Alexandra Churchill

After a boring former life working in marketing for bars and nightclubs, Alex is a full-time author and television historian specialising in WW1, military, royal and maritime history. When she is not writing about war, she takes the occasional small group to places like Jordan to follow in the footsteps of TE Lawrence.

She is determined to take a walking tour to the Italian Front as soon as pandemics allow. Away from work, Alex loves to travel, her most surprising favourite destinations so far include Uganda and Wyoming. She is on a mission to visit all 50 states in the US and is now at 27.

Her favourite is currently Texas. She is an advocate for domestic violence survivors, writes a football blog about following Chelsea and is a member of the Fans Forum, which liaises with the club on supporter issues.

Bethany Moore

Beth is a military historian specialising in the First World War. Her main subjects of interest are regiments from the Midlands and the work of the Military Police. Beth is also a battlefield tour guide, a job that she loves and holds very dear as she gets to talk about her favourite subject in her favourite places in the world. When she isn’t working on something to do with the First World War, Beth enjoys reading, watching football, particularly the fortunes of West Bromwich Albion; or embracing her inner child and delving into a Disney film or two!

Giles Mcnamee

An avid, amateur historian who has stumbled across more than a few battlefields from Loos to Little Round Top, Giles has spent a career in finance, working primarily with software companies. Two of Gile’s interests, music and history, collided some years ago with his purchase of the legendary Troubador Club in London. He has two sons and two stepsons and currently resides in his bunker in Boston, Massachusetts, watching his beloved Yankees on TV.

Jim Smithson

Originating from Sheffield and after a career which moved from outdoor pursuits to teaching, Jim retired as a Secondary Deputy Head to take up his passion which is to travel around and write about 20th Century battlefields. His time is now split between researching and writing books and taking a variety of battlefield tours, from bespoke family visits to 4by4 romps around the fields of France and Belgium. Married with 2 daughters and 2 step-sons he can either be found walking the Cotswold countryside or the Artois area from his house near Arras.

Peter Bull

Born and raised in Crewe, Peter qualified as an accountant before moving to the Midlands where he has lived since the mid 80s. He describes himself as an “amateur enthusiast, every trip to France and Belgium is a learning experience.” He has been visiting the battlefields for the last 15 years or so and Ypres now feels like a second home. As he winds down his work commitments over the next few years he hopes to find the time to do some Great War related research. If you need him he’ll either be wandering around a cemetery or wrapped around a craft beer.

Andrew Lock

Andy has worked as a historian and guide in London, Germany, and on the battlefields for eight years. He is now working on his PhD at the University of Suffolk and UEA, looking at the British Army on the Western Front in early 1917. He hopes to draw closer links between the battle of the Somme in 1916 and the advance to the Hindenburg Line in 1917 and to improve our understanding of both periods. Aside from history, Andy is a keen rugby player, has played at Blackheath for 12 years and is now a Vice President at the club

Nicolai Eberholst - Publications Officer

Nicolai has an MA in History from Copenhagen University and works as an archivist at the Copenhagen City Archives. His main interest of study is the First World War, in particular: Austria-Hungary, Denmark & Danes, and the experience of war. He occasionally host battlefield tours, and an avid collector and shooter of WWI-era firearms. Away from the war, he likes listening to and playing 80s heavy metal, riding motorcycles and spending time with his young family.

Steve Smith - Graphic Design

“This whole thing started when I sent a drawing to History Hack, Alex in a Chelsea football kit, Alina in WWII uniform – It was very much like pulling the pin and throwing a hand grenade. Fingers in my ears, my tin hat on I ducked underneath the stairs, nervously awaiting the fallout! I was delighted and relieved it was favourable! After a drawing of AN and AC leaping the barbed wire Great Escape stylee on a motor bike I was part of the band (the roadie maybe! I’m a little bit of a Johnny come lately gate crasher!)” Steve worked for many years in the design studio of the British Shoe Corporation designing posters and advertising for shoe and fashion retailers. He then set up in business and started a design agency. Called catchily Smith Design, he works for Premier League football clubs, Formula One teams, national radio, in retail for John Lewis, House of Fraser, NLB ,The Marlins, insurance brokers, and pharmacy corporations. He has even done a drawing for Vinnie Jones and Gazza, Hawksbee and Jacobs on Talksport and not to forget Baron Daniel Finkelstein. Away from work and history, Steve is a life-long Leicester City supporter and would like to remind everyone that in addition to winning the Premier League in 2015/16, they have also won the league cup three times are one of the biggest clubs in the whole of the East Midlands. He is a big fan of eating in all its forms and loves art galleries, museums, sastles, Stately homes, traveling, and has recently rediscovered Airfix models.

Heather Klem - USA Member Liaison

Heather has a lifelong passion for history but is relatively new to the First World War. Right now she is just enjoying soaking it all in. She likes the idea of studying Lawrence of Arabia, but not going to Arabia, because it sounds hot. She is a huge hockey fan (go Bruins) and loves British chocolate.

Bart Debeer - Development (Belgium)

Bart is an English and History teacher with absolutely no will power when it comes to buying war books. When he is not reading, or trying to instil his WW1 passion into his pupils, he is following his beloved Club Bruge.

Andrew Powell-Thomas - Editor (Over the Top)

Somerset based author and historian Andrew Powell-Thomas writes local heritage and military history books. A former teacher of fourteen years, he also writes children’s fiction and regularly visits schools, libraries and events giving workshops and presentations on his work

Conor Reeves - Assistant Editor

Conor has been interested in Great War history since he was just 9 years old. After his first trip to the battlefields, aged 13, that interest intensified and has continued to do so ever since. Now, as a History student at the University of Oxford, he is studying the global nature of the war, completing a dissertation on boxing and the First World War, and continues to study its history, visit its battlefields and carry out archival work in his spare time. His particular interests are the 1/7 Cheshire Regiment, 1 July 1916, masculinity, literature and, of course, sport and the war. Away from the Great War, Conor enjoys taking part in and watching boxing, football, the gym, rugby, and volunteering his time to reduce educational inequality.

Nick Kevern - Designer

Nick is a former secondary history teacher who went on to work for a number of golf magazines. Rediscovering his first love of history, he has since hung up his golfing shoes and is now the editor of Inside History Magazine. Nick is working with The Great War Group as the designer of Salient Points and Over the Top.

Trevor Torkington

A history enthusiast for as long as he can remember, Trevor has no specific interest. Point him to a rabbit hole and he’ll jump right in. However if you were to press him he is particularly interested in Prisoners of War.

Lucinda Gosling

Luci likes to trawl archives for the more esoteric elements of Great War history and has written several books and given talks on WW1 cartoonists, art, the home front, theatre and…knitting (told you it was esoteric). Having worked in the picture library industry since 1993, currently as Head of Sales & Research at historical specialist Mary Evans Picture Library, Luci is particularly interested in the visual culture of the war. Watch out for arty articles and much more from our non-combatant correspondent.

Andrew Holmes

Andrew Holmes has been visiting and photographing First World War battlefields for the last 15 years. As well as organising tours, he has researched a large number of soldiers that served in the Great War over the years and has helped schools and community groups with their Great War projects. He also contributed to Alexandra Churchill’s books on Chelsea FC in the Great War, the Somme and Passchendale.

Kizzia Mildmay

Kizzia writes about many things, in many forms, much of which ends up on her blog. WWI has been a particular focus of hers for the past ten years and she commemorated the centenary by writing a blog post for each month of the conflict (52 in total), covering a variety of different aspects of the Great War. When not doing her day job or out walking the UK she can be found on her website https://wherekizzialives.com.

Scott Thompson

Scott developed a passion for Military History at a young age from his family’s oral military history, listening to his Second World War Veteran Grandad’s experiences & existing on a diet of old War Films. He is a local of Perth, Western Australia & member of the Australian Army Reserve.

Kathryn White

Kathryn is a DPhil history student at Pembroke College, Oxford where she holds the Julian Schild Scholarship and a Senior Studentship. Her research focuses on the YMCA during the First World War, but it’s less men dancing in fancy dress and more the interaction between the religious and social lives of soldiers. She also writes a blog (kathrynshistoryblog.com) where she shares articles about her research, the battlefields, and the memorials she comes across when running and cycling.

Beth Wyatt

Beth is a cultural historian specialising in modern Britain and Germany. Her research interests include environmental and gender histories of the Great War, with her current Master’s dissertation research exploring British soldiers’ emotional connections with the landscapes of the Western Front and Gallipoli. She is an avid viewer of Great War-themed period drama and film, and has a background in heritage PR and regional journalism.

Chris Baker

Chris is the owner of fourteeneighteen.co.uk. These days he counts himself as a freelance historian, military records researcher and author of books such as “The Battle for Flanders: German defeat on the Lys, 1918” and “The Truce: the day the war stopped,” as well as two volumes published by the Battleground Europe series. He has a few more on the go – if only he could find the time. He initially researched individual soldiers as a hobby, but decided to make a living out of his passion in 2008. He researches some 10-15 soldiers every week and loves the fact that he is always accumulating material and knowledge of the subject.

Simon Worrall

Simon joined the Royal Navy as an Artificer (Technician) Apprentice after 6th Form College, went into the Submarine Service and left 16 years later as a Chief Petty Office, his last role was teaching in a flight simulator. Since then he has worked in corporate IT. He graduated from Birmingham University in 2013 with a Masters Degree in Great War studies. He lives in West Sussex and does some battlefield guiding on the Western Front, where his favourite areas are Verdun, the Aubers area and the battlefields of the final 100 Days campaign. He is an Ordinary Member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides.