Simon Fowler – författare

A history of the poor

Why were there so many missing in the First World War? And what happened during the Second World War and in the other wars of the twentieth century? Both world wars produced casualties on an unprecedented scale. The missing were the victims of increasingly mechanised warfare. One minute they were there, the next they had vanished, vaporised by a shell.Known Unto God describes the exhaustive hunt for missing servicemen. It looks at how individual families reacted to the shocking news that their husband, son or brother was missing and how many mothers and wives could never accept the loss of their loved ones.This book reveals the bureaucratic process behind the hunt for the missing and demonstrates how vital information gathered from the Red Cross and other sources was carefully pieced together to discover the fate of these men.Simon Fowler considers the way we memorialise the missing through the Cenotaph, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the Menin Gate, Thiepval and many other monuments to the missing across the world.

The First World War was perhaps the most traumatic event of the Twentieth Century. Millions of men, women and children were affected by it. And it still has a resonance today more than a hundred years after the Armistice.This guide offers a simple, yet comprehensive, guide to researching the men and women from Britain - and its dominions and colonies - who took part in the First World War either at the front or at homeIt is an accessible, up-to-date and expert introduction to get you on your way and to answer those questions you might come across during your researches.In a straightforward, easy-to-follow style the book introduces readers to the multitude of sources they can use to explore the history of the First World War for themselves.In a series of short, instructive chapters the book takes the reader through the process of researching ancestors who served during the First World War providing short cuts and background information as required.The book covers the key sources, including the National Archives and the many online sites that researchers can turn to. It also covers records of casualties, munitions workers, conscientious objectors and service personnel from the British Dominions.

'This well-known author has produced yet another excellent guide for researching ancestors who have served in the Army. The book is an ideal text for reference when investigating army personnel.' Military Archive Research.com. 'A splendid publication with a great deal of valuable information.' Michael Brooker, Guild of Battlefield Guides. Whether you are interested in the career of an individual officer, researching medals awarded to a soldier, or just want to know more about a particular battle or campaign, this book will point you in the right direction. Assuming the reader has no prior knowledge of the British Army, its history or organization, Simon Fowler explains what records survive, where they are to be found and how they can help you in your research. He shows how to make the best use of the increasing number of related resources to be found online, and he pays particular attention to explaining the records and the reasons behind their creation, as this information can be very important in understanding how these documents can help your research.

In recent years big data initiatives, not to mention Hollywood, the video game industry and countless other popular media, have reinforced and even glamorized the public image of the archive as the ultimate repository of facts and the hope of future generations for uncovering ‘what actually happened’. The reality is, however, that for all sorts of reasons the record may not have been preserved or survived in the archive. In fact, the record may never have even existed – its creation being as imagined as is its contents. And even if it does exist, it may be silent on the salient facts, or it may obfuscate, mislead or flat out lie.The Silence of the Archive is written by three expert and knowledgeable archivists and draws attention to the many limitations of archives and the inevitability of their having parameters.Silences or gaps in archives range from details of individuals’ lives to records of state oppression or of intelligence operations. The book brings together ideas from a wide range of fields, including contemporary history, family history research and Shakespearian studies. It describes why these silences exist, what the impact of them is, how researchers have responded to them, and what the silence of the archive means for researchers in the digital age. It will help provide a framework and context to their activities and enable them to better evaluate archives in a post-truth society.This book includes discussion of: enforced silencesexpectations and when silence means silencedigital preservation, authenticity and the futuredealing with the silencepossible solutions; challenging silence and acceptancethe meaning of the silences: are things getting better or worse?user satisfaction and audience development.This book will make compelling reading for professional archivists, records managers and records creators, postgraduate and undergraduate students of history, archives, librarianship and information studies, as well as academics and other users of archives.

In recent years big data initiatives, not to mention Hollywood, the video game industry and countless other popular media, have reinforced and even glamorized the public image of the archive as the ultimate repository of facts and the hope of future generations for uncovering ‘what actually happened’. The reality is, however, that for all sorts of reasons the record may not have been preserved or survived in the archive. In fact, the record may never have even existed – its creation being as imagined as is its contents. And even if it does exist, it may be silent on the salient facts, or it may obfuscate, mislead or flat out lie.The Silence of the Archive is written by three expert and knowledgeable archivists and draws attention to the many limitations of archives and the inevitability of their having parameters.Silences or gaps in archives range from details of individuals’ lives to records of state oppression or of intelligence operations. The book brings together ideas from a wide range of fields, including contemporary history, family history research and Shakespearian studies. It describes why these silences exist, what the impact of them is, how researchers have responded to them, and what the silence of the archive means for researchers in the digital age. It will help provide a framework and context to their activities and enable them to better evaluate archives in a post-truth society.This book includes discussion of: enforced silencesexpectations and when silence means silencedigital preservation, authenticity and the futuredealing with the silencepossible solutions; challenging silence and acceptancethe meaning of the silences: are things getting better or worse?user satisfaction and audience development.This book will make compelling reading for professional archivists, records managers and records creators, postgraduate and undergraduate students of history, archives, librarianship and information studies, as well as academics and other users of archives.

It has never been easier to research what your parents and grandparents and family members did in the Second World War – whether they were in the armed forces, the Home Guard or worked in factories on the home front. For anyone looking to learn more about their family’s past, this book provides all the tools and information to get started, explains what is available online (as well as what is not) and outlines the pitfalls to avoid. A wide range of background information on the war itself will also help place your ancestors’ experiences within the wider context of the Second World War.This book provides a comprehensive review of all the available resources, where they are to be found and how to make the best use of them; not just for the United Kingdom, but also for the Commonwealth, Europe and the United States.An essential guide, it makes an increasingly important aspect of family history both interesting and accessible to anyone looking to learn more about their past.

This accessible, well-organized, easy-to-use beginners' guide to the world of family history is essential reading for anyone who wants to find their way into this fascinating subject. In a series of short, practical chapters Simon Fowler takes readers through all the first steps that will reveal the lives of their ancestors and the world they lived in. He looks at every aspect of research, from finding family papers and interviewing relatives, through exploring websites, archives, newspapers and directories, to all the other sources that can throw a light into the past. In a clear, straightforward way he explains how vital records of births, marriages and deaths can be used as the starting point in a sequence of eye-opening family detective work. Simon Fowler's introduction, which is founded on a career of genealogical research and writing, is an indispensable basic book for anyone entering in the field.