Research and Publications
Areas of Expertise
Social and cultural history of the Victorian Era
Popular Culture representations of the World Wars
First World War Aviation (Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Air Force, Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte, and the Flying Ace Image)
Literature of the First World War
Combat medicine in the World Wars
Combat Psychology, Psychiatry and Aviation Psychology and medicine
Military welfare practices
Luftwaffe
The Royal Air Force
The Battle of Britain
Operation Overlord (D-Day)
WWII American Airborne Operations (E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division)
American and British Home Fronts in World War I and World War II
British imperialism and Commonwealth (Victorian Era to present day)
Music, Social Commentary, and Protest in the Cold War Era
Abby is available to consult on any of these topics, and various others, as well as on the history and legacies of the World Wars in general.
Skills
Paper archives
Material culture archives
Film and art collections
Oral histories and sound collections
Firearms and military equipment
Working with digital and social media
Working with schools and young people
Working with community organisations
Working with collections and archives
GIS
Project Management
Exhibitions and Interpretation
Marketing and PR
Delivering presentations
Languages
English (native)
German (professional working proficiency)
Norwegian, Bokmål (limited working proficiency)
Spanish (limited working proficiency)
Publications
Upcoming Publications
Upcoming book chapter on the importance of cultural programming in art museums for service personnel during the Second World War.
Upcoming book chapter on the impact of physical space on morale on First World War British aerodromes.
Upcoming article on representations of Victorian childhood, aristocracy, and morality through gothic motifs in Black Butler and Moriarty the Patriot.
Upcoming book chapter on selective empathy and emotional distance Among First World War Aviators.
Recent Publications
“How the Index of American Design Kickstarted Edward Loper’s Art Career”, National Gallery of Art (June 6, 2025). https://www.nga.gov/stories/articles/how-index-american-design-kickstarted-edward-lopers-art-career.
“‘Perfect Health, Mechanical Mind’: Morale, Mental Health, and Judgements of Character in the Royal Flying Corps, 1914-1918”. Contact!, Great War Aviation Society. Issue 2 (Autumn 2024): 28-32. https://greatwaraviation.org/shop/contact/contact-002-autumn-2024/.
“A Man’s World”: Masculinity and the First World War Ace in Interwar Film’. EPOCH History Magazine, 1 September 2023. https://www.epoch-magazine.com/post/a-man-s-world-masculinity-and-the-first-world-war-ace-in-interwar-film
For the “Ordinary Man”: A Reflection on the Post-9/11 Perception of HBO’s Band of Brothers. EPOCH History Magazine, 1 December 2023. https://www.epoch-magazine.com/post/for-the-ordinary-man-a-reflection-on-the-post-9-11-perception-of-hbo-s-band-of-brothers
Review of Greene, Rebecca Schwartz, Breaking Point: The Ironic Evolution of Psychiatry in World War II. H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews, June 2023. https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=58819
Review of Wilkins, Mark C., Aero-Neurosis Pilots of the First World War and the Psychological Legacies of Combat. First World War Studies, December 2023. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PX2UA3AQQEWNCC79ASIX/full?target=10.1080/19475020.2023.2298150 .
Review of Adams Jr., John A., Over There in the Air: The Fightin' Texas Aggies in World War I, 1917-1918. H-War, H-Net Reviews, October 2024. https://networks.h-net.org/group/reviews/20047206/whitlock-adams-jr-over-there-air-fightin-texas-aggies-world-war-i-1917-1918
“Setting the Sun on the British Empire: British Economic Interests and the Decolonization of Hong Kong,” James Blair Historical Review: Vol. 9: Iss. 2, Article 3. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/jbhr/vol9/iss2/3
Contribution to 18 September 2018 “RAF Museum Archives” Article on archival research on James McCudden’s manuscript for Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps (1918): https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/raf-museum-archives/