A display exploring the history and changing image of Britain's West India Regiments, from their creation at the end of the 18th century up to the First World War, is now open at the Museum of London Docklands. "Fighting for Empire: From Slavery to Military Service in the West India Regiments" has been curated by David Lambert, Professor of History at the University of Warwick. It will run until 9 September 2018. For details:

https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/exhibitions/fighting-empire-slavery-military-service-west-india-regiments

The display speaks directly to many of the themes in the permanent displays at Docklands, notably enslaved resistance, black agency, and visual representation. The theme is explored primarily through prints, ephemera and maps, as well as a large framed oil painting by Louis William Desanges entitled "The Capture of the Tubabakolong, Gambia 1866", which depicts Private Samuel Hodge of the 4th West India Regiment, who was the first African-Caribbean soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross. It has been created in partnership with the University of Warwick and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and draws on research undertaken as part of the 'Africa's Sons Under Arms' research project. For more on the wider research project:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/research/projects/asua

The Department of History’s Professor Christoph Mick, a specialist of modern Russian and Eastern European history, is to give a pre-concert talk at the forthcoming concert by the Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra on Saturday 14^th October in All Saints Church, Leamington Spa. The orchestra is performing Shostakovich’s masterpiece, Symphony no. 7 in C, the Leningrad. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Leningrad Symphony’s first performance and the siege of Leningrad it commemorates. After its completion, the initial dedication of the work to Lenin was changed by Shostakovich in favour of the people of Leningrad and it remains one of his most well received compositions. It quickly became very popular in both the Soviet Union and the West as a symbol of resistance to Nazi totalitarianism and militarism. It is still regarded as the major musical testament to the estimated 25 million Soviet citizens who lost their lives in World War 2. Professor Mick’s talk will provide context for the symphony, which was actually composed during the siege, and will help in bringing it to life.

 
Over a century ago, Dickens said it was cruel, wrong and “tampered with the brain”. So why is solitary confinement still allowed?

Read the article by Kirstie Brewer in Prospect magazine, as informed by an interview with Professor Hilary Marland who co-leads a five-year research project into the history of prison health in England and Ireland and recently gave historical evidence to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into Mental Health and Deaths in Prison. The project forms the basis of a new play: Disorder Contained, a theatrical examination of madness, prison and solitary confinement. The play moves to London on 9-10 October.

The City of Castellon's Peace Award 2016 has been awarded to the International Summer School on Peace Education. This is in recognition of four years' work by the project which has been developed and led by Dr Malik Hammad Ahmad, a member of the Warwick History of Violence Network and former PhD student of the Warwick History Department.

As part of the LGBT History Month, there will be an exhibition of LGBT history-related documents in the Warwick University Modern Records Centre (MRC) that will be available throughout February. At 5:30pm on Monday 8th February 2016 there is an open reception featuring some of the additional documents that have not been included in the main exhibit. At 6pm there will be a discussion panel entitled, "Let’s Talk Sexuality: issues facing women and non-binary people in today’s LGBT+ community", which will be run jointly with the Warwick Anti-Sexism Society (WASS).

The website of the People's History of the NHS, ran by the research team of the Cultural History of the NHS project at the Centre for the History of Medicine in the Warwick University History Department, has now been launched:

The People’s History of the NHS allows you to help us research what the NHS means and how it has shaped our lives since its creation. It is part of our bigger academic project investigating the cultural history of the NHS, funded by the Wellcome Trust. Collecting personal stories and memories about the NHS is one of our central objectives.

An exciting new arts project has been created by The University of Warwick. ‘Growing Well: a recent history of growing your own’ by PhD student Sophie Greenway will go up on display at University Hospital in Coventry at the end of November as part of an ongoing partnership with the Hospital’s Healing Arts Programme.

‘Growing Well’ tells the story of food growing in Coventry over the twentieth century, including ‘Dig for Victory’ during the Second World War, an experimental housing project that was to include organic growing on site, an attempt to repackage allotments as leisure gardens, and the establishment of the famous organic gardens at Ryton, now called Garden Organic. Visitors can also learn what UHCW is doing to promote healthy eating and the outdoors, including the Hospital’s award-winning Jubilee Nature Reserve.

On Tuesday 25^th November between 10am and 1pm there will be an event held in University Hospital’s Outpatients department to celebrate the new exhibit and promote growing and eating well in Coventry and Warwickshire. To find out more and add your own memories to the project visit www.growingwelluhcw.wordpress.com.

 
Editors Notes:

Sophie Greenway is a PhD student at the Centre for the History of Medicine, and has also worked as a history teacher and museum curator. Sophie’s project, entitled ‘Growing well: Dirt, health and the home gardener in Britain 1900-1970’ explores links between the environment and health in the context of domestic vegetable growing. She investigates the historical reasons why some people prefer to buy polished carrots, whilst others regard the muddy ones from a local veg box as more healthy.

The Healing Arts Programme at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust compliments patient care and welfare through a diverse range of activities, including visual and performing arts. The programme is funded by UHCW Charity and helps soften the hospital with quirky art exhibitions, creative workshops in ward dayrooms and music. For more information visit www.uhcwcharity.org/art.

Sophie can be contacted in the following ways:

email: s.a.greenway@warwick.ac.uk
twitter: SophieGreenway1
web: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/chm/outreach/uhcw/growwell/

In an exciting new venture, Professor Chris Read, Dr Tim Lockley and Dr Sarah Richardson have been appointed as editors of the Modern History Review. The magazine is published by Philip Allan for Hodder Education and is aimed at sixth-form students helping them to learn more, gain deeper subject knowledge and the skills to study independently, to get the grade they're really looking for. The Warwick team view this as an opportunity to bring current cutting-edge research directly to A level students in an accessible format. The first issue has just been published and has articles on the origins of the First World War, on the Cold War and on Gladstone and Disraeli.