Harry Raffal
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rafhistory.bsky.social
Harry Raffal
@rafhistory.bsky.social
RAF History; Air Power; Digital History; Head of Collections and Research at RAF Museum; Author: Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk (Bloomsbury 2021; Co-Ed Close Air Support (Helion 2024). Committee member of RAFHS and BCMH.
Reposted by Harry Raffal
Anyone interested in pursuing doctoral study in military history (broadly defined) and especially in tje strategy snd economic statecraft of tge two world wars: please drop me a line
www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/schola...
College of Arts and Law Doctoral Scholarships - University of Birmingham
Fully-funded and partially-funded scholarships for doctoral research students studying in the College of Arts of Law in the 2026/27 academic year onwards
www.birmingham.ac.uk
November 5, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
LDN: ✈️ Free Lunchtime Lecture – Tue 4 Nov, 12.00pm!

Join Dr Seb Ritchie as he reveals how Air Power helped capture Walcheren Island 🇳🇱 in 1944 — a pivotal moment in the Allied campaign.

📍 In-person at RAF Museum London
💻 Livestream via Crowdcast
🎟️ Free, but registration required at: bit.ly/4nsKtql
October 31, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
📢 One week to go!

The Next Battle of Britain: IAMD in the Age of Escalation

Join us for an online panel discussion to examine the strategic, technological & organisational challenges facing the UK in defending itself from air attack.

📅7 Nov
🕰️1000 - 1130

Register 👇
www.kcl.ac.uk/events/the-n...
October 31, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Interesting lecture by AVM Beck, Director Capabilities and Programmes, on the future of British Combat Air Power
October 20, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
✈️ Discover the daring story of Elsie Mackay, who set out to be the first woman to fly the Atlantic! 🌊

Join Dr Midge Gillies for our Atlantic Furies lecture, Tues 21 Oct, 12pm, live from
@RAFMuseum
Midlands. 🎟️ Free in-person or online via Crowdcast.

bit.ly/3KMNm7H
October 18, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Good to be able to join the @rafhistorical.bsky.social seminar on the RAF and Oman. Chaired by Sit Glenn Torpy, the first paper, from Graham Pitchfork, is providing context to the relationship by exploring the early history
October 15, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
🌟 3 weeks left to nominate for the 2025 RAF Museum Academic Awards!

Designed to inspire and reward high-quality research by up and coming scholars, the awards welcome entries that consider a variety of topics.

Find out more here👇
rafmuseum.org.uk/news/raf-mus...
October 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
A lovely tribute to John Cruickshank.
www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/flight-...
Always very modest, John did not want a great fanfare made of him on his death. An extraordinary VC, but he is a man worth emulating for how he lived his life after that one moment
September 23, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
Great research topic for anyone looking for one:

Japan's swelling wartime population of "ghost eaters" -- ie, folks who used false names/addresses to commit ration ticket fraud.
September 17, 2025 at 3:14 PM
The final paper of the @rafmuseum.bsky.social 2025 conference is underway with Andy Renwick speaking on 'Offence versus defence'. You can catch up on all of the fantastic programme organised by @drmeganekelleher.bsky.social using our Crowdcast channel www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
September 5, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Sam Alberti and Holger Nehring speaking on their AHRC funded research into Materialising the Cold War including a museological view of Vulcan XM607
September 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Lovely to see the 2024 Academic Award winners receive their prizes. Our 2025 Awards are now open with prizes of £3000, £350, and £250.

A wide range of topics are eligible for BA, MA and PhDs find out more on our website www.rafmuseum.org.uk/news/raf-mus...
September 5, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Gary Willis offering a new perspective on the Dam Busters by discussing it as the subject of environmental history
September 5, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Interesting paper by Witali Gerber on the institutionalisation of child conscription in the Flakhelfer programme during the SWW
www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
September 5, 2025 at 10:34 AM
This is excellent!

A 1989 photo of a farm in Wales from one of Mark Russell's slides
September 5, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Day 2 of the @rafmuseum.bsky.social conference. We're underway with Damien Accoulon discussing Airmen and the myth of the Knight of the Air in France and Germany. You can join us live and participate online via www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
September 5, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Ewen Cameron is now analysing the operations of 57 Squadron from Scampton during the time period 617 Sqdn were formed, undertook the Dam Buster raids and then moved to Conigsby in 1943 www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
September 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Looking forward to hearing Tom Withington discuss the use of Napalm by Bomber Command www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
RAF Museum Conference 2025: New Perspectives in Military Aviation Research
Register now for RAF Museum Conference 2025: New Perspectives in Military Aviation Research on crowdcast, scheduled to go live on September 4, 2025, 09:20 AM GMT+1.
www.crowdcast.io
September 4, 2025 at 10:27 AM
We are underway and at the moment @ac1shaw.bsky.social is discuss Slessor, and Air Power and Armies in history, theory and practice. You can watch live now www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
September 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Final countdown to the 2025 @rafmuseum.bsky.social conference. A fantastic 2 day programme exploring NEW PERSPECTIVES IN MILITARY AVIATION organised by @drmeganekelleher.bsky.social
You can still join us online, without charge, from 10AM by using our livestream www.crowdcast.io/c/rafm-confe...
September 4, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
Call for Papers is closing soon! We're keen to hear from you with ideas for Aviation Cultures Spotlight 'Logbooks & AvDocs' in November, but the Call for Papers closes Sunday 31 August 2025.

And see you at the free, online event - put the date in your diary now! aviationcultures.org/spotlights/l...
August 29, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
Swedish Defence University advertises two postdoc positions focused on narrative geopolitics, or how emotional and widely circulated narratives shape international security, great power relations & geostrategic rivalry.

fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

fhs.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

Deadline: 31 Aug
August 2, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Reposted by Harry Raffal
Chat so im in the production team for Ukraine’s official Burning Man installation this year, essentially it’s a black cloud in the middle of the festival, with very clear messages about ru warcrimes coming soon

Grateful to anyone who helps promote it, been working and crashing out for very long
August 23, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Fantastic to see Close Air Support out as an Ebook. Lots of hardwork editing with @ac1shaw.bsky.social to produce a volume covering the FWW to the present and exploring CAS inoperations beyond those usually considered. At £16 it is a steal!
August 23, 2025 at 9:20 AM
The letters sent to Billy Fiske's wife, Rose Bingham, after his death are incredibly moving.

Kind, compassionate, always thinking of others - they reveal the real man who was extraordinary.

An Olympic gold medalist at the age of just 16, who died in the Battle trying to bring his aircraft home.
In our first #BattleofBritain Untold Story, we honour Billy Fiske — the American who gave his life "that England might live."

Watch now, and look out for Episode 2 on the Midlands’ role in the Battle coming soon.

💻 youtu.be/SoZ92cEDHKs?...

#BOB85 #BattleofBritain85 #BillyFiske
Battle of Britain : Untold Stories, Episode 1
YouTube video by Royal Air Force Museum
youtu.be
August 23, 2025 at 9:12 AM