September 2020 Lecture Report – Whose Heritage?
Whose Heritage? Imperial trophies and national treasures from the Elgin Marbles to the Benin Bronzes. Emeritus Professor Tony Stockwell, Royal Holloway College, University of London. 29 September 2020 The original trophies, that were bought back to Europe, originally came previous ancient eastern Mediterranean cultures, with the most well know being the Elgin marbles, and the Egyptian treasures from the French ...
Chairman’s Note on the 2020-21 West Surrey Historical Association Programme
One of the joys of studying history is that current issues that seem so overwhelming and novel are on reflection merely the latest variants of problems that have recurred in many different eras, geographic locations and very different cultural milieus. Often as the person responsible for putting together the branch programme (albeit with more than a little help from my ...
Chairman’s Update 9th July 2020
Following the abrupt termination of the 2019-20 programme, the branch committee have been striving to establish a way forward that is in compliance with both Government regulations and with the safety of our members and speakers in the year ahead. The good news is that there will be a full programme of eleven lectures including all the speakers who we ...
HA West Surrey programme suspended
Dear Members and Friends, You will not be surprised to read that we have had to take the decision to cancel all remaining lectures of this year's programme in addition to the planned trips to The Spike in Guildford and walk around Winchester with Professor Nigel Saul. As we are all confined to our homes, full members of the Historical ...
February 2020 Lecture – Aspects of American Foreign Policy in the Nuclear Age
Aspects of American Foreign Policy in the Nuclear Age by Dr Jonathan Hunt, University of Southampton. Dr Jonathan Hunt is shortly to attend a conference at the UN Headquarters, to commorate the 50th anniversary of the agreement to define which countries are allowed to have nuclear nuclear weapons, and which countries which develop nuclear weapons face the consequences of sanctions ...
March Lecture Cancelled
Due to the current situation with the coronavirus we have decided to cancel this Tuesday's lecture by Dr Lucy Wooding. Dr Wooding teaches at Lincoln College, Oxford, and has informed us that a number of students at the university have tested positive for coronavirus, with the first student to do so at Lincoln. We hope to organize a date in ...
Chairman’s Newsletter – Christmas 2019
Dear all, The first half of the 2019-20 programme has seen some very interesting lectures and big attendances. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, the committee made a major effort to involve schools with the selection of topics. Our decision to focus on the Tudor period was a response to their input. The two Tudor lectures drew a very ...
November 2019 Lecture – The Tudor Rebellions
The Tudor Rebellions by Stephen David No English King had died on the battlefield since King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and Henry Tudor, according to propaganda, bought peace and stability to the country. By 1486, Lord Lovell a lifelong companion to King Richard III, organized a rebellion in Yorkshire, an area of traditional support of King Richard III ...
October 2019 Lecture – 1919: The Year that Changed China
1919: The Year that Changed China by Dr Elisabeth Forster, Lecturer of Modern China (University of Southampton) 1919 was the year in Chinese history, that generated the most significant and radical changes in Chinese history. At the beginning of 1919, nobody in China, could of predicted that changes that were going to take place in that year. Among the changes, ...
August 2019 Newsletter
Last year at this time I appealed for help to upgrade and modernize our website. A hero did step forward-Derek Linney- he has made the site much more user friendly and much more appealing. As Chairman, I wish to record my personal thanks to the committee who make things tick over so smoothly. Attendances in 2018-9 have been approaching maximum ...
April 2019 Lecture: From Satellite City to Global City: London 1500-1700
Dr Ian Archer: Associate Professor in History, Keble College, University of Oxford. In 1550, the population in London was 75, 000, which made London the sixth most populous city in Europe. London was smaller in population, in 1550, than in 1300, as a consequence of the Black Death. By 1700, the population of London had increased to 575, 000, which ...
March 2019 Lecture – Disraeli and the Transformation of Victorian Conservatism, 1846-1880
Professor Lawrence Goldman, St Peters College, University of Oxford Disraeli was the grandson of an eighteenth century Italian immigrants, with his parents being booksellers in Buckinghamshire. Disraeli commenced his career in journalism, which proved to be disastrous, with the consequences of heavy debt, but Disraeli pursued a more successful career as a novelist. He began his career, as a Whig ...