Dr Edward Madigan - Senior Lecturer in Public History and World War One

My research and teaching combine cultural and military history and I’m particularly interested in the British and Irish experience and memory of the First World War. I also direct the MA in Public History and the London Centre for Public History and Heritage. Before joining the history faculty at Royal Holloway, I was resident historian at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. From 2012 to 2013 I sat on the UK Government’s Centenary Events Planning Group and I currently sit on the editorial board of the 1914-1918 Online Encyclopaedia and the executive committee of the International Society for First World War Studies.

I’ve always been fascinated by the sometimes-surprising ways in which communities and individuals have responded to the experience of war in the twentieth century. My first book attempted to shed light on the elusive question of the religious faith of soldiers in wartime by exploring the fortunes of the Anglican army chaplains who served on the Western Front during the First World War. As a post-doctoral fellow, I researched British understandings of courage during the Great War and became interested in the Irish memory and commemoration of the conflict. Since then, I’ve written on a range of themes relating to the First World War and the Irish Revolution and co-edited three volumes of essays on the British, Irish and wider European experience and memory of war between 1914 and 1923.

My publications include Faith Under Fire: Anglican Army Chaplains and the Great War (2011, 2017), Towards Commemoration: Ireland in War and Revolution, 1912-1923 (with John Horne, 2013), and, with Gideon Reuveni, The Jewish Experience of the First World War (2018). I’m currently researching maternal bereavement during the First World War and the British experience of the Irish War of Independence. 

Throughout my career as a historian, I’ve been lucky enough to have plenty of opportunities to engage with the public beyond the academy. As the centenaries of the Great War and the Irish Revolution approached, I collaborated with popular historians, civic activists and community leaders to explore the Irish history, memory and commemoration of these seismic events. I’ve also appeared on British, Irish and American television and worked with numerous public-facing heritage institutions.

Before joining the History faculty at Royal Holloway, I directed the historical dimension to the 1914-1918 Centenary project at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This was an extraordinary opportunity and, over two years, I worked with a fantastic team to produce visitor information panels designed to help visitors better understand the cemeteries of the two world wars. I also advised the British government on centenary planning and collaborated with the Irish government on the installation of a Cross of Sacrifice at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin in 2014.

Since 2013, I’ve been a lecturer in public history at Royal Holloway and I’ve had the hugely rewarding experience of convening postgraduate modules and introducing MA students to the world of public history and heritage in London and further afield. As Director of the MA in Public History, I regularly engage with a whole variety of really exciting external partners, including the National Army Museum, Hampton Court Palace, the Institute for Historical Research, and the Black Cultural Archives. I also currently direct the London Centre for Public History and Heritage, which has organised  a highly engaging programme of public lectures at Royal Holloway, including talks from David Olusoga, Adam Koszary and Hallie Rubenhold. Since 2015, I have co-edited the Historians for History blog with Prof Graham Smith. The site was established in 2015 and has since evolved into a storehouse of commentary on public history in the 21st century.

More information about my research is available via PURE

Email - edward.madigan@rhul.ac.uk

Twitter - @MadiganEdward

Website - Historians for History