Dr Mario Draper

Born and bred in Belgium to British parents, Mario came over to the UK to pursue his undergraduate degree in War Studies at the University of Kent, with his dissertation focusing on Irish regiments in the British Army during the First World War. Following this, he attended St Catherine's College, Oxford, for his Master of Studies (MSt) in Modern British and European History, taking the first steps towards a focus across the Channel with a dissertation entitled ‘Anglo-Belgian Military Co-operation 1906-1914’.

Mario returned to Kent to pursue his PhD on ‘The Belgian Army, Society and Military Cultures, 1830-1918’, and now holds a post as a Lecturer in the School of History teaching undergraduate and postgraduate military history modules.

Mario has broad research interests that include British, Irish and European military history in the 19th and 20th centuries. More specifically, his interests lie in the links between armies and societies at all levels, but particularly with relation to national and regional identities.

Mario teaches a wide range of topics within military history, particularly on the experiences of the British Army in the 20th century.