 1/1/1916).
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Grandad’s Xmas. 80 years ago.
December 24, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Grandad’s Xmas. 80 years ago.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Herring girls gutting fish on the quayside, North Shields, 1930s, photo by Edwin Smith (1912-71).
December 23, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Herring girls gutting fish on the quayside, North Shields, 1930s, photo by Edwin Smith (1912-71).
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Private L S Dunn of Poplar Bluffs, Missouri, 166th Infantry, 42nd Division, enjoying a bunch of celery from a German General’s garden. Frénois, Ardennes, France, November 9, 1918. Photo: Sgt. Mace. catalog.archives.gov/id/55221073
December 22, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Private L S Dunn of Poplar Bluffs, Missouri, 166th Infantry, 42nd Division, enjoying a bunch of celery from a German General’s garden. Frénois, Ardennes, France, November 9, 1918. Photo: Sgt. Mace. catalog.archives.gov/id/55221073
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
December 22, 245 CE: Birth of future emperor Diocletian in Dalmatia. He was a complicated and persecuting man. But he tried to cap hyperinflation, increased Roman record-keeping + archives, and taught us all to keep your enemies close—& your Tetrarchs closer. journals.openedition.org/techne/2567
![Crediting for all images: Courtesy Çukurbağ Archaeological Project [TÜBİTAK 115K242], Kocaeli Archaeology Museum/multispectral or microscopic details : M. Abbe.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:byohyhodi6iknxngf3oypcge/bafkreia6nwgu5t22t3upxspioibchopryh7y67q4wz5e53fr3wmdufzsqa@jpeg)
December 22, 2025 at 12:05 PM
December 22, 245 CE: Birth of future emperor Diocletian in Dalmatia. He was a complicated and persecuting man. But he tried to cap hyperinflation, increased Roman record-keeping + archives, and taught us all to keep your enemies close—& your Tetrarchs closer. journals.openedition.org/techne/2567
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
These just arrived.
The American edition, out on Jan 6th.
The American edition, out on Jan 6th.
December 22, 2025 at 1:13 PM
These just arrived.
The American edition, out on Jan 6th.
The American edition, out on Jan 6th.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Titanic hero who kept the lights on as liner sank. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Titanic hero who kept the lights on as doomed line sank
Electrician William Parr, who was born in Wigan, kept working below deck as she ship split in two.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 22, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Titanic hero who kept the lights on as liner sank. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I don't know if it was a nod to the music hall tradition of cross-dressing, but there was a fashion during the First World War for young women to pose in their menfolk's uniforms.
Here's my teenage great-aunt Alice wearing the uniform of her father, who was a boatman.
Here's my teenage great-aunt Alice wearing the uniform of her father, who was a boatman.
December 22, 2025 at 12:32 PM
I don't know if it was a nod to the music hall tradition of cross-dressing, but there was a fashion during the First World War for young women to pose in their menfolk's uniforms.
Here's my teenage great-aunt Alice wearing the uniform of her father, who was a boatman.
Here's my teenage great-aunt Alice wearing the uniform of her father, who was a boatman.
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
War memorial organ. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Madley, Herefordshire. A thank offering for victory in the 1914-1918 war. First World War. #LestWeForget
December 22, 2025 at 8:17 AM
War memorial organ. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, Madley, Herefordshire. A thank offering for victory in the 1914-1918 war. First World War. #LestWeForget
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Manchester Guardian leader, September 11 1908: 'We cannot understand to what practical use a flying machine that is heavier than air can be put.'
December 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Manchester Guardian leader, September 11 1908: 'We cannot understand to what practical use a flying machine that is heavier than air can be put.'
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
Killed During The Christmas Truce in 1914. The latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social video out now on #YouTube:
youtu.be/3D-2zbTJkJE?...
youtu.be/3D-2zbTJkJE?...
Killed During The Christmas Truce in 1914
YouTube video by Old Front Line
youtu.be
December 21, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Killed During The Christmas Truce in 1914. The latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social video out now on #YouTube:
youtu.be/3D-2zbTJkJE?...
youtu.be/3D-2zbTJkJE?...
Why had I never heard of the UK's great storm of 1703 that killed 10,000 people?
I learnt at school about kings, queens and battles, but not this extraordinary story.
Have schools made history teaching any more interesting since my time?
@davidolusoga.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
I learnt at school about kings, queens and battles, but not this extraordinary story.
Have schools made history teaching any more interesting since my time?
@davidolusoga.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
England’s Hurricane: 10,000 Dead (Ep 1)
Podcast Episode · Journey Through Time · 09/07/2025 · 49m
podcasts.apple.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Why had I never heard of the UK's great storm of 1703 that killed 10,000 people?
I learnt at school about kings, queens and battles, but not this extraordinary story.
Have schools made history teaching any more interesting since my time?
@davidolusoga.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
I learnt at school about kings, queens and battles, but not this extraordinary story.
Have schools made history teaching any more interesting since my time?
@davidolusoga.bsky.social
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/e...
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
For going over the top alone to bomb the enemy, L/Cpl John ‘Jock’ Christie was awarded a Victoria Cross. Before enlisting in 1914, John worked as a parcel clerk for LNWR at Euston Station. He served at Sulva Bay and in Palestine, where he earned his VC.
📍Euston Station 🇬🇧
📍Euston Station 🇬🇧
December 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
For going over the top alone to bomb the enemy, L/Cpl John ‘Jock’ Christie was awarded a Victoria Cross. Before enlisting in 1914, John worked as a parcel clerk for LNWR at Euston Station. He served at Sulva Bay and in Palestine, where he earned his VC.
📍Euston Station 🇬🇧
📍Euston Station 🇬🇧
Reposted by Nick Jenkins
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we return to a forgotten memoir of the Great War, 'The Years of Remembrance' by Harold Maybury who served with the 2/4th South Lancs in 1917-1918.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/12/20/f...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/12/20/f...
Forgotten Memoirs of the Great War Part 2
We return to the subject of Forgotten Memoirs of the First World War and discuss The Years of Remembrance by Harold Maybury which was published in 1924. Maybury served in the ranks of the 2/4th Bat…
oldfrontline.co.uk
December 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
In the latest @oldfrontline.bsky.social we return to a forgotten memoir of the Great War, 'The Years of Remembrance' by Harold Maybury who served with the 2/4th South Lancs in 1917-1918.
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/12/20/f...
oldfrontline.co.uk/2025/12/20/f...
Postcards were the mobile phones of the early 20th century, used for rapid communication.
During the First World War, 12 million cards and letters, and a million parcels, were delivered weekly to the front, reminding soldiers of home.
Look out here for more postcards!
During the First World War, 12 million cards and letters, and a million parcels, were delivered weekly to the front, reminding soldiers of home.
Look out here for more postcards!
December 20, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Postcards were the mobile phones of the early 20th century, used for rapid communication.
During the First World War, 12 million cards and letters, and a million parcels, were delivered weekly to the front, reminding soldiers of home.
Look out here for more postcards!
During the First World War, 12 million cards and letters, and a million parcels, were delivered weekly to the front, reminding soldiers of home.
Look out here for more postcards!