Dr. Michael Reeve PhD FHEA FRHistS
Michael Reeve is a social and cultural historian, interested in modern war and conflict, particularly military and civilian health and wellbeing, welfare and resilience. His current work is concerned with tobacco consumption and smoking practices in the context of modernity and conflict, focusing on major wars involving Britain and its empire during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This follows the recent publication of his first book on the civilian experience of bombardment in the coastal-urban context. Michael is an interdisciplinary historian, whose research takes into account social, cultural, political, economic, material and spatial factors, looking at both macro and micro scales (from global forces and the actions of governments, to the activities of ordinary people, individuals and groups, as well as ‘non-human’ actors).
Michael is currently Lecturer in Modern British History at The Open University.
Bombardment, Public Safety and Resilience in English Coastal Communities during the First World War
‘Essential reading for scholars wishing to understand how the British people and the British state began, separately and together, to confront the threat of mass civilian destruction which characterised the twentieth century’s total wars.’
First World War Studies, Sep 2024
‘Compelling… An exciting foray into what I hope is the first study of many on the coastal urban environment in wartime.’
Northern History, Nov 2023
‘A comprehensive and well-researched book on a topic that has achieved limited scholarly attention.’
Urban History, Feb 2023
Available here via Springer (or ask your library to purchase a copy)
Header image: ‘Soldiers smoking’, c. 1917, National Army Museum
Website © 2025 Michael Reeve
Dr. Michael Reeve 