History Commons^™

Dr Stuart Cox: Memories Of 5bfts And The Raf During Ww2, Jenifer A. Harding

Documents

Dr Stuart James Cox was born on April 1, 1923, and ‘handed in his logbook’ on October 16, 2016. He was a member of Course 11, 5BFTS at Clewiston from September 25, 1942, to April 8, 1943.

After Clewiston, Stuart was posted to several airfields in the UK, one being Barrow in Furness where he met and married Eithne Forman, a Wren, in August 1944. Their son Robert (Bob) was born in December 1945 and their daughter, Amanda (Mandi), in 1950.

He qualified as a doctor in 1953 and became a GP in Gillingham, Kent, until retiring in 1980.

He …

Britain Can Take It: Civil Defense And Chemical Warfare In Great Britain, 1915-1945, Jordan I. Malfoy

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation argues that the origins of civil defense are to be found in pre-World War II Britain and that a driving force of this early civil defense scheme was fear of poison gas. Later iterations of civil defense, such as the Cold War system in America, built on already existing regimes that had proven their worth during WWII. This dissertation demonstrates not only that WWII civil defense served as a blueprint for later civil defense schemes, but also that poison gas anxiety served as a particular tool for the implementation and success of civil defense. The dissertation is organized …

Saving Grace On Feathered Wings: Homing Pigeons In The First World War, Brandon R. Katzung Hokanson

Student Publications

Soldiers of the First World War came in all shapes and sizes. The humble homing pigeon is one of the more unique and critical examples of such. They served in the armed forces of both the Allies and the Central Powers. Used as a last-ditch form of communication, the homing pigeons were exceptional in the work of sending messages back and forth between the battle lines. Little has been written about their vital role and even less in the rigorous training the birds and their handlers both endured. Understanding their training is critical to understanding how the homing pigeons performed …

British Appeasement 1936-1939: The Debate Between Parliament And The Public, Kylie D. Johnson

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

While it is now clear that appeasement of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler did not prevent another war, there is a historical debate on whether British appeasement policies were shameful, a set of well-intentioned blunders, an attempt at keeping peace internationally, or a strategy to keep domestic resources focused on Britain. Within the debate between historians, lies a debate between the British public and Parliament, and even within Parliament itself. An important factor in the British decision to implement appeasement policy in the 1930s often underemphasized in the literature is the governmental prioritizing of domestic issues and national security over …

The British Conceptualization Of Belgium, 1914, Maci Reed

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The complicated political agendas surrounding the various nations’ decisions to enter World War I have led to an ongoing debate about the war’s actual cause. This research project will investigate the effect that Germany’s invasion of Belgium had on Great Britain’s decision to enter the war. I will use the Hansard transcripts of debates in the British Parliament to investigate the extent to which the defense of Belgian neutrality was involved in the pre-war deliberations. A comparison between the transcripts from 28 June to 3 August and those from 4 August will illustrate the change, if one exists, or the …

Hunter, Hugh B., 1922-2000 (Sc 1281), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1281. Diary kept by Hugh B. Hunter, a native of Jefferson County, Kentucky, during his service as a B-17 bomber pilot, 8th Air Force, during World War II. Stationed in Great Britain, the 8th Air Force conducted air raids into Germany and humanitarian missions into the Netherlands.

Jackson, Marjorie L., 1919-1998 (Sc 2801), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2801. Letter of Marjorie L. Jackson, serving with the Women’s Army Corps at Bowman Field, Louisville, Kentucky, to her fiance Henry J. Heusinkveld, serving on the U.S.S. Tuscaloosa. She comments on the world political situation, hopes for Japan’s surrender, and expresses her love for him. She also encloses an article about Louisiana marshlands located near her home.

Cunningham, Denise Johnson, B. 1964 (Sc 849), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 849. Research paper titled “Delbert J. Curtis, United States Army: Portrait of a Soldier, World War II” written by Denise Johnson Cunningham for a history class at Western Kentucky University, November 1990. Includes description of German prisoner of war camp in Rome, Italy, February 1943-April 1945. Also included is a newspaper clipping of Curtis’s obituary.

Reed, William Langely (Sc 859), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 859. Paper titled “World War II” and written by William Langely Reed for a Western Kentucky University U.S. history class in November 1990 based on an interview with his grandfather, Leslie E. Reed of Hodgenville, Kentucky. Leslie Reed, an army staff sergeant, installed communication systems at air bases in England and Russia.

Stephenson, Lisa Kay (Sc 861), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 861. Paper titled “World War II: A Soldier’s Perspective,” and written by Lisa Kay Stephenson for a Western Kentucky University U.S. history class in November 1990. Based on an interview with Samuel L. Swann of Springfield, Tennessee, the paper describes Swann’s infantry experiences in England and Germany and his injuries.

Atkinson Collection (Sc 715), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan of 19th Century materials (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 715. Copies of letters written by John and Jane Atkinson, Bowling Green, Kentucky, to friends and relatives in England, 1866-1879 (4 items), which contain family news, information about Bowling Green during the Civil War, description of their return trip from England, 1873, correspondence concerning these letters, 1960-1961 (12), and a photograph.

Gibson, Otis Edward, 1930-1959 (Sc 528), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 528. Letters and postcards from Gibson to his parents, Guy Lyons Gibson and Ruellma (Dowell) Gibson, Hardinsburg, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, while he was stationed in Europe with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. He describes his ocean crossing and relates his impressions of post-war Germany and England.

Promoting Unity Through Propaganda: How The British Government Utilized Posters During The Second World War, Elizabeth Tate Goins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Comprised of four separate countries, the United Kingdom is a state unlike any other. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have distinct identities, which has been a cause for discord throughout British history. However, during the Second World War the Ministry of Information, under the guidance of the Conservative government and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, launched a poster-based propaganda campaign aimed towards unifying the UK under a common national self-identity. By emphasizing shared qualities such as resilience, pragmatism, humor, patriotism and even the concept of unity itself, the Ministry of Information fostered a sense of national self-identity with the …

Tolle, Donald James, 1918-1993 (Sc 2344), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Typescripted World War II diary of Donald James Tolle, kept 1942-1945 while serving in England, Italy and North Africa with the Army Air Corps, 47th Bombardment Group (Light). Includes diary annotations made in 1988, materials from a 1979 reunion of the Bombardment Group, biographical data on Tolle, his obituary, and a colleague's remarks at his memorial service.

World War Ii, 1939-1945 - Letters (Mss 330), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 330. Letters written to parents, friends, faculty and staff of Western Kentucky University by students during their service in Word War II. Includes some press releases, newspaper articles and photos. Also includes a history and travel log of the USS Stevens.

Covert, Craig H., B. 1965 (Sc 1990), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1990. Correspondence of Craig H. Covert while serving in Iraq War from January to May 2004. As a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Close Protection Team based in Basra, Iraq, Covert provided protective support to CPA South Administrator Patrick M. Nixon.

Frashure, Sherri (Troutman) (Mss 172), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 172. Oral interviews, including cassette tapes and transcripts, with sixteen World War II veterans conducted by Frashure for her Honors thesis at Western Kentucky University. Also includes her completed paper titled: "Kentuckians at War: A Soldier's Perspective of World War II."

Stone, Dan Ray, 1921-2007 (Mss 196), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 196. Letters sent to Stone and his mother, Nelle Stone, Bowling Green, Kentucky, during World War II from friends in armed service around the world. Includes letters, holiday greeting cards, telegrams, V-mail and postcards. Almost all correspondents were members of a local fraternal club known as the Senators which was composed of graduates of Bowling Green High School.

Swiney, Brad (Fa 289), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 289. Paper: "[Dining in Night]" written by Brad Swiney for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Barret Family Papers (Mss 46), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 46 and full text of European travel diary from 1883 (Click on "Additional Files" below). Collection includes World War I letters; European travel diary, 1883; notebooks; pictures; and miscellaneous papers of the Barret family of Louisville, Kentucky. Persons represented are Richard Montfort, 1854-1931; Henri (Barret) Montfort, 1861-1900; and their son, Barret Montfort, 1890-1962.

Knisley, Clyde Vernon, Jr., 1918-1945 (Mss 84), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 84 and full text of selected letters (Click on "Additional Files" below). World War II letters of Greeneville, Tennessee native Clyde Vernon Knisley, Jr. written to his parents, documenting his fighter pilot training and his war experiences, 31 October 1941 to 15 January 1945, and diary kept in New Guinea, 25 February to 13 December 1943. Includes family's notification of his death, his awards, photographs, and related materials.

Harris Family Papers (Mss 100), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 100. Correspondence of the Harris family of Simpson County, Kentucky. Consists chiefly of World War I letters sent from two brothers, George DeWitt Harris and Downey L. Harris, to their parents, George Calvin Harris and Amanda J. Harris, of Franklin, Kentucky. George DeWitt Harris was injured in World War I and died at Epionville, France on 7 October 1918.

Through The Khyber Pass To Sherpore Camp, Cabul. An Account Of Temperance Work Among Our Soldiers In The Cabul Field Force, Rev. J. Gelson Gregson

Books in English

This ‘Diary' originally appeared in the Indian Temperance Magazine-On Guard-and at the request of friends interested in the welfare of our soldiers in India, I now publish it in a more permanent form. There is no attempt on my part to make a book; my sole object has been to give permanency to a simple record of work among soldiers in the late Afghan campaign. Having shared their trials and dangers, I have much pleasure in bearing my testimony to their courage in battle, and to their patience in sickness-cheerfully enduring privations for the maintenance of the honour …