Their Finest Hour

Oxford University
  • 5.0 (2)
  • EDUCATION
Their Finest Hour

A series of podcasts from Oxford University's 'Their Finest Hour' project. Led by the Faculty of English, this project aims to collect stories, objects, and memories around British involvement in the Second World War using Oxford's Community Collection Model (OCCM). The podcasts will cover what the project is about, how it works, what it is trying to achieve, but also will take deeper looks at material that is submitted and the range of research going on in the field at Oxford. This project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Episodes

  1. 09/08/2023

    Noor Inayat Khan: the "Spy Princess" - Interview with Shrabani Basu

    Joseph Quinn speaks to Indian journalist, bestselling author and historian, Shrabani Basu, about the life and career of legendary SOE agent, Noor Inayat Khan. In this, the second of three special podcast episodes recorded for South Asian Heritage Month, Shrabani documents the extraordinary origins of Noor Khan, a pacifist Sufi Muslim woman, whose life took an unlikely turn during the Second World War. Shrabani shares with Joseph why this young Indian-American took the decision to serve as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), before being selected for training as a member of F-Section, Special Operations Executive. Shrabani details Noor's time as British-serving spy in Nazi-occupied France before her capture, interrogation, torture and ultimate murder at the hands of German Gestapo and SS authorities. She also reveals why Noor Khan has come to symbolise the contribution of British India towards the struggle against fascism, and how people all over the world have come to love and admire this brave and beautiful young woman as a symbol of resistance in defiance of Nazi tyranny.

    1h 4m

  2. 08/25/2023

    Soldiers of the Punjab in two world wars - Interview with Amandeep Madra

    Joseph Quinn speaks to Amandeep Madra, founder of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, about Pubjabi and Sikh soldiers in the British Indian Army. In this episode, recorded as part of South Asian Heritage Month, Amandeep tells Joseph about the important role that the former Raj province of Punjab played in Indian Army recruitment during the first and second world wars. He discusses the proud martial tradition of Sikhs in the British Indian Army, and why Punjabi Sikhs, together with fellow Punjabi soldiers of other faiths and traditions, often made up the largest cohort of India's wartime armies during the world wars. Amandeep also explains the reasons why the wartime service of Indian, Pakistani and other South Asian service personnel is so poorly documented today, and shares the important work of the UK Punjab Heritage Association in attempting to recover this lost military heritage.

    35 min

  3. 08/02/2023

    The Duke of Windsor's German tutor - Interview with Emma Huber

    Emma Huber, German subject librarian at Oxford's Taylorian Library, speaks to Joseph Quinn about the life and career of Professor H.G. Fiedler. In this short episode, Emma details the career of Professor Hermann Georg Fiedler, the first Taylor Professor of German Language and Literature at the University of Oxford, and his lifelong activities in support of peaceful relations between Germany and the United Kingdom. Taking a chronological guide through fascinating correspondence and documents held within the Fiedler Archive at the Taylor Institution Library, Emma shares with Joseph the details of his personal relationship with some of his former students, particularly Edward, Duke of Windsor, before and after his abdication in 1936. Emma and Joseph also explore Fiedler's connection with Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, and his support for Britain's appeasement policy in the late 1930s, along with his contact with members the German government, his failed attempts to cultivate peace between Nazi Germany and Britain through the sharing of culture, and also his humanitarian efforts in helping German Jewish refugees to find a home in the UK.

    37 min

  4. 07/13/2023

    Northern Ireland in WW2 - TFH Collection Day at the Linen Hall, Belfast

    Interview with Scott Edgar at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, just after hosting the first TFH Collection Day event in Northern Ireland. Joseph Quinn speaks to Scott Edgar, the coordinator of Wartime NI and Arts and Cultural Programmer for the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, about his experience of coordinating a TFH Collection Day and the stories gathered during the course of the event. Joseph and Scott discuss the complexity and depth of Northern Ireland's experience during the Second World War, referring specifically to a number of astonishing stories and items submitted by three participants that day.

    46 min

  5. 06/28/2023

    Fighting Proud: Gay Men in Wartime - Interview with Stephen Bourne

    Interview with Stephen Bourne about the experiences of gay men in the British Armed Forces and at home during the Second World War. Out of the 6.5 million men and women who served in the British Armed Forces during WW2, as many as 1.2 million may have experienced some form of same-sex intimacy. In this episode, Matthew Kidd speaks to Stephen Bourne about his book "Fighting Proud", a fascinating study that unearths remarkable stories about some of the gay men who experienced the war in the British armed forces or at home. Among other things, Stephen and Matthew consider how "Fighting Proud" challenges some of the assumptions that people have about gay men during the war, and discuss how certain individuals featured in Stephen’s book proudly and bravely defied the expectations of their times.

    39 min

  6. 06/20/2023

    Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime - Interview with Stephen Bourne

    Interview with Stephen Bourne about the contribution of black men and women in wartime Britain during the Second World War. To mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush, Joseph Quinn speaks to "Black Poppies" author, Stephen Bourne, about the subject of his recent book, "Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime 1939–45". Stephen shares with Joseph his experience in uncovering the previously untold story of the wartime contribution of black service personnel from the West Indies and Africa in the British forces, as well as the domestic war effort made by black men and women on the Home Front.

    45 min

  7. 05/19/2023

    Stories from the Archive - Part 1

    First episode of a new Their Finest Hour podcast mini-series examining a selection of stories submitted to the Online Archive. In this first episode of "Stories from the Archive", Dr Joseph Quinn guides us through the Online Archive by introducing us to a selection of 5 personal stories submitted by participants from across the UK. These stories include a heart-warming tale of local friendships with Italian prisoners-of-war in Hampshire and an excerpt from a memoir which details one family's experience of the Canterbury Blitz in June 1942.

    18 min

  8. 04/11/2023

    The Women behind "the Few" - Interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller

    Interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller about the role of the WAAF in British air intelligence. For our first expert interview in the podcast series, our Project Coordinator, Dr. Joseph Quinn, speaks to Dr. Sarah-Louise Miller about the role of Women's Auxiliary Air Force servicewomen in British air intelligence during the war, and her new book, 'The Women behind the Few'. Dr. Miller, who is serving as a Steering Group member and Academic Advisor on TFH Project, is a member of Kellogg College and a visiting scholar at the Faculty of Modern History at the University of Oxford. She also lectures at the Defence Studies Department at Kings College London.

    1h 1m

  9. 03/23/2023

    Building the digital archive

    A short interview with the project's technical lead, Catherine Conisbee, on building the digital archive. A short talk by the project's technical lead, Catherine Conisbee, on building the digital archive. In this Catherine covers a brief outline of crowd-sourcing at Oxford, digital humanities, and the platforms we are building the project on.

    25 min

  10. 02/08/2023

    A Postcard from Hitler

    The Project Lead, Dr Stuart Lee, discusses his most memorable finds on previous crowdsourcing projects In this short episode, presented by Stuart Lee (the project lead), he shares his most memorable finds and moments on 'Lest We Forget' and 'Europeana 1914-18' - the precursor crowdsourcing projects to 'Their Finest Hour'. Stuart provides us with a 'Top 5' breakdown of the most unforgettable discoveries and personal encounters while coordinating Digital Collection Day events in the UK, Ireland and Germany... including being handed a postcard written and signed by Adolf Hitler.

    16 min

  11. 01/23/2023

    Introducing 'Their Finest Hour'

    A brief introduction by the project team to 'Their Finest Hour' Introduced by Joseph Quinn from the project, this podcast features Stuart Lee (the project lead) and Matthew Kidd (the project manager) discussing 'Their Finest Hour'. What the project aims to do, its history, how it will work. The project is crowd-sourcing material held by the public related to the Second World War to go into a freely available online archive. It will also train people on how to run their own collection days around the UK.

    22 min
  • 11 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

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About

A series of podcasts from Oxford University's 'Their Finest Hour' project. Led by the Faculty of English, this project aims to collect stories, objects, and memories around British involvement in the Second World War using Oxford's Community Collection Model (OCCM). The podcasts will cover what the project is about, how it works, what it is trying to achieve, but also will take deeper looks at material that is submitted and the range of research going on in the field at Oxford. This project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Information

  • Creator
    Oxford University
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Oxford University
  • Show Website
    Their Finest Hour

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