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- A multidisciplinary scientific investigation of the 1916 Hawthorn Mine Crater, Beaumont Hamel, Somme, Northern France Wisniewski, K.D.; Doyle, P.; Hunter, R.J.S; Pringle, J.K.; Stimpson, I.G.; Wright, D.; Squires, K.; Sutherland, Z.; Cassella, J.P.; Graham, F.C. and Ottey, P.. 2024. A multidisciplinary scientific investigation of the 1916 Hawthorn Mine Crater, Beaumont Hamel, Somme, Northern France. Journal of Conflict Archaeology, 18(2-3), pp. 125-156. ISSN 1574-0773
- Presents from a princess: the mission to deliver 2.6 million Christmas gifts to soldiers and sailors on the 1914 frontline Doyle, Peter. 2021. Presents from a princess: the mission to deliver 2.6 million Christmas gifts to soldiers and sailors on the 1914 frontline. The Conversation,
- The Christmas truce football match – a picture of a Greek kickabout is misappropriated yearly Doyle, Peter. 2021. The Christmas truce football match – a picture of a Greek kickabout is misappropriated yearly. The Conversation,
Professor Peter Doyle
Peter Doyle is a military historian with a special interest in the British experience of war
Staff details
Peter Doyle specialises in the understanding of military terrain, with special reference to the two world wars. He has a special interest in the concept of trench warfare in the First World War, and in the lives of those soldiers who experienced the conflict first hand.
Peter is also an author who focusses on the British experience of war, and the material culture of war.
A member of the British Commission of Military History, and secretary of the Parliamentary All Party War Heritage Group, he is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has twice been a visiting lecturer at the United States Military Academy, West Point.
Peter is active in the promotion of the wider understanding of the First World War
Academic qualifications
- PhD (University of London) 1984
- BSc (University of London) 1981
- Fellow of the Royal Historical Society 2021
Teaching and supervision
Module Convenor: Life in the Trenches: Perspectives on British Military History, 1914-18
Life in the Trenches: Perspectives on British Military History, 1914-18
Research interests
Peter Doyle specialises in the understanding of military terrain, with special reference to the two world wars. As well as an historian, he is an earth scientist with a special interest in the concept of trench warfare in the First World War, and in the lives of those soldiers who experienced the conflict first hand. He has written extensively on these topics, with a focus both on the nature of trench warfare, and on the ordinary soldiers who took part in it.
Peter is also an author who focusses on the British experience of war, and the material culture of war. In addition to his work on trench warfare, he has research interests that span life on the Home Front and the experience of prisoners of war during the Second World War, the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915, and the provision of 'Comforts to the troops' during the Great War. His more recent work has examined the specifics of the unique gift that was distributed to over 2.5 million soldiers and sailors at Christmas 1914.
Peter is active in the promotion of the wider understanding of the First World War. His book for young people, 'Percy, A Story of 1914' was shortlisted for a Society for Army Historical Research prize in 2019.
His research has been featured in numerous documentaries that have focussed on the First World War, Prisoners of War and PoW escapes in the Second World War, and a number of related topics.
Featured publications
2021:
Doyle, P. 2021. For Every Sailor Afloat, Every Soldier at the Front' Princess Mary's Christmas Gift, 1914
The first full scale archival study of this culturally-significant gift, provided by Princess Mary to all in uniform at Christmas 1914
2021:
Doyle, P. 2021. Kitchener's Mob: Myth and Reality in the Raising of Kitchener's Army
In: LINCH, K. & LORD, M. (eds) Redcoats to Tommies: The Experience of the British Soldier from the Eighteenth Century. Boydell Press, London
2019:
Doyle, P. 2019. Terrain and the Gallipoli Landings.
In: CRAWLEY & Lo Cicero (EDs.) Gallipoli, New Perspectives on the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, 1915-1916. Helion.
2018:
Doyle, P. 2018. 'Percy. A Story of 1918'. Uniform, London
The story of a First World War soldier, Percy Edwards of Cefn Mawr, based on letters and original archival materials. Shortlisted for Society of Army Historical Research Prize, October 2019.
2014:
Doyle, P. 2014. The First World War in 100 Objects. History Press, Stroud (Penguin USA, 2017)
Examination of the First World War through Material Culture
Publications and research outputs
Book
- 'For Every Sailor Afloat, Every Soldier at the Front': Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift, 1914 Doyle, Peter. 2021. 'For Every Sailor Afloat, Every Soldier at the Front': Princess Mary’s Christmas Gift, 1914. London: Unicorn Press. ISBN 9781913491536
Book Section
- ‘Kitchener’s Mob’: Myth and Reality in Raising the New Army, 1914-15 Doyle, Peter. 2021. ‘Kitchener’s Mob’: Myth and Reality in Raising the New Army, 1914-15. In: Kevin Linch and Matthew Lord, eds. Redcoats to Tommies: The Experience of the British Soldier from the Eighteenth Century. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, pp. 58-81. ISBN 9781783276028
Article
- The Victorian Geological Illustrations of Crystal Palace Park, London: cycles of conservation and neglect, 1993–2023 Doyle, Peter. 2024. The Victorian Geological Illustrations of Crystal Palace Park, London: cycles of conservation and neglect, 1993–2023. Geology Today, 40(2), pp. 52-57. ISSN 0266-6979
- Multi-disciplinary site investigations of WW2 Allied aerial bombing decoy sites in North Staffordshire, UK Wisniewski, K.D.; Pringle, J.K.; Doyle, Peter; Barton, N; Stimpson, I.G. and Hobson, L.. 2024. Multi-disciplinary site investigations of WW2 Allied aerial bombing decoy sites in North Staffordshire, UK. Journal of Conflict Archaeology, ISSN 1574-0773
- Battle of the Somme: new research shows detonating a massive mine under German lines too early led to a British slaughter Pringle, J.K.; Cassella, J.P; Wisniewski, K and Doyle, P.. 2024. Battle of the Somme: new research shows detonating a massive mine under German lines too early led to a British slaughter. The Conversation,
Exhibition Catalogue
- The Princess Mary's Christmas Gift, 1914: 110 years on. Exhibition Catalogue Doyle, Peter. 2024. The Princess Mary's Christmas Gift, 1914: 110 years on. Exhibition Catalogue.
Professional projects
In 2018, Peter was part of an international team who organised and delivered a major crowd-funded and crowd-sourced archaeological excavation in Wijtschate, Belgium, examining a German trench fortification that has had major ramifications in the development of public archaeology.
As Secretary of the Parliamentary All Party War Heritage Group, Peter Doyle serves as the first point of contact for all matters relating the War Heritage, from the preservation of battlefield terrain, through to the support of the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) across the world
Media engagements
I am a regular contributor to TV documentaries relating to my work
Conferences and talks
Contributor to numerous conferences relating to terrain and military history
