History: AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Studentship (Fully Funded) in History with The National Archives

Rethinking Reparations: A Cultural and Social History of Post-First World War Compensation to Civilians in Britain and its Empire, 1918-25

Swansea University and The National Archives are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2026, under the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme.

This studentship explores the reparations claims made by civilians in Britain and its empire following the First World War (1914-18). The project will explore post-First World War reparations - which are perhaps the most famous instance of reparations in modern history - in a new and original way. Rather than the traditional emphasis on finance, the project analyses reparations through the experience of individuals: its central focus will be on the claims made by civilians for personal compensation for property that was damaged, destroyed or taken in the course of the war. This source material will be used to explore the processes through which societies exited the violence and disruption of modern warfare in different contexts.

The sources at the heart of this project are claims made by civilians to post-war reparations agencies, the Foreign Office, and the Colonial Office, all of which are housed at The National Archives. This rich source material will allow the candidate to explore claims for damage done to property in Britain primarily as a result of enemy bombing, to property owned by British civilians living in Europe, and for damage/theft of property in imperial and colonial settings (primarily Africa and the Middle East). The project will use this extensive archival record to explore the following key research questions. It will question what contemporaries understood the term ‘reparations’ to mean in different contexts. It will analyse how claims for civilian compensation were made and processed in different settings. It will also question what personal narratives in compensation claims reveal about civilian wartime experience and the memory of the conflict and the ways in which societies exited total war.

This studentship presents a unique opportunity to develop the expertise, experience, and skills required for future engagement within both the academia and the Heritage Sector. The student will be expected to shape the project in accordance with their own interests and expertise and develop public engagement outputs related to the project, with an opportunity to work with relevant departments at TNA to enhance future employability. It will be jointly supervised by Tomás Irish (Swansea University) and William Butler (The National Archives). The student will be expected to spend time at both Swansea University and The National Archives. The studentship can be studied either full- or part-time the student will become part of the wider group of CDP-funded students across the UK, with access to events and training delivered in partnership with a range of cultural heritage institutions.

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