Hew Strachan
Encyclopedia
Brigadier
Professor
Hew Francis Anthony Strachan, DL
, FRSE
, FRHS
(born 1 September 1949 in Edinburgh
, Scotland
) is a Scottish
military historian, well known for his work on the administration
of the British Army
and the history of the First World War. He is a Brigadier and Member of Council of the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers
).
antiquities survey. He was educated at Rugby School
, then Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
with a B.A., 1971 and M.A. 1975. He was elected a research fellow of the college 1975, and after a one year stint as senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1978/79 he returned to the college and became admissions tutor and then senior tutor. He has been a life fellow of the college since 1992.
His early work focused on the History of the British Army, and he was awarded the Templer Medal for "From Waterloo to Balaclava" and the Westminster Medal for "The Politics of the British Army". Commissioned by Oxford University Press
to write a history
of the First World War to replace C.R.M.F Cruttwell's one-volume A History of the Great War, 1914-1918, Strachan completed the first of three volumes, The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms in 2001 to wide acclaim and is acknowledged as one of the world's authorities on the subject. Accompanying the print publication of his one volume survey The First World War (2004) was a multi-part documentary series for television entitled The First World War, with some episodes being titled after the chapters in the written work. This set was also released on DVD by Image Entertainment.
Since 2004 he has been director of the Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War, and has published a series of important articles on strategy, as well as editing books which have arisen from the project.
Professor Strachan is Chichele Professor of the History of War
at All Souls
, Oxford University. He was Professor of Modern History
at the University of Glasgow
from 1992 to 2000.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
and the Royal Historical Society
. He holds an honorary D.Univ from the University of Paisley. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant
of Tweeddale
in 2006. He is a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies
. In addition, he is on the Chief of the Defence Staff's strategic advisory panel, the UK Defence Academy Advisory Board, and is an advisory fellow of the Barsanti Military History Center at the University of North Texas
. He was on the council of the National Army Museum
and is currently a trustee of the Imperial War Museum
. He is a visiting professor of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy in Trondheim and in 2009 was the Sir Howard Kippenberger Professor at Victoria University Wellington.
He was married to Catherine Margaret Blackburn and they had two children. He then married Pamela Symes and together they have a son.
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Hew Francis Anthony Strachan, DL
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, FRSE
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
, FRHS
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
(born 1 September 1949 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) is a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
military historian, well known for his work on the administration
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and the history of the First World War. He is a Brigadier and Member of Council of the Queen's Bodyguard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's Bodyguard in Scotland, a role it has performed since 1822 and the reign of King George IV, when the company provided a personal bodyguard to the King on his visit to Scotland. It is currently known as the Queen's...
).
Biography
As a merchant seaman for three months in 1968, Strachan worked his passage around the world on Ben Line Steamers Ltd. In 1973, he worked as a member of a SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
antiquities survey. He was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, then Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
with a B.A., 1971 and M.A. 1975. He was elected a research fellow of the college 1975, and after a one year stint as senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1978/79 he returned to the college and became admissions tutor and then senior tutor. He has been a life fellow of the college since 1992.
His early work focused on the History of the British Army, and he was awarded the Templer Medal for "From Waterloo to Balaclava" and the Westminster Medal for "The Politics of the British Army". Commissioned by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
to write a history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
of the First World War to replace C.R.M.F Cruttwell's one-volume A History of the Great War, 1914-1918, Strachan completed the first of three volumes, The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms in 2001 to wide acclaim and is acknowledged as one of the world's authorities on the subject. Accompanying the print publication of his one volume survey The First World War (2004) was a multi-part documentary series for television entitled The First World War, with some episodes being titled after the chapters in the written work. This set was also released on DVD by Image Entertainment.
Since 2004 he has been director of the Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War, and has published a series of important articles on strategy, as well as editing books which have arisen from the project.
Professor Strachan is Chichele Professor of the History of War
Chichele Professor of the History of War
One of the statutory Chichele Professorships established at All Souls College, Oxford, this chair was originally established in 1909 as the Chichele Professorship of Military History...
at All Souls
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
, Oxford University. He was Professor of Modern History
Professor of Modern History, Glasgow
The Chair of Modern History at the University of Glasgow was founded in 1893 as the Chair of History. In 1956 the title was changed to Modern History...
at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
from 1992 to 2000.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
and the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
. He holds an honorary D.Univ from the University of Paisley. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Tweeddale
Tweeddale
Tweeddale is a committee area and lieutenancy area in the Scottish Borders with a population of 17,394 at the latest census in 2001 it is the second smallest of the 5 committee areas in the Borders. It is the traditional name for the area drained by the upper reaches of the River Tweed...
in 2006. He is a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies
Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies
The Royal Air Force Centre for Air Power Studies is a Royal Air Force sponsored think tank which engages in the study of air power.The centre was launched on 23 August 2007 by Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, Chief of the Air Staff...
. In addition, he is on the Chief of the Defence Staff's strategic advisory panel, the UK Defence Academy Advisory Board, and is an advisory fellow of the Barsanti Military History Center at the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
. He was on the council of the National Army Museum
National Army Museum
The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, England adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The National Army Museum is open to the public every day of the year from 10.00am to 5.30pm,...
and is currently a trustee of the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
. He is a visiting professor of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy in Trondheim and in 2009 was the Sir Howard Kippenberger Professor at Victoria University Wellington.
He was married to Catherine Margaret Blackburn and they had two children. He then married Pamela Symes and together they have a son.
Books
- British Military Uniforms, 1768-1796 (Arms and Armour, 1975)
- History of the Cambridge University Officers Training Corps (1976) ISBN 0-85936-059-8
- European Armies and the Conduct of War (London, 1983) ISBN 0-415-07863-6
- Wellington's Legacy: The Reform of the British Army 1830-54 (Manchester, 1984) ISBN 0-7190-0994-4
- From Waterloo to Balaclava: Tactics, Technology and the British Army (Cambridge, 1985) ISBN 0-521-30439-3
- The Politics of the British Army (Oxford, 1997) ISBN 0-19-820670-4
- The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War (ed.) (Oxford, 1998) ISBN 0-19-820614-3
- The First World War: Volume 1: To Arms (Oxford, 2001) ISBN 0-19-926191-1 (first of an expected three volume history)
- The First World War: A New Illustrated History (Simon & Schuster, 2003)
- The First World War (Viking, 2004 ISBN 0-670-03295-6 (single volume survey of the war)
- The First World War in Africa (Oxford, 2004)
- German Strategy in the First World War in Wolfgang Elz/Sönke Neitzel: Internationale Beziehungen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, pages 127-144 (2003) ISBN 3-50670-140-1
- Clausewitz's On War: a Biography (Atlantic Monthly Press 2007) ISBN 0-87113-956-1
External links
- Interview on The First World War at the Pritzker Military LibraryPritzker Military LibraryThe Pritzker Military Library is a research library for the study of military history in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2003 by COL James N. Pritzker, IL ARNG to be a non-partisan institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of...