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Professor David Egerton: History of Science and Technology and Modern British History, King’s College, London The United Kingdom in the 1900s was an exceptional country. British coal was exported throughout the world, and the country was the largest exporter in the world, of energy (coal). With Argentina, the country turned to the UK, to power its railways, as well as ...

Not so much an Empire more a World System: The British Empire in Global Perspectives There are currently 3 myths concerning European colonial empires 1)      Empires are only a European phenomenon  and the British Empire being even more unique phenomenon among European empires, with the British empire arriving late in history in comparison to other empires, for example the Mongol ...

The first half of the branch’s lecture series has seen some excellent presentations that have drawn large audiences of members. We remain keen to encourage schools attendance. The most important announcement is a reminder that all meetings in 2019 will take place at St. Nicolas Hall. The problems of County School parking are behind us. We will miss the County’s ...

Professor David Carpenter: Professor of Medieval History, Kings College, London - Henry III, Simon de Montfort and the Crisis of Kingship in the Thirteenth Century Guildford Castle was a very much favoured castle, often used by King Henry III and his son, King Edward I. Magna Carta placed many restrictions on the monarch, but did not impose a council on ...

Professor Mark Cornwall: Professor of Modern European History, University of Southampton This year is the hundredth anniversary of the last Emperor, Karl, standing down as Emperor of the Habsburg Empire. Within the history of the Habsburg Empire, there has always been a history of tension and rivalry between the nationalities that made up the Habsburg Empire. The Habsburg Empire during ...

The Road to the Armistice: How the First World War Ended by Professor David Stevenson: International History, LSE November 1918: The railway wagon, number 2491D, constructed before the beginning of the 1st World War, was taken to the forest of Compiegne, where the German delegates accepted the terms of peace, dictated by the Allies. This carriage was used again by ...

We look forward to an exciting programme of lectures in the 2018-9 season of the West Surrey Branch of the Historical Association. Before discussing the content of the lectures, there are two very important points that I request that you read carefully. The first is that the venue for the lectures in the remainder of calendar 2018 will be the ...

The 2017-8 season has attracted good audience numbers of members and guests. School numbers have fluctuated but we continue to attract students and staff from a wide number of schools. The greater fragmentation of the syllabus has probably had an impact but thank goodness there is now more to A level history than Hitler and the Holocaust. The one disappointment ...

Dear Members and Friends, The 2016-7 season drew large attendances and the standard of the speakers was very good. Again school numbers were lower than in recent years. Any teacher members who can help us in understanding the needs of 6th formers, please get in touch with myself, Graham Searle or any committee member. We are pleased that Valerie Haye ...

The popular perception by the general public of the relationship between England and France, has always been hostile, but in reality, the history of the relationship between the two countries, is a mixture of negatives and positives. The reality is that both countries need each other, despite repeatley refusing to acknowledge the fact.   The rivalry between the two countries has ...

After an absence of ten years, Professor Carl Bridge, of Kings College, London, returned to Guildford, to talk to the West Surrey branch on ‘From the Far Ends of the Earth: The British Empire and the Great War’ In 1904, the British government ordered an inquiry, into the possibility of Britain becoming involved in a major world war. In the ...

It was with great anticipation, that we welcomed back Dr Robert Saunders of Queen Mary, University of London, after an absence of two years, to talk to us on the vote that took place in 1975, on whether the United Kingdom should join the Common Market. On what proved to be a most interesting talk, so soon after the Brexit ...