Richard Batten
LightNews LightNews
banner
richardbatten.bsky.social
Richard Batten
@richardbatten.bsky.social
410 followers 470 following 23 posts
Honorary Research Fellow at University of Exeter, Historian, Devon, WW1; Barista; Farmer’s son; Views my own, reposts not endorsements;
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
richardbatten.bsky.social
Richard Batten @richardbatten.bsky.social · Jan 2
I am pleased to announce that my next book “For King and Country: The Role of Patriotism in Mobilisation in the First World War” will be published by Pen and Sword History @penandswordbooks.bsky.social and released on 31 January 2025.

www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/For-King-and...
For King and Country
This book is an original interpretation of domestic patriotism and the limitations of wartime mobilisation in rural and urban communities of the British Home Front…
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Reposted by Richard Batten
mwpalen.bsky.social
How Ronald Reagan is Reigniting the Canada-US Trade Conflict

imperialglobalexeter.com/2025/11/10/h...
How Ronald Reagan is Reigniting the Canada-US Trade Conflict
Mulroney and Reagan signing the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA), credit: The Canadian Press/AP, Barry Thumma Francine McKenzieWestern University Like so many of America’s trading partners, …
imperialglobalexeter.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:16 PM
richardbatten.bsky.social
In case you missed it, you can watch my talk that I gave about Patriotism on the Home Front of the First World War on 16th May 2025 at the @nationalarmymuseum.bsky.social online:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzK...
For King and Country: The Role of Patriotism in Mobilisation in the First World War
YouTube video by NationalArmyMuseumUK
m.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
newadrian.bsky.social
Fascinating stuff. There is still a lot to be found out about local histories of the war.
November 7, 2025 at 11:13 AM
richardbatten.bsky.social
Devon’s elite attempts to “police” patriotism during World War One had limited success, research shows
news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h...
Devon’s elite attempts to “police” patriotism during World War One had limited success, research shows
Rich and powerful Devonians attempted to “police” patriotism during World War One because they were dismayed by an indifferent response to the European crisis by some in the county, research shows. Th...
news.exeter.ac.uk
November 7, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
uniofexeternews.bsky.social
"Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters were convenient symbols of the underhanded, conspiratorial Catholicism many feared and suspected was abroad in the land: the papist under the bed, or indeed, under Parliament" - Dr Martha Vandrei of @hass-cornwall.bsky.social 🎆
www.historytoday.com/archive/head...
Why Has the Gunpowder Plot Been Remembered for Centuries?
www.historytoday.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
kensingtons.bsky.social
Volume 1 of London Pride is on its way! It examines London’s Territorial Force (TF) from 1908-21, exploring its unique structure, socio-economic composition, military operations during the GW. Ideal for office & home use & Xmas presents. Reg interest: tinyurl.com/25tty85e
@parhistory.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
fwwsoc.bsky.social
The Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture will be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social next week! There are still some tickets left available to attend either in person or online. So if interested, check out the Eventbrite link in the quoted message. 🗃️
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
November 3, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
teachlearnwar.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Message in a bottle from first world war soldier found on remote Australian beach
Light-hearted note, penned on 15 August 1916, was found on Wharton beach, after severe winter storms washed away sand dunes
www.theguardian.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
fwwsjournal.bsky.social
We’re proud to highlight Jiang Zizheng, an early career researcher in history at Kyoto University, who has a particular interest in Japan's racial equality proposal at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference whose work discusses how questions of race, diplomacy, shaped China’s diplomatic position.
November 1, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
chriskempshall.bsky.social
Happy new episode day everyone!

This month we finally tackle 'Blackadder Goes Forth'!
owalpodcast.bsky.social Oh! What a Lovely Podcast @owalpodcast.bsky.social · 9d
Was Blackadder Goes Forth the most powerful portrayal of the #FWW ever put on television?

This month we take a look at the show's enduring legacy & discuss how it evolved, historical realities behind its humour, & why the final scene still resonates. 🗃️

ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/blac...
Blackadder
Was Blackadder Goes Forth the most powerful portrayal of the First World War ever put on television? In this episode of Oh! What a Lovely Podcast, Jessica, Chris and Angus take a look at...
ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
owalpodcast.bsky.social
Was Blackadder Goes Forth the most powerful portrayal of the #FWW ever put on television?

This month we take a look at the show's enduring legacy & discuss how it evolved, historical realities behind its humour, & why the final scene still resonates. 🗃️

ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/blac...
Blackadder
Was Blackadder Goes Forth the most powerful portrayal of the First World War ever put on television? In this episode of Oh! What a Lovely Podcast, Jessica, Chris and Angus take a look at...
ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
earlymodernwar.bsky.social
Our jam-packed programme is ready to go! Keep reading for more ⬇️
October 13, 2025 at 11:58 AM
richardbatten.bsky.social
For King and Country: The Role of Patriotism in Mobilisation in the First World War “offers a sharp, original analysis of wartime mobilisation and domestic patriotism during the First World War”
Many thanks to Dr Tom Thorpe @kensingtons.bsky.social for his review in Stand To!
Book Review – Richard Batten, For King and Country: The Role of Patriotism in Mobilisation in the First World War (Pen & Sword, 2025) – The Kensingtons Blog
kensingtons.org.uk
October 28, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
cjapieters.bsky.social
I'm so pleased to share this Call for Papers for a conference on Food and Nutrition in Wartime in the Modern World, 19th-21st centuries, organised with my colleagues Chris Batten and @rfhodge.bsky.social, kindly supported by @fwwsoc.bsky.social. Submissions to foodandwarconf@gmail.com by 22/12/25!
CALL FOR PAPERS Food and Nutrition in Wartime in the Modern World, 19th-21st centuries 16-17 April 2026 We welcome papers with a historical focus on a range of food and nutrition-related topics, including, but not limited to: Technological and productive innovations in food production in war Food and nutrition as a site of technocratic and bureaucratic developments Food and nutrition science in wartime Turning points in the development of bureaucratic, legal, social, political, etc approaches to food management e.g. the impact of the First World War blockade on the Second World War or wartime rationing on subsequent wars Social, cultural and legal perspectives on feeding of civilian, combatant and incarcerated/prisoner populations in war. Civilian, individual and/or community responses to food shortages. Survival strategies for populations facing difficulties accessing food and malnutrition in war, including generational and demographic cohort effects e.g. the elderly, marginalised and minority populations, such as those living in asylums, etc. Humanitarian interventions; including logistics, organisations, distribution on the ground and the use of humanitarian aid for religious, social or political aims. The weaponisation of food and nutrition in war in colonial and civil war contexts. The changing uses of food and nutrition in local, regional, national or international contexts over the period. Proposed panels (submissions do not need to be limited by these themes): Feeding incarcerated populations in wartime. Wartime occupations. Humanitarian interventions. Feeding fighters and civilians during asymmetric warfare, civil wars, guerrilla wars and/or anticolonial wars. Please submit a paper title and abstract of no more than 300 words to foodandwarconf@gmail.com by Monday 22 December 2025, 5pm (UK time). Informal enquiries may be sent to foodandwarconf@gmail.com. CALL FOR PAPERS Food and Nutrition in Wartime in the Modern World, 19th-21st centuries 16-17 April 2026 We welcome papers with a historical focus on a range of food and nutrition-related topics, including, but not limited to: Technological and productive innovations in food production in war Food and nutrition as a site of technocratic and bureaucratic developments Food and nutrition science in wartime Turning points in the development of bureaucratic, legal, social, political, etc approaches to food management e.g. the impact of the First World War blockade on the Second World War or wartime rationing on subsequent wars Social, cultural and legal perspectives on feeding of civilian, combatant and incarcerated/prisoner populations in war. Civilian, individual and/or community responses to food shortages. Survival strategies for populations facing difficulties accessing food and malnutrition in war, including generational and demographic cohort effects e.g. the elderly, marginalised and minority populations, such as those living in asylums, etc. Humanitarian interventions; including logistics, organisations, distribution on the ground and the use of humanitarian aid for religious, social or political aims. The weaponisation of food and nutrition in war in colonial and civil war contexts. The changing uses of food and nutrition in local, regional, national or international contexts over the period. Proposed panels (submissions do not need to be limited by these themes): Feeding incarcerated populations in wartime. Wartime occupations. Humanitarian interventions. Feeding fighters and civilians during asymmetric warfare, civil wars, guerrilla wars and/or anticolonial wars. Please submit a paper title and abstract of no more than 300 words to foodandwarconf@gmail.com by Monday 22 December 2025, 5pm (UK time). Informal enquiries may be sent to foodandwarconf@gmail.com.
October 23, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
mwpalen.bsky.social
From the dark past of the medical sector to concerns about further conflicts in the Middle East, here are this week’s top picks in imperial and global history.

imperialglobalexeter.com/2025/10/18/t...
This Week’s Top Picks in Imperial & Global History
Mitchel StuffersAssistant Editor at CIGH Exeter & PhD Candidate in History, University of Exeter From the dark past of the medical sector to concerns about further conflicts in the Mi…
imperialglobalexeter.com
October 18, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
exeterunilib.bsky.social
This #BlackHistoryMonth, remember you can access a huge range of online primary source databases and archives all year - perfect for research into Black history around the world. In some cases, @exeter.ac.uk is the only subscribing university in the UK or Europe!
bit.ly/ExeterUniLibBHMDatabases
A sunburst-style background in two shades of green, with dark green text reading, 'Black History Month 2025 Black History Databases' at the top, and a link to bit.ly/ExeterUniLibBHMDatabases at the bottom. In the centre are screen shots of the databases Black Women Writers: African, African American, and Diaspora; Struggles for Freedom; Independent Voices: An Open Access Collection of an Alternative Press; African American Newspapers, 1827-1998; an Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975: Rock and Roll, Counterculture, Peace and Protest.
October 22, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
exeter.ac.uk
Join us on 3rd Dec for an online masterclass - PhD proposal and funding 101.

Our experts will discuss the main funding schemes available and offer advice on how to decide your next move. They will also cover the ideal PhD proposal structure and key things to include.
October 22, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
juliarsct.bsky.social
Briefly emerging from my maternity leave bubble to invite you to my lecture in 11th November about what (French) poetry did during the First World War. You can register to attend in-person or online via the link below
fwwsoc.bsky.social International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social · Sep 5
We are delighted to share the details for this year's Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture 'Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War' to be delivered by @juliarsct.bsky.social on 11th Nov 2025

You can book to attend in person or online:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembranc... 🗃️
Poetry under fire: what poems did during the First World War 5.30pm, Tuesday 11 November 2025 Craiglockhart Campus, Edinburgh Napier University What did the First World War do to poetry? What did poetry do during the First World War? In this lecture, Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz will explore a brand new corpus of war poets to interrogate not what is a good or bad war poem nor what war poems say about the war, but rather the social and cultural functions accomplished by poetry in 1914-1918: inventing itself, creating social links, anchoring the war in relation to a poetic past and multiple imagined futures, mediating the experience of war, and producing knowledge about the conflict. She will explore how the expansion of our definition of war poetry allows us to ask new questions about the First World War, as well as future possibilities to continue broadening our understanding of what war poetry was and, above all, what it did and continues doing for those writing and reading it. Dr Julia Ribeiro Thomaz is a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Lille. She completed her doctorate, on French poetry of the First World War, at Université Paris Nanterre. Julia has already published widely in academic journals, and is a Fellow of the International Society for First World War Studies. This lecture continues the annual series of Remembrance lectures at Edinburgh Napier University, marking the historical significance of Craiglockhart as a War Hospital during the First World War, famously the meeting place of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. We also remember our late colleague Catherine Walker, who was for many years curator of the War Poets Collection. Funding comes from the Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and the Centre for Military Research, Education & Public Engagement. This year the event is also the Dennis Showalter Memorial Lecture, selected by the International Society for First World War Studies. Named after Dennis Showalter, the leading historian of Germany during the war and a longtime friend and supporter of the Society it is delivered each year by a leading early career researcher in First World War Studies. The event is held in the Rivers Suite at Edinburgh Napier University’s Craiglockhart Campus (Google map | travel info). There will be a wine reception from 5.30pm; the lecture will start around 6pm. The event will also be streamed online via Zoom. If you have any queries about the event, please contact Dr Andrew Frayn (a.frayn@napier.ac.uk). This event is both in person and online. If you wish to attend online, please buy an 'online Ticket'. Zoom information will be found in the email confirmations.
October 21, 2025 at 4:01 PM
richardbatten.bsky.social
Blog of the Centre for Imperial and Global History at University of Exeter - Destroying and Doctoring the Empire’s Past: Comparing Hong Kong with Other British Colonies
imperialglobalexeter.com/2025/10/16/d...
Destroying and Doctoring the Empire’s Past: Comparing Hong Kong with Other British Colonies
Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong as it looks today (image courtesy of the author) Matthew HurstUniversity of York Inside The National Archives (TNA) is a glass box. A reader entering this special area…
imperialglobalexeter.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
purseigle.bsky.social
Where I try to explain why France is not going through an ordinary political crisis but that the Fifth Republic is a regime in crisis.
🇫🇷 #france #politics
👇 👇 👇
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

@uni-of-warwick.bsky.social
France's political upheaval isn't temporary - it's a profound constitutional crisis | Pierre Purseigle
The old prime minister is back with a new team, but it can’t last: a democracy can’t have a president with the powers of a king, says French historian Pierre Purseigle
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
kensingtons.bsky.social
My review of @richardbatten.bsky.social excellent For King and Country: The Role of Patriotism in Mobilisation in the First World War (Pen & Sword, 2025). Published in Stand To! No.199 (September 2025).
October 14, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
markhailwood.bsky.social
As the agricultural cycle starts to wind down for the winter, my next post on 'The Experience of Work in Early Modern England' looks forward to its resumption in the new year, when...

‘Ploughmen go whistling to their toils’

manyheadedmonster.com/2025/10/14/t...
The Experience of Work in Early Modern England III: ‘Ploughmen go whistling to their toils’
This post is part of a series that marks the publication of The Experience of Work in Early Modern England. The book is co-authored by monster head Mark Hailwood, along with Jane Whittle, Hannah Ro…
manyheadedmonster.com
October 14, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Reposted by Richard Batten
fwwsjournal.bsky.social
🎉 We are delighted to announce that Dr Sofya Anisimova (@sdanisimova.bsky.social) has been elected President of the International Society for First World War Studies starting in January! 🧵
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
October 8, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
owalpodcast.bsky.social
How did the #FWW bring down Europe’s great dynasties, & how did the BBC retell it in 1974?

We watched Fall of Eagles, which charted the decline of the Romanovs, Hohenzollerns, & Habsburgs. We evaluate the strengths & weaknesses of this ambitious show. 🗃️

ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk/podcast/the-...
Fall of Eagles
How did the First World War bring down Europe’s great dynasties, and how did the BBC retell that story on screen? In this episode of Oh What a Lovely Podcast, we look at Fall of Eagles, ...
ohwhatalovelypodcast.co.uk
October 7, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Richard Batten
fwwsjournal.bsky.social
📢 🧵 This year the International Society for First World War Studies @fwwsoc.bsky.social is hosting a conference in the University of Macedonia! If you can't attend in person, you can still take a look at the work that has been published in First World War Studies by some of this week's speakers.
October 1, 2025 at 2:54 PM