Tag Archives: Europe

Channel Islands occupation: through the Library’s online primary sources

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On this day, 30 June, in 1940 the Germans invaded the Channel Islands which was the beginning of nearly 5 years occupation. In this week’s blog I’m using some of the Library’s online resources to find primary source material to discover more about this facet of the Second World War.

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Jersey War Tunnels, one of Jersey’s many tunnel complexes built by mostly forced and slave labour under German command during the occupation.I have to admit that before that visit I really knew very little about this period in the Channel Islands history but I was inspired by the incredibly moving and fascinating exhibition to try and find out what primary source material was available to us through the University Library’s fantastic online primary source collections about the occupation.

© Mark Cairney

There are many stories that could be told about the Channel Islands occupation and I encourage you to seek them out but due to the nature of our online primary source collections and time limits I’m focusing on what the outside world, mainly Britain, knew (or didn’t) about what was happening on the Channel Islands during the occupation.

The blitzkrieg nears Britain

The first half of 1940 was a dark time for the Allies in the Second World War. In fairly quick succession Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and France were invaded by Germany. With the evacuation at Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) and France, faced with no real other choice, signing an armistice with Germany in June of that year, Britain was now on its own and under threat.

The Daily Mirror, Tuesday, 18 June 1940, p. 7. UK Press Online. Accessed 25th May 2018.

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New to the Library: Irish Newspaper Archive

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I’m very happy to let you know that following a successful trial earlier this year and further to requests from students and staff in HCA the Library has a 1-year subscription to the Irish Newspaper Archive. This is the largest online database of Irish newspapers in the world covering nearly 300 years worth of history.

You can access the Irish Newspaper Archive via the Databases A-Z list or Newspapers and Magazines database list. You will soon also be able to access it via DiscoverEd. Access on-campus is direct but if you are working off-campus you will need to use VPN to get access. Continue reading →

On trial: The Age of Exploration

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Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to a brand new digital primary source collection from Adam Matthew Digital, Age of Exploration. This database allows you to discover through archive material the changing shape of exploration through five centuries, from c.1420-1920.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 18th June 2018.
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New books in the Library for History, Classics and Archaeology

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Thanks to recommendations from members of staff and requests via RAB from students the Library is continually adding new books to its collections both online and in print. Here are just a (very) small number of the books that have been added to the Library’s collections in semester two, 2017/18 for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology and these demonstrate the wide range of subjects being taught, studied and researched within School.

–> Find these and more via DiscoverEd.

Ritual matters: material remains and ancient religion edited by Claudia Moser and Jennifer Knust (shelfmark: Folio BL808 Rit.)

Radiocarbon and the chronologies of ancient Egypt edited by Andrew J. Shortland and C. Bronk Ramsey (e-book).

A companion to the Anglo-Norman world edited by Christopher Harper-Bill and Elisabeth van Houts (shelfmark: DA195 Com. Also available as e-book).

Jefferson: architect of American liberty by John B. Boles (shelfmark: E332 Bol.)

The Pacific war and its political legacies by Denny Roy (shelfmark: D767 Roy.)

Decolonizing the map: cartography from colony to nation edited by James R. Akerman (shelfmark: GA108.7 Dec. Also available as e-book). Continue reading →

On trial: Cold War Eastern Europe, 1953-1960

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Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library currently has trial access to the digital primary source collection Cold War Eastern Europe, Module 1: 1953-1960, a unique and comprehensive, English-language history of post-Stalinist Eastern Europe. If you’re interested in East European and Soviet history, 20th century international relations, Cold War history or the history and culture of individual states within Eastern Europe then this database could be for you.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 25th May 2018.

Cold War Eastern Europe provides full-text searchable access to over six thousand primary source files from the political departments of the UK Foreign Office, source entirely from The National Archives series FO 371. Files cover every aspect of political, economic, cultural, social and dissident life behind the ‘Iron Curtain’. Continue reading →

On trial: Secrecy, sabotage, and aiding the resistance

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The Library has been given trial access to the British Online Archives (BOA) collection Secrecy, sabotage, and aiding the resistance: how Anglo-American co-operation shaped World War Two. Giving you unique insight into US-UK diplomacy, intelligence sharing, and sabotage operations in enemy territory from 1939-1954.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 9th May 2018. Continue reading →

On trial: Migration to New Worlds II: The Modern Era

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The Library currently has trial access to Migration to New Worlds II: The Modern Era from Adam Matthew Digital. The Modern Era presents thousands of sources focusing on the growth of colonisation companies during the nineteenth century, the activities of American immigration and welfare societies, and the plight of refugees and displaced persons throughout the twentieth century.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 14th May 2018. Continue reading →

On trial: Service Newspapers of World War Two

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*The Library has now purchased access to this resource. See New to the Library: Services Newspapers of World War Two.*

Thanks to a request from staff in HCA the Library has been allowed trial access to the brand new digitised primary source collection Service Newspapers of World War Two by Adam Matthew Digital. This resource gives you unique insight into the story of war as told by the newspapers and magazines that brought information, entertainment and camaraderie to the forces.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 14th May 2018.

Service Newspapers of World War Two contains an extensive range of both rare and well-known wartime publications for soldiers serving in major theatres around the world. Publications are included from many key nations involved in the conflict, such as the US, Canada, New Zealand, India, and the countries of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Both Allied and Axis publications are presented, offering a broad view of the war and the experiences of those on its front lines. Continue reading →

On trial: The Stuart and Cumberland Papers

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*The Library has now purchased access to The Stuart and Cumberland Papers. See New to the Library: The Stuart and Cumberland Papers*

I’m pleased to let you know that Gale Cengage are giving us trial access to their brand new digitised archive from State Papers Online, the Stuart and Cumberland Papers. This archive contains two remarkable collections from the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, which have been digitised for the first time and are available online in their entirety.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 10th May 2018.

The Stuart Papers represent the correspondence and personal documents of the exiled members of the Stuart dynasty after 1688. These papers were acquired by George IV when Prince Regent, following the death of Henry Bennedict Stuart, Cardinal York, and were originally kept in the Prince’s Library at Carlton House. The collection tells the story of the lives of James II and his heirs with the majority of papers concerning the period 1713 to 1770, and provide an insight into Jacobite attempts to regain the throne. The later papers in the collection concern Cardinal York’s relations with the Vatican until his death in 1807. Continue reading →

On trial: Military Intelligence Files

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I’m happy to let you know that British Online Archives (BOA) have given us trial access to their digitised primary source collection Military Intelligence Files: Land, Sea & Air, 1938-1974. This collection provides access to secret British government files produced by the intelligence branches of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force and will be of particular interest to those of you looking at the Second World War or the beginnings of the Cold War.

You can access this online resource via the E-resources trials page.
Access is available both on and off-campus.

Trial access ends 9th May 2018.

Screenshot from Royal Air Force: Weekly Intelligence, Jul 1940-Feb 1941 (Military Intelligence Files, British Online Archives).

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