Summary

I am a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Portsmouth. I assist two strategic projects: Port Towns and Urban Cultures (PTUC) and Supernatural Cities (SC), and manage both their websites and social media outputs.

My PhD research, ‘The Royal Dockyard Worker in Edwardian England: Culture, Leisure and Empire’ re-examined the concept of a monolithic imperial identity and tracked the nuances of working-class imperialism. My current research expands on my original thesis to explore the affect of empire on those workers who went to work in the Royal Dockyards abroad such as Bermuda, Malta, Gibraltar and Hong Kong.

I have worked with Professor Brad Beaven on a number of WW1 research and public participation projects, including 'Theatre of War' (with the King's Theatre, Southsea), ‘Mapping the National Impact of the Jutland Battle: Civic and Community Responses during the First World War’ (with Portsdown University of the Third Age), and ‘Lest We Forget’ (in partnership with Portsmouth City Museum).

I previously worked in museums and was employed at Portsmouth City Museum and the Royal Naval Museum. Prior to becoming Faculty Research Fellow I was Research Assistant on the AHRC-funded War Widows’ Stories project at Liverpool John Moores University.

Research interests

• Late 19th/Early 20th Century British Imperialism, Patriotism and Nationalism
• Labour History - especially Royal Dockyard Workers
• Leisure History
• Port Towns
• Naval Pageantry
• War Widows
• Oral History
• First World War Social History 
• Heritage and Museums
• Commemoration and Memory