An interview with Martin Middlebrook: reflections on fifty years of researching and writing on the First World War

Gateways Event

Thursday 15 October 2015, 18:00 - 20:00

Professor Mark Connelly interviews the author of 'The First Day on the Somme' in a public event at the University of Kent

Organised by Gateways to the First World War

Battle of the Somme. A support company of an assault battalion, of the Tyneside Irish Brigade, going forward shortly after zero hour on 1 July 1916 during the attack on La Boisselle.

On Thursday 15th October at the University of Kent, Professor Mark Connelly will interview the celebrated First World War historian Martin Middlebrook on his long career researching the events of 1914-1918.

After making a trip to the Somme battlefields in the late 1960s, Martin Middlebrook was inspired to research further the men who fought in that great battle. The result was The First Day on the Somme which was published in 1971 and is widely regarded as a seminal account of the ‘blackest day in the history of the British army’. The work explored the events of 1 July 1916 through newly-released primary sources and the personal stories of hundreds of ordinary soldiers. Since then, Martin Middlebrook has published numerous other works dealing with key moments in the First and Second World Wars and has also written two books about the 1982 Falklands Conflict after carrying out interviewing visits both to the Falklands itself and to Argentina. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and was appointed as a Knight of the Order of the Belgian Crown in 2004. In 2014 he carried out a speaking tour to the cities of eastern Canada.

This event is free and open to all.

Booking now open. Reserve your place here.