Robert St. John Smith
@chance1234.bsky.social
PhD Candidate @University of Exeter researching the image of Tommy Atkins 1896-1926, MA in Britain and the First World War, University of Wolverhampton.
https://robertstjohnsmith.com/
Leeds, UK
https://robertstjohnsmith.com/
Leeds, UK
A brief intermission. While I usually post about dates long past, here’s a future one for your diary. It’s when my band, Chance & The Lucky Aces, releases our next single. Of course most of you have already purchased our last EP, but for any stragglers. album.link/s/7coi6BRCoT...
December 10, 2025 at 3:07 PM
A brief intermission. While I usually post about dates long past, here’s a future one for your diary. It’s when my band, Chance & The Lucky Aces, releases our next single. Of course most of you have already purchased our last EP, but for any stragglers. album.link/s/7coi6BRCoT...
The Origin of Tommy Atkins
While a definitive answer remains elusive, there is a lot of folklore surrounding how the British soldier got this nickname.
While I don't have the definite answer, this is what I do know:
#MilitaryHistory #BritishArmy #TommyAtkins
robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-12...
While a definitive answer remains elusive, there is a lot of folklore surrounding how the British soldier got this nickname.
While I don't have the definite answer, this is what I do know:
#MilitaryHistory #BritishArmy #TommyAtkins
robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-12...
The Origin of Tommy Atkins
Debunking some myths on the origin of the name Tommy Atkins
robertstjohnsmith.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:03 PM
The Origin of Tommy Atkins
While a definitive answer remains elusive, there is a lot of folklore surrounding how the British soldier got this nickname.
While I don't have the definite answer, this is what I do know:
#MilitaryHistory #BritishArmy #TommyAtkins
robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-12...
While a definitive answer remains elusive, there is a lot of folklore surrounding how the British soldier got this nickname.
While I don't have the definite answer, this is what I do know:
#MilitaryHistory #BritishArmy #TommyAtkins
robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-12...
Pearson's Magazine, December 1914, had these 'war shadow' party tricks to make sure your Christmas party went with a bang... #TommyAtkins #BNA #OldNewspapers #FWW
December 3, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Pearson's Magazine, December 1914, had these 'war shadow' party tricks to make sure your Christmas party went with a bang... #TommyAtkins #BNA #OldNewspapers #FWW
I've reopened my #WipersTimes case files (not that they were ever actually closed!). I am very honoured to have been asked by Talbot House to contribute to the commentary for the upcoming 2026 reprints. Make sure to get your copies! 1/2 #HistBookChat #PhotoFriday #FWW
November 28, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I've reopened my #WipersTimes case files (not that they were ever actually closed!). I am very honoured to have been asked by Talbot House to contribute to the commentary for the upcoming 2026 reprints. Make sure to get your copies! 1/2 #HistBookChat #PhotoFriday #FWW
Something I have been chipping away at recently
Very rough at the moment, but egg hatching now working in the game. #Aliens #facehuggers #LV426 #gamedev #zxspectrum #retrogames #indieDev
November 23, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Something I have been chipping away at recently
A new addition to my collection, from 1900: Thankful Tommy. While Pictures of Little Englanders and ABC for Patriots are reasonably known, this is from the same publisher.If it were satire, it would be brilliant-ish, but alas, it was intended to be serious. #HistBookChat #BoerWar #CartoonHistory
October 14, 2025 at 6:59 AM
A new addition to my collection, from 1900: Thankful Tommy. While Pictures of Little Englanders and ABC for Patriots are reasonably known, this is from the same publisher.If it were satire, it would be brilliant-ish, but alas, it was intended to be serious. #HistBookChat #BoerWar #CartoonHistory
Adding further to my claim that 1900 is a vintage year for Political cartoons, this gem from Midland Reporter and Westmeath Nationalist (8 March 1900, p. 5) #PoliticalCartoons #CartoonHistory #SouthAfricanWar #BoerWar #BNA
October 8, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Adding further to my claim that 1900 is a vintage year for Political cartoons, this gem from Midland Reporter and Westmeath Nationalist (8 March 1900, p. 5) #PoliticalCartoons #CartoonHistory #SouthAfricanWar #BoerWar #BNA
Reposted by Robert St. John Smith
We've updated our three BlueSky starter packs for historians.
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
October 3, 2025 at 8:37 AM
We've updated our three BlueSky starter packs for historians.
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
Our principal list now includes details of 130+ societies and networks, based in the UK and Ireland, that advance the study, research and promotion of history go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd
Please let us know if there are gaps.
#Skystorians 1/2
Just come across this absolutely cracking illustration – one of those you can hear – of the 'Brixton's Patriotic Carnival' by G. Glover in the South London Press (17 March 1900, p.5 via British Newspaper Archives). #Illustration #Victorians #BoerWar
October 3, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Just come across this absolutely cracking illustration – one of those you can hear – of the 'Brixton's Patriotic Carnival' by G. Glover in the South London Press (17 March 1900, p.5 via British Newspaper Archives). #Illustration #Victorians #BoerWar
New to my collection are some #FWW sketches by a German soldier, part of a Licht-Messtrupp unit. Light measuring AKA flash spotting artillery. A fairly competent degree of skill in the drawings, a bit at a loss on how to start researching the chap behind them.
September 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
New to my collection are some #FWW sketches by a German soldier, part of a Licht-Messtrupp unit. Light measuring AKA flash spotting artillery. A fairly competent degree of skill in the drawings, a bit at a loss on how to start researching the chap behind them.
While #Ypres and its ramparts have become synonymous with the #WipersTimes, the 6th DCLI were there a year earlier with their publication Red Feather.
This is an introduction to their story, but one crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-09... #FWW #WW1
This is an introduction to their story, but one crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-09... #FWW #WW1
Trench Journals: The Red Feather, Journal of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry. An Introduction
An introduction to the Red Feather Journal
robertstjohnsmith.com
September 21, 2025 at 10:46 AM
While #Ypres and its ramparts have become synonymous with the #WipersTimes, the 6th DCLI were there a year earlier with their publication Red Feather.
This is an introduction to their story, but one crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-09... #FWW #WW1
This is an introduction to their story, but one crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-09... #FWW #WW1
I have been after a copy of this for some time. Written in 1917, it offers a unique satirical take on the Poilu. Time to find out if all those hours on Duolingo have paid off. #histBookChat #PhotoFriday #poilu #fww
September 19, 2025 at 9:47 AM
I have been after a copy of this for some time. Written in 1917, it offers a unique satirical take on the Poilu. Time to find out if all those hours on Duolingo have paid off. #histBookChat #PhotoFriday #poilu #fww
September 14, 2025 at 3:55 PM
September 13, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Seventeen-year-old Émilienne Moreau. The deadly teenage heroine who earned military honours from two nations: robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-09...
#FirstWorldWar #Loos #FWW #ww1 #Heroine
#FirstWorldWar #Loos #FWW #ww1 #Heroine
TTKAS: The Heroine of Loos
Émilienne Moreau-Evrad. The Heroine of Loos
robertstjohnsmith.com
September 8, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Seventeen-year-old Émilienne Moreau. The deadly teenage heroine who earned military honours from two nations: robertstjohnsmith.com/post/2025-09...
#FirstWorldWar #Loos #FWW #ww1 #Heroine
#FirstWorldWar #Loos #FWW #ww1 #Heroine
Exploring the North Coast with the dog. There are some dramatic skies in this neck of the woods
September 4, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Exploring the North Coast with the dog. There are some dramatic skies in this neck of the woods
Reposted by Robert St. John Smith
Reform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations
When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?
When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?
August 26, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations
When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?
When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?
Rather than continue to spam you all with my Operation Hush game development—especially now that I’m getting into the nuts and bolts—I’ll be posting updates over on my gamedev account, @doginatank.bsky.social , if you fancy following along. Especially if you’re a fan of spreadsheets and constants
August 20, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Rather than continue to spam you all with my Operation Hush game development—especially now that I’m getting into the nuts and bolts—I’ll be posting updates over on my gamedev account, @doginatank.bsky.social , if you fancy following along. Especially if you’re a fan of spreadsheets and constants
Continuing with my Operation Hush game, I've reached the point in development where one needs to crack open the spreadsheet.
August 19, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Continuing with my Operation Hush game, I've reached the point in development where one needs to crack open the spreadsheet.
Getting to the micromanagement stage of my Operation Hush game. Can switching the assignment of the 17th Cyclist Battalion swing the operation's success? Watch this space
August 18, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Getting to the micromanagement stage of my Operation Hush game. Can switching the assignment of the 17th Cyclist Battalion swing the operation's success? Watch this space
A bit of a tidy up on the UI (well, work in progress) for my Operation Hush game
August 17, 2025 at 4:53 PM
A bit of a tidy up on the UI (well, work in progress) for my Operation Hush game
I need a palate cleanser, so I am throwing together a quick alternative history game based on Operation Hush in 1917. As you can see, I am going for accuracy here.
August 15, 2025 at 10:36 AM
I need a palate cleanser, so I am throwing together a quick alternative history game based on Operation Hush in 1917. As you can see, I am going for accuracy here.
Why is it that papers writing about how wonderful Digital Humanities will be tend to have half a dozen authors attributed? It’s certainly not making my footnoting any easier. ;-) #PhdLife
August 13, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Why is it that papers writing about how wonderful Digital Humanities will be tend to have half a dozen authors attributed? It’s certainly not making my footnoting any easier. ;-) #PhdLife
Much has been written on tanks and trench warfare, but I am still waiting to read the paper: Doctrine and Dogpower: A Reappraisal of Tactical Dog-Cart Deployments in the Evolution of Combined Operations within the British Expeditionary Force, 1914–1918. (source: Western Mail, 16 October 1914, p.17)
August 4, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Much has been written on tanks and trench warfare, but I am still waiting to read the paper: Doctrine and Dogpower: A Reappraisal of Tactical Dog-Cart Deployments in the Evolution of Combined Operations within the British Expeditionary Force, 1914–1918. (source: Western Mail, 16 October 1914, p.17)