{"id":2155,"date":"2023-03-30T09:42:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T08:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2023-06-01T11:39:08","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T10:39:08","slug":"second-year-student-has-article-published-in-the-popular-magazine-britain-at-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/2023\/03\/30\/second-year-student-has-article-published-in-the-popular-magazine-britain-at-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Second-year student has article published in the popular magazine ‘Britain at War’"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ted Lewry, a second-year Military History<\/a> student recently had his article on Field Marshal Montgomery Published in the magazine Britain at War. <\/em><\/span>Dr Timothy Bowman, <\/a>Reader in Military History said,\u00a0“Ted’s article is informed by his academic studies and demonstrates well one of the employability options provided by a BA in Military History. My colleagues and I are very pleased with the work we have been doing with Ted to help him fulfil his ambition to become a professional military historian. We look forward to working with him in future.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Can you briefly describe what your article is about?<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The article is about Field Marshal Montgomery, a general in the British Army of the Second <\/span>World War. More specifically, my side of the article is a \u201cfor\u201d argument as part of a joint piece with Dr Timothy Bowman- with him providing the \u201cagainst\u201d. Montgomery (or Monty) is a<\/span>contentious character both in the military and political realms; my job was to rebuke criticism <\/span>of him and put forward a coherent argument that he was a \u201cgreat commander\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did you choose to write about Field Marshal Montgomery in particular?<\/b><\/p>\n

My choice to write about Monty was partly by chance based on coursework I had done as <\/span>part of my second year module: \u201cChurchill\u2019s Army: the British Army in the Second World <\/span>War\u201d. I had chosen to answer a question regarding Monty\u2019s performance as head of the <\/span>British Army in Northwest Europe in 1944. I found the topic full of controversy and enjoyed <\/span>redeeming, in a small way, the reputation of the British Army of this period. Repeated <\/span>accusations from historians that Monty was too slow, too cautious and too reliant on <\/span>firepower struck me as strange considering the reality that the allied forces were fighting to <\/span>end Nazism. This became more pertinent when I read John Buckley\u2019s work Monty\u2019s Men. <\/span>Buckley demonstrated that the British Army of the time was made up largely of <\/span>inexperienced civilians and that Britain had hit a manpower ceiling. Monty\u2019s leadership of the <\/span>last army Britain could field was undoubtedly inspiring; but I also found it greatly rewarding <\/span>writing about his personality. This allowed a balanced assessment of his character and <\/span>revealed the truth that he was a completely flawed, imperfect person, as all great <\/span>commanders are.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you get involved with the \u2018Britain at War\u2019 magazine?<\/b><\/p>\n

My involvement with the Britain at War magazine is entirely due to the faith that Dr Bowman <\/span>had in my original essay. Without his tutelage and constructive assessment of my work it <\/span>wouldn’t have been possible. It is of great credit to him and the department that they trust <\/span>second year students with such opportunities and are willing to take time out to ensure that <\/span>the support is there when needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

What skills will you take away from this experience?<\/b><\/p>\n

I will take any number of skills from this experience. I think the most important one may be <\/span>the adjustment from formal academic writing in undergraduate essays to the more digestible <\/span>form of writing that appeals to a larger audience. For example, instead of diving deep into <\/span>statistics or historian\u2019s arguments, the commuter who has nipped into WHSmiths probably <\/span>wants a broad summary. Moreover, the average consumer wants more excitement than the <\/span>formality of an undergraduate essay permits. Broadening my approach to writing is always a <\/span>good thing and shall certainly serve me well in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about studying History?<\/b><\/p>\n

The thing I enjoy most about the study of history is that the field is constantly shifting and <\/span>allowing people to understand historical events in completely novel ways. The stories of the <\/span>heroic landings of D-Day or the defeat of the Axis forces in North Africa have been told time <\/span>and time again. However, the interesting thing is how we approach these stories, and how <\/span>these approaches morph over time. By being tenaciously curious and seeing evidence from <\/span>as many different viewpoints as possible, the student of history gains a deep and invaluable <\/span>understanding of humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

What made you choose your course at Kent?<\/b><\/p>\n

My choice to study at Kent was largely due to the clear advertisement of the modules that <\/span>were available to study! When I decided to start university I already had an idea where my <\/span>passion would lie academically and it was clear by the courses available at Kent that I would <\/span>enjoy the subject. Crucial to this was knowing what I could be studying in third year before I <\/span>made the commitment to start. Alongside the fact that the course catered to my own <\/span>interests, I found the History department absolutely full of staff members that have a genuine <\/span>care for their students. It is always assuring knowing that the people tutoring you really want <\/span>you to succeed and have your best interest at the core of what they do. This has been <\/span>affirmed throughout my time at Kent; from the small things like essay feedback or the lending <\/span>of a book to the larger things such as being put forward to publish an article.<\/span><\/p>\n

What advice would you give to others who are interested in getting their work p<\/b>ublished?<\/b><\/p>\n

I would consider myself very lucky to have my work published, but the harder you <\/span>work the more luck you tend to have. I have always thought that the department does a <\/span>great job in giving opportunities to those that have worked hard for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you currently working on any interesting projects that you would like to tell us a <\/b>bit more about?<\/b><\/p>\n

I am currently taking part in a very interesting project led by Kent\u2019s Dr Mario Draper. He is <\/span>leading a simulated war game called \u201c1918: a Storm in the West\u201d. There are so many <\/span>students taking part and we are all really enjoying it. It is great to simulate the pressures put <\/span>on commanders to make high-level strategic decisions encompassing political, economic <\/span>and military considerations. A better understanding of the decision making in war is great for <\/span>building on the education we are receiving as part of our respective courses.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ted Lewry, a second-year Military History student recently had his article on Field Marshal Montgomery Published in the magazine Britain at War. Dr Timothy Bowman, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76779,"featured_media":2159,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[124,70,37,1,9871],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2174,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/2174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}