David Beton

PhD in History, School of Humanities

About

David completed his History BA(Hons) and British Cultural History MA at the University of Chichester. He is now a PGR student at the University of Kent, studying the development and impact of British cultural memories of war.

Research interests

David’s research examines the cultural memories of the First and Second World Wars in Britain through the representation of uniforms in museums.

Uniforms are fundamentally a means of expressing and understanding identity. They are most well-known for their use by front-line soldiers; however, they equally were a central part of the war experience for large parts of the population during the two world wars, from battlefield medics to women in the supporting services and factory workers. 

David’s work assesses who is being represented in museums, how their uniforms are being exhibited and, perhaps more importantly, who is being excluded. As such, this study explores the ways in which past service-personnel are prioritised, understood and portrayed within British memories of the world wars.

PhD title

Remembering, Recreating, Forgetting: Representing Uniforms of the World Wars in Contemporary British Museums.

Teaching


Supervision

Professor Mark Connelly & Professor Juliette Pattinson

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