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Martin Johnes

@martinjohnes.bsky.social
1.3K followers 309 following 181 posts

Historian at Swansea Uni. Books include: Aberfan, Wales since 1939, England's Colony?, Welsh Not, Christmas & the British, History of Sport in Wales.

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Reposted by Martin Johnes
NationCymru @nation.cymru · 01/10/2026
The author of a new history of Wales for children has said that young people need a history of Wales that goes beyond “great men”, simple heroes and villains and events within the country’s borders
nation.cymru
Author of new Welsh history book says ‘children can handle more complexity than we give them credit for’
Llinos Dafydd The author of a new history of Wales for children has said that young people need a history of Wales that goes beyond “great men”, simple heroes and villains and events within the countr...
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Building sandcastles with the new @swanseauni.bsky.social history students. #welcomeweek
A view of Swansea bay and beach.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
My memories of the 1997 devolution referendum. 29 years ago today. martinjohnes.com/2017/09/12/m...
martinjohnes.com
Memories of Wales says Yes 1997
On 18 September 1997, the Welsh electorate narrowly voted ‘Yes’ on the question: “Do you agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly as proposed by the Government?” The turnout was 50.1…
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The Penny Illustrated in 1891 summing up what it thought was the popular view of Cardiff.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New book! A history of modern Wales for children 9+. By me & @darrenchetty.bsky.social. Pictures by Matt Abbott. eincymru.my.canva.site/home
eincymru.my.canva.site
Our Wales: A People's History
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New book! A history of modern Wales for children 9+. By me & @darrenchetty.bsky.social. Pictures by Matt Abbott. eincymru.my.canva.site/home
eincymru.my.canva.site
Our Wales: A People's History
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The ability of the richest & most powerful men in the world to position themselves against "the elite" - a category that excludes the world's richest man, its biggest media magnates, the UK's richest party & the biggest donors in UK history - may be the most effective lie in modern political history
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The mechanics here are quite difficult to get your head round, but the Welsh Government and the HE review should be all over it. Wales appears to be being denied substantial sums because of accounting rules.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Community engagement / humanities job at Swansea: www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swan...
swansea.ac.uk
Research Assistant - REPAIR Project
Retrofitting for the Future – Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Adaptation’, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Important message that students should not be forgotten in the forthcoming university review. I also hope that someone on the review actually teaches in a university.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
A particular problem in Welsh history. Is there anyone under 40 teaching Welsh history in a university on a permanent contract?
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Skinheads and punk rockers, 1983, Merthyr Tydfil, photo by Walter Waygood, Welsh photographer.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Welsh HE needs radically restructuring but I'm not sure downgrading a key part of the nation's research and development capabilities are an answer to anything.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Had a great day at the National Army Museum. A fantastic museum and archive.
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George Eaton @georgeeaton.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Why is the universities crisis being ignored? Essential piece by @gsoh31.bsky.social for Arguably on the “grim dribbling away of one of Britain's great triumphs and economic advantages” – and why so few politicians seem to care. www.arguably.uk/p/the-quiet-...
arguably.uk
The quiet collapse of British universities
One of our great triumphs and economic advantages is fading away
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The Monumental Welsh Women group deserve great credit for what they have achieved in the last few years. Statues matter.
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YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 05/06/2026
🧵/ How Wales voted at the 2026 Senedd election: our new study based on reanalysing the data behind our successful pre-election MRP identifies the key demographic and political divides behind the new Welsh party system yougov.com/en-gb/articl...
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
'Too many children leave school with "at best limited knowledge and understanding of the history of their own nation," many of Wales' leading academics write in an open letter to the Welsh Government.' Letter in full available at end of article. 1/3
walesonline.co.uk
Leading academics write open letter with challenge to Wales on our history
Several of Wales' most prominent historians are urging the Welsh Government to act
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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 03/06/2026
Three leading Welsh academics, supported by Welsh historians, educationalists and public figures have written an open letter to the Welsh Government's new Minister of Education calling for Welsh history to have a more prominent place in the Welsh school curriculum
nation.cymru
Academics call for Welsh history to have 'greater prominence' in school curriculum
Stephen Price Three leading Welsh academics, supported by Welsh historians, educationalists and individuals prominent in public life in Wales have written an open letter to the Welsh Government’s new ...
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Very sorry to hear of the passing of Prof Huw Bowen. Huw was a leading historian of the East India Company and a champion of the discipline more broadly, especially in Wales. He was a huge personal and professional influence on many of us.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Townscape, painting by Yorkshire artist Clare Shotter.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Beautiful day in Swansea but there's hardly any students around. We need to offer students the opportunity to do 2 year degrees. Long summers work for some students but not all. Reduce student debt by letting students study through the summer if they want to
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Just marked a dissertation on Attlee. A nice reminder that what you do in office ultimately matters far more than public perceptions of your personality or style. Labour's problem isn't that its leader isnt appealing. The problem is the lack of action.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Listening to someone from Reform talk about how he stood for the Senedd because of all the scandals in politics. Pity the interviewer never pointed out a previous Welsh Reform leader is in prison for taking Russian bribes.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Carmarthen result shows stupidity of new system. Plaid 43% means 3 seats. Reform 32% means 3 seats.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
8 May 1945 Europe celebrated VE day and the defeat of fascism. They also remembered the millions of lives lost in that war. 81 years on a chunk of the electorate seem to have forgotten what the politics of hate and grievance can lead to.
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Daniel G. Williams @danielgwydion.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Rhywbeth i’w ddarllen tra'n aros am y canlyniadau, efallai. @richardwynjones.bsky.social @danieljhartley.bsky.social @jasminedonahaye.bsky.social nationtimecymrusydd.wordpress.com/2026/05/07/i...
nationtimecymrusydd.wordpress.com
In the Wake of 1997: Event or Process?
Ron Davies, the Labour Secretary of State who oversaw Welsh devolution, famously insisted that devolution was “a process, not an event.” Yet the retirement this week of Dewi Llwyd, the beloved broa…
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The bookies at least are certain.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
One way to interpret these data (there are alternative interpretations) is that universities, financially desperate to raise NSS scores & (in England) ditto TEF scores, are so desperate to please students by dropping deadlines & attendance requirements that they are lowering their employability. 1/2
timeshighereducation.com
Employers fear graduates lack adaptability as AI reshapes work
Concerns that UK universities not preparing students adequately as annual survey shows big rise in performance-related issues among recent hires
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Wrote this a few years ago about election day. (The electoral system is now better but still a bit rubbish.) martinjohnes.com/2019/12/12/i...
martinjohnes.com
I like voting
I like voting. I like the walk to the polling station, even if it’s raining. I like seeing others heading the same way. I like wondering who they’re voting for. I like how serious their…
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Reposted by Martin Johnes
BLPublishing @blpublishing.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Next preview! New ‘Gilded Nightmare’ Shadows Over Cymru: Uncanny Stories of the Welsh Weird. Edited by Aaron Worth. Surely one of the prettiest jackets yet! & check out that contents list. Publishing 26/05.
Cover of Shadows Over CymruContents of same 1Contents 2
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NationCymru @nation.cymru · 28/04/2026
A new oral history project celebrating Cardiff's live music scene is inviting young people to record their best music memories
wp.me
Cardiff music fans invited to share gig stories ahead of major heritage exhibition
A new oral history project celebrating Cardiff’s live music scene is inviting young people to record their best music memories. Cardiff’s ever evolving live music scene – from legendary nights at the ...
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Cardiff Waterstones, Thursday at 7pm: I'm interviewing Will Hayward about his new book about the economic and political problems Wales faces. www.waterstones.com/events/who-c...
waterstones.com
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Nice reminder of pitfalls in the digitisation of historical documents.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Do councils tell people when their application to be on the electoral register has been processed? I've spoken to a number of students who registered but have no idea if they are actually able to vote.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
We don't teach as much Welsh history as we should in our schools. This short essay is about why Welsh history matters. martinjohnes.com/2026/04/23/w...
martinjohnes.com
Why Welsh history matters
History is not easy. It’s not about learning dates and facts; it’s about understanding, understanding why things happened, what they meant, what they led to. This isn’t straightforward. It can requ…
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Fully-funded AHRC PhD scholarship at Swansea: the history of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in Wales, 1945-1994. www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
swansea.ac.uk
History: AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Studentship in History with Museum Wales (RS949) - Swansea University
We offer a wide range of funded and fully funded research scholarships in all subject areas. Explore your options and apply now.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Just finished this by @willhaycardiff.bsky.social It's passionate, lively, informed and provocative. Wales needs radical change and this book explains why.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Nice 1914 addition to my collection of Welsh history school books.
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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
no one likes historians because every time someone says “oh this is unheard of” historians are all like “well actually” and fundamentally it just doesn’t sound as impressive if you have to say “in these slightly precedented times”
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Has anyone written anything on how devolving UKRI funding would work in practice?
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Fully-funded AHRC PhD scholarship at Swansea: the history of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in Wales, 1945-1994. www.swansea.ac.uk/postgraduate...
swansea.ac.uk
History: AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Studentship in History with Museum Wales (RS949) - Swansea University
We offer a wide range of funded and fully funded research scholarships in all subject areas. Explore your options and apply now.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Rhondda Valley, south Wales, 1957, photo by Philip Jones Griffiths.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
"Young people leave school knowing little about the story of Wales". Article in the Western Mail by myself and David Eagan calling for a new approach to Welsh history in the Curriculum for Wales. www.walesonline.co.uk/news/educati...
walesonline.co.uk
Young people leave school knowing little about the story of Wales
"It remains the case that most pupils in Wales will leave school with limited knowledge of the history of their own nation and its place in the wider UK and world"
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
I'm interviewing Will about his new Welsh politics book at Swansea Waterstones on 22 April.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Gutted but at least there's no moral dilemma about whether to visit Trump's America this summer.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Saw the Cross of Conbelin today. A thousand years old and stunning.
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Martin Johnes @martinjohnes.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Peter was a great historian, great company, and possibly the only person ever to be simultaneously a season-ticket holder at Cardiff City and Swansea City.
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Richard Wyn Jones @richardwynjones.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
www.politico.eu/article/uk-b...
politico.eu
Britain’s Labour Party stares into the abyss in its Welsh heartland
In the old coalfields of south Wales, Britain’s center-left establishment faces being crushed by a nationalist left and populist right. POLITICO went to find out why.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Man at a bus stop with a teddy bear, Cardiff, 1973, photo by David Hurn, Magnum agency photographer.
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