Twitter Instagram

Ian Isherwood, The Battalion and Digital History

Subscribe

What do you do when a student brings you a collection of family papers in a Harrods tin?

This month, Chris, Angus and Jessica speak to Professor Ian Isherwood about his new book, The Battalion: Citizen Soldiers at War on the Western Front. Along the way we discuss developing digital humanities projects, the involvement of J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis in rambling and the proliferation of bad war poetry.

References

Ian Isherwood, The Battalion: Citizen Soldiers at War on the Western Front
Ian Isherwood, The First World War Letters of H.J.C. Peirs
Michael Roper, Afterlives of War: A Descendant’s History

Other episodes

Dad’s Army

August 1, 2026 No Comments

Can a conscientious objector be a hero? Branded is widely regarded as one of the finest episodes of Dad’s Army, combining comedy

The Blind Detective

July 1, 2026 No Comments

Can a crime novel help us understand the long shadow cast by the First World War? In this episode of Oh! What