The Transactions of the Royal Historical Society publish an annual collection of major articles representing some of the best historical research by some of the world's most distinguished historians.

Volume 9 of the RHS Transactions contains essays based around the theme 'oral history, memory and written tradition'.

Volume 10 of the Transactions contains essays based on 'the British-Irish Union of 1801'.

Volume 8 of The Royal Historical Society Transactions contains essays based around the theme 'identities and empires'.

On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany, and entered the First World War. It may be tempting to view the conflict as inevitable, or to see British intervention as unavoidable, but the truth was not so simple. Britons had long loathed the prospect of a continental war, and were assured that their nation had a free hand in Europe. Yet, in the first days of August, the debate abruptly changed. This was not simply a question of war, the British Government insisted. Instead, it was a matter of honour. If Britain stayed neutral, her friends would never trust her again; the country’s prestige would plummet; the national honour would be destroyed. ‘National honour,’ David Lloyd George proclaimed, ‘is a reality, and any nation that disregards it is doomed!’ What did these ideas mean, and why did they resonate so effectively with the British public? As Twamley details in this study – based on his award-winning masters’ dissertation – the importance of national honour to the decision-makers of 1914 has been largely overlooked. It is now time to address such shortcomings in the debate, and to place Britain’s pivotal decision for war in its proper cultural and ideological context.

A collection of major articles representing some of the best historical research by some of the world's most distinguished historians.