Up and Coming Events Local to Tayside

Transcription

1 Up and Coming Events Local to Tayside Thursday 10 March Saturday 19 March Friday 1 April Lecture: 'The Somme: A Centennial Reassessment' (Prof Gary Sheffield) The Somme is one of the bloodiest and most controversial battles of the First World War. Many people view it as an incompetently conducted, futile bloodbath. Others view it as an Allied strategic success, even a victory, an essential phase of an attritional struggle that eventually defeated Germany. In this lecture Professor Gary Sheffield examines the origins of the battle, the strategy and tactics, the course of the fighting, and looks at various interpretations of the battle. A century on, it is time to place the Battle of the Somme into its proper context 9 non-members, 7 friends (includes drink at the reception), booking required, Tel: (choose option 1) - Air Power Goes to War: Military Aviation up to 1914 (Ross Mahoney - Resident Aviation Historian, Royal Air Force Museum) By the end of 1914, military aviators were conducting operations that encompassed the key elements that modern air forces would recognise in the 21st Century. Indeed, in 1914, the Royal Flying Corps was in effect the world s first expeditionary air force as it deployed from its home bases in Great Britain to the Continent with few major problems. This talk will explore the evolution of military aviation in the decade prior to the outbreak of the First World War, the debates around its use as well as the scope and affect that air power played during the opening months of the war. Ross Mahoney is the resident Aviation Historian at Royal Air Force Museum. He holds a PhD and MPhil from the University of Birmingham as well as a PGCE and BA from the University of Wolverhampton. He is currently writing a social and cultural history of the RAF s officer class from 1918 to 1939 as well as researching the Service s military culture. His research interests includes air power history, theory and doctrine, leadership, command and morale, military innovation, military culture and the history of professional military education. He is the convener of The Second World War Military Operations Research Group. Perth & Kinross Remembers - First World War Information Sharing Event (Subjects include Weeping Window of Poppies, the Jellicoe Express, P&K Remembers the First World War) Soutar Theatre, AK Bell Library Perth Free, booking not required 14to18@gmail.com

2 Tuesday 22 April Wednesday 11 May Saturday 14 May Black Watch Castle & Museum - Sannaiyat Memorial Service At 1100 on Friday 22 April 2016 The Black Watch Castle & Museum will host a special service to remember more than 120 Black Watch men who fell 100 years before at the Assault on Sannaiyat on 22 April The focus of the memorial service will be placing crosses for every man who was killed on the Black Watch Memorial Wall. Members of the public and family of the fallen are welcome to attend. Free, booking not required Abertay Historical Society - AGM - Fair Hotchin wi Conchies : Dundee War Resisters and Conscientious Objectors (Billy Kenefick, University of Dundee) Lecture Theatre 2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee - Gommecourt, July 1916: Muddle and Myths (Niall Cherry - Historian, Author) Niall Cherry - Historian, Author. Niall Cherry is an ex-ramc soldier with a deep interest in the two major conflicts of the 20th century. He has published 8 books on these conflicts including, Most Unfavourable Ground, on the Battle of Loos. He has visited the Western Front on many occasions.

3 Monday 16 May Tuesday 7 June Saturday 11 June The Story Behind the Exhibition 'Unknown' (Alison Kinnaird) Artist Alison Kinnaird will speak on her glass installation entitled Unknown, currently on display at The Black Watch Castle and Museum. Alison Kinnaird will talk about her work in glass. She uses the ancient technique of wheel-engraving, combined with modern technology of LEDs to bring an old artform to a 21st century audience. She will focus especially on three major projects - in the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and the 'Unknown' installation, now on show in the Black Watch Museum. Unknown is an illuminated engraved glass installation by Alison Kinnaird. It depicts an army of 52 glass soldiers, which represents the fragility of life in wartime. Figures of civilians also represent collateral damage war affects us all. The installation is on a national tour, being shown in military museums, art galleries and selected National Trust for Scotland properties, each of which has a relevant connection with past or present conflicts. This is timed to coincide with the commemoration of the First World War, but also reflects over three centuries of conflicts in which Scottish regiments have been involved.. 7 non-members, 5 friends, booking required, Tel: (choose option 1) - The Battle of Jutland (Dr Phillips O'Brien) The great naval battle of Jutland represented, at the same time, a culmination and an end of an era. It was the moment when the two largest dreadnought battleship fleets met in direct action, and the last moment when a naval battle s outcome was not affected by the presence of aircraft. So much has been written about Jutland over the years, that it can be used to discuss many issues. This lecture will attempt to put Jutland in its historical context of naval power; to discuss its technological, strategic and historical importance. 9 non-members, 7 friends (includes drink at the reception), booking required, Tel: (choose option 1) - Social History Day Come along to Verdant Works for their Social History Day. We ll be on hand to tell you more about the project and how you can get involved! We ll also be giving a short presentations about our ambitious Roll of Honour project and how it s coming along! High Mill, Verdant Works

4 Saturday 2 July - We Dusted Them Off Good: The German Army on the Somme (Alastair Fraser - Durham University Library) Alastair Fraser is Early Printed Book Librarian in Durham University Library s Archives and Special Collections. He has been researching the Great War for many years and is particularly interested in the British and German Armies at the tactical level as well as the archaeology of the conflict. He is a founder member of No-mans -Land: the International Group for Great War Archaeology and is currently Project Director of their Heritage Lottery Funded Cocken Hall project which is looking at 18 Durham Light Infantry in Britain and France through excavation and research. Most narratives of 1st July 1916 present the day as a British failure. Using German archival sources and the recently discovered Somme paintings of Albert Heim, the lecture tells the story from the viewpoint of the Wurttembergers of 26 Reserve Division who achieved a crushing victory that day at Beaumont Hamel against enormous odds Saturday 2 July Sunday 3 July - Somme Centenary: Lecture (Professor Benjamin Ziemann - University of Sheffield) Join us at the Verdant Work s recently renovated High Mill for a family day on Sunday 3rd July where we ll be marking the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. Learn more about the Battle of the Somme, one of the largest and bloodiest battles in history, as our WWI officer explains technological developments on the battlefield and our WWI nurse teaches you how to treat wounded soldiers on the battlefield. - See more at: Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee - Somme Centenary : Family Day To mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, we have invited guest speaker Professor Benjamin Ziemann, University of Sheffield, to deliver a free keynote lecture on Saturdarday 2nd July 2016 at the Dalhuise Building, University of Dundee. Following a short introduction by the Western Front Association (Tayside Branch), Professor Ziemann will talk about the German perspective of the Battle of the Somme, placing it in German social and cultural context High Mill, Verdant Works

5 Friday 11 November Saturday 12 November Perth & Kinross Remembers Conference This conference will look at actions involving Perth & Kinross soldiers in 1916, including commemorating the last major action of the Somme. On Friday evening, Perth Museum & Art Gallery and The Black Watch Castle & Museum will host the opening of an exhibition on tour from National Museums Scotland titled Next of Kin. Later that evening, the film Battle of the Somme will be screened The conference will run all day Saturday 12 November. Programme still to be finalised but early indications include themes of Battles (Loos, Gallipoli, Operation Michael, Kitcheners New Army) Local heroes (McNicolls of Airlie, Scone Remembers, SSAFA in P&K duringww1, Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane of Cloan, Conscientious objectors) Commemoration(War trophies in P&K , The Scottish National War Memorial, The Duke of Atholl and the Scottish National War Memorial Note that the talks on War trophies in P&K and The McNicolls of Airlie will be presented by WFA (Tayside Branch) committee members Mike Taylor and Rae Taylor respectively Venues and booking arrangements to follow