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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Finally I was able to visit the (reconstructed) cave of Lascaux with its incredible art, left by the Cro-Magnons, and wondered over today. Closed to the public due to damage in 1963, Howell’s book whetted my appetite to see them. It was moving to finally do so.

Page from Early Man depicting the black horse of Lascaux

The incredible roof of Lascaux cave in 1963; as depicted in ‘Early Man’

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I was always fascinated by this image from ‘Early Man’ of the Cro-Magnon Abris, at Laugerie Basse in southern France. I visited yesterday. What an incredible and evocative place.

Photograph of houses beneath towering limestone cliffs at Laugerie Basse, from ‘Early Man’ (1970)

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

In praise of this book, given to me by my sister when I was quite young. Published in 1970 and written by the influential paleo anthropologist F. Clark Howell, it always fascinated me, and is a treasured book.

Cover of the Life Nature Library book, Early Man, given to me by my sister when I was a young boy.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Two days into my holiday in France, and I’ve already added a Tirailleur Sénégalais and a Chasseur à pied to the miniature army… On les Aura!

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Incredibly so, but a life saver in the trenches

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

British ‘Helmet, Steel, Mark 1’ from 1917 with later liner, rough sand finish to cut down on reflection and brazed-on Machine Gun Corps cap badge

British ‘Helmet, Steel, Mark 1’ with sand finish and attached Machine Gun corps badge

British ‘Helmet, Steel, Mark 1’ with liner and chin strap

Makers mark to Hadfield Steel of Sheffield

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

British ‘Helmet, Steel, Mark 1’ which replaced the ‘War Office Pattern’ helmet later in 1916. This with its original liner designed to provide sufficient gap between the head and the crown of the helmet. This one has insignia of the 14th Sherwood Foresters.

Mark 1 infantry helmet with original painted Sherwood Foresters badge

Detail of painted insignia to the 14th Sherwood foresters on the helmet

Interior of the helmet with second pattern liner and leather chin strap

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Early British ‘War Office Pattern’ steel helmet (known as a Brodie after its patentee), c.1916, with replacement liner and chin strap. These helmets had a raw edge to the helmet rim. This one has a remnant of the original bright green paint.

Early British War Office Pattern helmet with remains of original paint

Early British War Office Pattern helmet with replacement liner

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Early British ‘War Office Pattern’ steel helmet (known as a Brodie after its patentee), c.1916, with early liner and buckled chin strap. Introduction of this helmet reputedly increased the number of head wounds - as previously these casualties would be marked as killed, not wounded in action

War Office Pattern steel helmet, c1916, showing liner

War Office Pattern steel helmet, c1916, close up of chin strap

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I absolutely agree with you. That distortion is something I have had to deal with whenever I have discussed my Dad’s life in Stalag VIIIB. (I was pointing out the FEPOW material from as I was under the impression from an earlier posting yours that you were considering another book on this topic?)

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

What might be of value to you is the infrequent mention of Far East PoWs in those magazines, usually couched in vague terms. You’ve probably noticed that, but just in case…

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

They are fascinating. Photography in camps by the German authorities ensured that there were plenty of pics showing well dressed PoWs engaged in social activities & sport; the reality of the Arbeitskommando was very different, as I’m sure you’ve covered.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The public perception of PoW life has persisted from the war itself. Even families who received the Red Cross & St John Prisoner of War magazine were taken in to dome extent. Looking forward to reading your book; I put some of my thoughts into mine a few years back, in memory of my Dad.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

That is odd, but then there are alleged connections between a certain toothbrush-moustache wearing gentleman and the Adelphi…

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

‘The Captive Heart’ (1946) is terrific, especially so as Sam Kydd appeared in it little over a year from being released from a PoW camp. Compare that with the travesty that is ‘The Password is Courage’ (1962) which is truly awful.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Well put: thanks for helping displace the myth of the PoW ‘holiday camp’. As you know, this was no sinecure. For my Dad and countless others in captivity, the Red Cross parcel meant survival - and close to starvation in 1940 and 1945.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Machine (it, the computer): ‘Rewrite this paragraph with Copilot’ Human (me, the writer): ‘No [insert expletive]. By the way, it’s Co-pilot’

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

An old cart shed at the Thames Chase Forest Centre in Essex. Constructed from reclaimed beams, some 500 years old, this building stood through the Great War as its farm supplied food for the Home Front. In 1915, a year of military reverses, a worker daubed the fateful date on the timber. Why?

Ancient beams in an old cart house in Essex, at the Thames Chase Forest Centre. The date 1915 is prominently displayed

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Interesting take. How about ‘Gallipoli chic’?

Four New Zealand Army Officers, Gallipoli, Turkey. Powles family papers. Ref: PA1-o-811-20-2. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Our tree guy says it’s an old one. When we moved in there was evidence of other fruit to its rear. I’ve always felt it was a nod to ‘Dig for Victory’ - the WW2 nearest bomb to fall was the end of our street. I’m convinced it blew out our window. My mission is to keep this veteran live and healthy

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Thank you apple tree. Planted in the garden of a 1930s inter-war ‘housing boom’ house, you must have experienced war and peace, and gave sustenance to generations. Thank you for being there, and for shading me as I reflect on your life.

Looking up at the branches of my
Old apple tree

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I saw the headline acts way back, in London and Liverpool, not the other two; the event was an incredible one

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Of course, but it’s not helped by the devaluation of some subjects in favour of others.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Naturally, that’s your valid experience. It’s not mine, as a first generation university student. Of course things were different then, so it’s probably not directly comparable. But my experience of the students I’ve taught in two fields, over many years is that love of the subject came first.

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Reposted by Peter Doyle

Ivy @ivymrx.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Unique freaks!

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Maybe. But now it is being pushed, a purely transactional approach to a life changing period. Education is much, much more than money

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I see you were there too. It was an incredible evening.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Honestly, has it really come to this?

Screenshot of BBC news item ‘Find out which university degrees could earn you more across your lifetime’

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Having first seen DEVO decades ago, I saw them again, days ago. And what I’ve learned over this period is that their message is even more relevant today, as it was then.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Princess Mary’s Christmas gift for ‘Every Sailor Afloat, Every Soldier at the Front’ to a sailor of HMS Queen Mary, sunk with almost all hands at Jutland, 110 years ago. This frame could either be a poignant memory of a lost sailor, or survivor’s memory of his once proud vessel.

Princess Mary’s gift in a wooden frame, with the cap tally from a sailor of the Queen Mary, sunk at Jutland 1916

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Interesting insights from David Olusoga at this evening’s lecture in London’s Cadogan Hall

Historian David Olusoga lecturing at Cadogan Hall

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Reposted by Peter Doyle

RG Poulussen @rgpoulussen.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

#OTD in 1941, St George's Cathedral in Southwark was bombed. Father Dixon inspecting the damage. #WW2 #HISTORY

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Terrific, thanks for letting me know!

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Reposted by Peter Doyle

Dr Adam Prime @primeadam.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

I am delighted to be speaking at The WFA Somme 110 Conference on 4 July at the Army & Navy Club! I'll be talking about the Indian cavalry alongside @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social Linda Parker, & Stephen Badsey. Plus our president Spencer Jones will be chairing a panel discussion. Booking is now open!

westernfrontassociation.com

President’s Conference: SOMME 110 | The Western Front Association

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Reposted by Peter Doyle

Dr Dion Georgiou 🇨🇾❤️🇬🇾 @drdiongeorgiou.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Re-upping this for the Saturday crowd: On how Michael Balcon articulated Ealing Studios’ institutional identity and commercial and creative decisionmaking in moral, progressive, and patriotic terms. All reposts (and subscriptions) much appreciated. x

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Regimental badges on silks are sought after, as they are decorative and interesting, connecting the sender with their unit, instilling pride. This one is all the more interesting through its connection to the Royal Naval Division (RND) - sailors in khaki who served in the trenches

RND anchor silk postcard with the words ‘Souvenir from France’

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

They are beautiful - and numerous - with the ‘rare’ ones commanding the most interest. This can lead to them being taken as ‘common’ or ‘familiar’, but most carry messages home from a shell-blasted landscape of love and hope from that is poignant

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

A silk postcard sent home by a soldier from the Great War, but perhaps with a difference. Its central maple leaf and crown motif indicative of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), its French script suggesting it was aimed at French Canadians

Silk postcard with the flags of the Allies, and a central Maple leaf and crown motif of the CEF. It’s message- Souvenir de la Grande Guerre - suggests it was aimed at French Canadians

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

There are a huge number of them out there, so many in fact, that they are commonly overlooked. But their message is clear, keepsakes from the war zone, intended to be treasured by those who received them.

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Silk postcards are avidly collected, though examples like this one, faded and grubby, are likely to be overlooked. But there is something about its message, ‘a kiss from the trenches’, that draws the eye and sponsors reflection: a simple message of love from a frontline soldier of the Great War

Silk postcard with the flags of the Allies, a doing of mistletoe and the message ‘A kiss from the trenches’

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Your Britain: Fight For it Now - 1943/2026. Abram Games’ hard-hitting poster depicted modern health care (Finsbury Health Centre, with want and degradation lurking in the rear; a future worth fighting for in 1943- and today

Abram Games’ poster, at the IWM (Art.IWM PST 2911) showing the health centre with a child with rickets behind: the centre, still thriving, is shown below, 2026

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Peter Doyle @profpeterdoyle.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Reminders of the ‘first blitz’

Plaque recording a Zeppelin raid on Farringdon, 1915

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