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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Working for the YMCA’s war effort in WW1 was about dedicating oneself to service: supporting one’s fellow soldiers with acts both great and small, in the physical and the emotional. Read how one man embodied this in this week’s Substack: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/cigarettes...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

Cigarettes for Sermons

The mission to serve soldiers on the Western Front, in comforts great and small, through the eyes of the YMCA’s Frank Grose.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

Cigarettes for Sermons

The mission to serve soldiers on the Western Front, in comforts great and small, through the eyes of the YMCA’s Frank Grose.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

For tonight’s flight: starting the Historical Novel Prize shortlist with The Trap, set in 1942 Sydney

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sinking the Emden was the Royal Australian Navy’s graduation on the world stage. But it also solidified the Great War as a World War: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/sinking-th...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

Sinking the Emden

How the Great War became a global war via the Indian Ocean

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Sinking the Emden was the Royal Australian Navy’s graduation on the world stage. But it also solidified the Great War as a World War: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/sinking-th...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

Sinking the Emden

How the Great War became a global war via the Indian Ocean

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Completely gripped by The Wargame on Sky/Now TV. Completely exposes Britain’s military weakness but also forces politicians to consider what is actually at stake when we talk about national defence. Really impressive and well put together.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The three Rs of YMCA war work: Reading, Writing, Recreation. Pictured here at Suez and Golders Green: consistent, reliable support wherever soldiers served.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Big day: my name has finally been spelt correctly on a coffee!

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

If we’re all equal in death, why give only one know. soldier a special burial in Australia? I search for an answer in this week’s Substack: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-genera...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The General’s Return

How Major General Bridges became Australia’s only known repatriation from the First World War

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Why did Australia repatriate only one of its fallen soldiers from the First World War and what did it mean for the fledgling nation? kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-genera...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The General’s Return

How Major General Bridges became Australia’s only known repatriation from the First World War

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Why did Australia repatriate only one of its fallen soldiers from the First World War and what did it mean for the fledgling nation? kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-genera...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The General’s Return

How Major General Bridges became Australia’s only known repatriation from the First World War

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Lovely to have one of my articles republished in the church magazine back home in Gloucestershire. It’s a long way from the poems I used to write in it as a child!

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Reflections from the Australian War Memorial, a profound tribute to a nation’s sacrifice, an ongoing commitment to commemoration, and an example of museum expansion done incredibly well: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/here-we-gu...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

Here We Guard The Record

The Australian War Memorial, a tribute to the nation’s sacrifices and one man’s vision for remembrance

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

Here We Guard The Record

The Australian War Memorial, a tribute to the nation’s sacrifices and one man’s vision for remembrance

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Fascinating evening at an after hours tour of the Anzac Memorial for NSW History Week. Learnt a lot and got to have a behind the scenes look at parts not usually open.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This week I wrote my substack about folk religion on the Somme and soldiers’ superstition over the Leaning Virgin of Albert. So here’s a beginners’ guide to surviving WW1, through the supernatural and superstitious:

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The Leaning Virgin above Albert’s basilica long fascinated the soldiers who passed through the city on their way to the Somme. Could it really offer them protection and predict the war’s winner? kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-precar...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Precarious Virgin

The folk religion of the statue that wouldn’t fall and the soldiers it protected

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Precarious Virgin

The folk religion of the statue that wouldn’t fall and the soldiers it protected

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Amazing visit to the Australian War Museum. So much to see, especially in the new galleries, with tons of artefacts and stories brilliantly told.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

After a train journey that felt straight out of the 1980s, I’ve arrived for a weekend in Canberra. Probably more excited than I should be for the archive at the Australian War Memorial.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The biggest stress with creating a historical map is dealing with whatever this is. I'm not sure who this helped, but it seems the least useful way to plot the Western Front. There's a key for each YMCA hut numbered but it doesn't tell us much, especially as many are named after donors not location.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This week in 1918: breakthrough on the Somme, an impatient general, and some typical Aussie humour. Read all about the capture of Peronne in this week’s article 👇 kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-rue-de...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Rue de Kanga

The Australians advance on Peronne, changing the course of 1918 and scattering their humour along the way

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This week in 1918 the Australians consolidated their advance across the Somme, recapturing Peronne. Along the way they made sure to stamp their humour on the streets: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-rue-de...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Rue de Kanga

The Australians advance on Peronne, changing the course of 1918 and scattering their humour along the way

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Rue de Kanga

The Australians advance on Peronne, changing the course of 1918 and scattering their humour along the way

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

An image which perfectly summarises the spirit of the YMCA’s service in WW1. Even after a direct hit at Messines in 1917, the urn keeps running and YMCA rep Capt. AE Forrest keeps pouring the tea. [Image AWM H01118]

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

How does morality get so warped that ordinary people believe it’s right to beat and murder on an industrial scale? This powerful novel lifts the lid on real Holocaust stories: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-mare-o... @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social @walterscottprize.bsky.social

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Mare of Ravensbrück

Angharad Hampshire’s novel, released this week, revisits some of the darkest and most shocking parts of the Second World War

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

My biggest frustration is that it’s killed something as simple as googling synonyms. It used to give you all the options for a word and now the AI only suggests a few, usually terrible, words.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

On this week’s Substack, I write about a novel I’ve not quite stopped thinking about in the six months since I read it. Shocking and oftentimes brutal in its descriptions, but a powerful and visceral read on the barbarity of the Holocaust: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-mare-o...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Mare of Ravensbrück

Angharad Hampshire’s novel, released this week, revisits some of the darkest and most shocking parts of the Second World War

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Sunday morning, Spring finally feels in the air, and I hang the laundry outside to dry for the first time since Winter. Only for a bird to come along and deposit on BOTH the bed sheet and duvet cover 🤦‍♀️ So much for my optimism!

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Reposted by Kathryn White

The Petersfield Bookshop @pfieldbookshop.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Another scarce wee book. This time from 1914. Just as WW1 begins this is "Notes on Visual Training and Judging Distance In Relation to Musketry"

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Love this sketch of the YMCA dugout in Hervilly Wood, 1918, by Daryl Lindsay. Perfectly encapsulates the camaraderie and respite of the YMCA, even under chaotic and dangerous conditions.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Call it patriotic enthusiasm or early-war naivety, the Bishop of London’s 1915 visit to the Western Front captured the sense of an army in its prime and the birth of a renewed manhood for Britain. It would not be a view recognisable by war’s end: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-bishop...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Bishop at the Front

The Bishop of London's unprecedented visit to the Western Front and his mission for soldiers' fortitude

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

‘We would all rather die, wouldn’t we, than have England a German province?’ The Bishop of London’s bold visit to the Western Front in 1915, covered in this week’s Substack: kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com/p/the-bishop...

kathrynshistoryblog.substack.com

The Bishop at the Front

The Bishop of London's unprecedented visit to the Western Front and his mission for soldiers' fortitude

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Facebook marketplace has suggested an absolute belter, “quite substantial in size” and complete with “intricate rigging”. Complete steal too at only $50/£25! www.facebook.com/share/195MTi...

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

12 years since I set off on my first solo trip to the battlefields. I didn’t drive back then, so I caught the train to Dover and cycled to Ypres. The trip was the start of my first history blog and completely caught my imagination for studying WW1. It was to be the first of many such trips.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The Battle of Amiens, fought 108 years ago this week, became the beginning of the end of the First World War, the Allies finally able to break through on the Western Front. Read accounts of the advance in my latest article: open.substack.com/pub/kathryns...

open.substack.com

Australia's Greatest Day

8th August 1918: The Allies finally break through on the Western Front, spearheaded by Monash's Australian Corps

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This weekend marks the anniversary of the Battle of Amiens, the beginning of the end of the First World War, and a fight spearheaded by the Australians: open.substack.com/pub/kathryns...

open.substack.com

Australia's Greatest Day

8th August 1918: The Allies finally break through on the Western Front, spearheaded by Monash's Australian Corps

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This weekend marks the anniversary of the Battle of Amiens, the beginning of the end of the First World War, and a fight spearheaded by the Australians: open.substack.com/pub/kathryns...

open.substack.com

Australia's Greatest Day

8th August 1918: The Allies finally break through on the Western Front, spearheaded by Monash's Australian Corps

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

She contains multitudes. One library book to inspire my weekend, the other to distract me.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Brilliant evening seeing Anna Funder in conversation at Sydney Town Hall. Such interesting perspectives on history, curiosity and the writing process, inspiring, informing and entertaining.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The course of lives defined by war. Barriers placed on opportunities, relationships, and the future. It’s all in my latest substack: open.substack.com/pub/kathryns...

open.substack.com

Divided by War

Dr Kathryn White reads two novels about lives broken apart by the Second World War

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Reposted by Kathryn White

Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Historical fiction often serves as our window into the emotional lives of those in the past. Nowhere is that more powerful than lives upended by war. I reflect on two moving WW2 novels in this week’s substack: open.substack.com/pub/kathryns...

open.substack.com

Divided by War

Dr Kathryn White reads two novels about lives broken apart by the Second World War

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Please pray for my boyfriend who has agreed to rewatch 1917 with me, but who doesn’t enjoy interruptions or talking during films.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

open.substack.com

Divided by War

Dr Kathryn White reads two novels about lives broken apart by the Second World War

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Been to see The Odyssey in the front row of the cinema and felt like I was on that boat with them, almost having to row myself.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

One of the most recent #WW1 YMCA huts I’ve located and mapped: the Soldier’s Club on the Domain, St Kilda’s Rd, Melbourne. The location is very close to where the Shrine of Remembrance now stands.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Excited to have joined the new @indyhistnetwork.bsky.social and looking forward to getting to know fellow historians who are balancing research with jobs and all of life's other demands.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Can never get bored of these run commute views.

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Kathryn White @kathrynww1.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

In this week’s Substack I reflect on spending a whole decade falling down the rabbit hole of First World War history, the YMCA, and recording history online: open.substack.com/pub/kathryns...

open.substack.com

Finding the Y

Dr Kathryn White revisits the past decade of studying the YMCA and putting it on the map

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