Dr Alex Mayhew

Alex is an interdisciplinary historian of modern warfare. His first book, Making Sense of the Great War: Crisis, Englishness, and Morale (Cambridge University Press, 2024), received Honourable Mention in the WW1 Historical Association’s Tomlinson Prize. His current research examines the First World War in Mesopotamia and unrealized military technologies proposed during the conflict.

His work has appeared in First World War Studies, War in History, The Historical Journal, and The English Historical Review. It has been featured in The Times, at public events and festivals, across podcasts, and on the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are (2023).

Alex’s research explores how individuals navigate crises during war, with a focus on morale, sensemaking, psychology, and the relationship between soldiers, society, and environment. He is also interested in how history itself was perceived and mobilized during the Great War.

He completed his doctorate at the LSE (2014–18), funded by an LSE PhD scholarship and a prize from the Historial de la Grande Guerre, France. From 2018–21, he was an LSE Fellow for LSE100, helping to redesign the programme in 2020–21, before working as a Learning Developer in LSE LIFE. In 2022 he joined the University of Birmingham as Assistant Professor in the Social and Cultural History of the First World War, where he convened and co-designed an MA in First World War Studies taught at the National Army Museum.

A committed educator and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Alex has been nominated for multiple teaching awards, winning an LSE Excellence in Education Award in 2024. He is especially interested in experiential learning, and in 2023–24 secured funding to trial educational trips to the National Archives, Kew.

He is also an external examiner for the MA in War Studies (Distance Learning) at King’s College London and has examined several MPhils and PhDs. As a consultant, he has supported institutions in developing courses on history, academic skills, educational development, and sustainability. He has also collaborated with secondary educators through the PTI and contributed to BBC Bitesize projects on teaching the First World War in schools.

Other Titles: Departmental AI Lead, Undergraduate Admissions Tutor

Awards:

• 2025 Nominated. LSE Student Led Teaching Awards: Affirming Academic Mentor.
• 2025 Honourable Mention, 2024 Norman B. Tomlinson Jnr. Book Prize for Best Work of History in English on World War I, WW1 Historical Association (US).
• 2024 LSE Excellence in Education Award.
• 2024Nominated. LSE Student Led Teaching Awards: Excellent Feedback and Communication
• 2022 Dennis Showalter Lecture for an Emerging Scholar, International Society for First World War Studies
• 2021 Highly Commended. LSE Excellence in Education Award, Department of International History.
• 2021 Shortlisted. LSE Student Led Teaching Awards: Inspirational Teaching & Exceptional Teaching in an Unprecedented Year
• 2020 Shortlisted. LSE Student Led Teaching Awards: Sharing Subject Knowledge & Mentoring and Personal Development
• 2017 Bourse Gerda Henkel du Centre International de Recherche de l’Historial de la Grande Guerre, France.
• 2017 LSE Class Teacher Award
• 2014-18 LSE PhD Scholarship 2013 Brewer Prize for Modern History, King’s College London

Expertise Details

First World War; Modern Warfare; Military Morale; National Identity; Modern Britain

Dr. Alex Mayhew teaches the following courses in the Department:

Undergradute

HY116 International Politics since 1914: Peace and War

HY120 Historical Approaches to the Modern World

HY226 The Greater War c. 1912-1923

Postgraduate

HY4C1 Fighting and Experiencing the Greater' War c. 1912-23

2026

Dr Alex Mayhew's recent book 'Making Sense of the Great War' has enjoyed rave reviews over the last few months!

Dr Mayhew's book, which received Honourable Mention for the 2025 Tomlinson Prize, has seen the following excellent reviews over the last few months...

‘This is a sophisticated and elaborate study of mental survival and fortitude among a discrete group of men in an immeasurably challenging time and place. As such, it adds greatly to the military history of morale during the First World War, offering new insights into Englishness, subjecthood and the belief systems men were fighting for during this fraught and terrifying time.’ (Nicoletta Gullace, English Historical Review)

‘[T]his book is a major contribution and deserves to stand in the canon … as a “standard work” on the morale of the British soldier in the Great War.’ (Tom Thorpe, Stand To! The Journal of the Western Front Association)

‘Making Sense of the Great War offers insights to scholars and could also be used well in the classroom. It is highly readable … this book is a fresh look at … familiar ground and a welcome addition to the conversation surrounding morale.’ (Elizabeth Stice, First World War Studies)

’This fine monograph … both advances our understanding of morale and highlights the fundamental difficulties which remain at the heart of this endeavour.’ (Vanda Wilcox, War in History)

‘Mayhew’s analysis paints a rich picture of the various ways in which men made sense of the war … Making Sense of the Great War offers points of reflections not just for the historian, but also for scholars of psychology, sociology, and military processes.’ (James Sewry, LSE Review of Books).

See here for a link to Dr Mayhew's book

Dr Alex Mayhew hosts student trip to the National Army Museum

Dr Alex Mayhew took a group of our HY120 students on another of this term’s archive trips. This time they joined curator Justin Saddington in the archive of the National Army Museum where he introduced the group to different archival documents, stretching from the English Civil War to the First World War.

2025

Dr Alex Mayhew's book receives new review (20 August 2025)

Making Sense of the Great War: Crisis, Englishness, and Morale on the Western Front has been reviewed by James Sewry at LSE Review of Books.

"Delving into primary sources including letters and diaries, the book offers rich insights into the survival strategies of infantrymen on the front lines, making for a valuable and highly readable contribution to First World War scholarship," wrote James Sewry.

Read the full review HERE

2024

Dr Mayhew's new book receives 'Honourable Mention' in 2024 Tomlinson Prize

Last month the WW1 Historical Association awarded Alex Mayhew’s Making Sense of the Great War ‘Honourable Mention’ in their 2024 Tomlinson Prize for the best work of history in English on World War One.

Alex’s book will be released in paperback in May/June.

Find a link to the book HERE

LSE’s Research for the World (19 March 2024)

Alex’s research was showcased on the LSE’s digital magazine Research for the World in March 2024 ahead of the publication of his book.

2023

Who Do You Think You Are BBC Television (20 July 2023)

Alex was an expert on series 20 of the BBC’s flagship family history programme where he helped comedian Chris Ramsey uncover his great-grandfather’s experiences on the Western Front during the First World War.

Morale in the BEF on the Western Front, 1917-1918, Combat Morale Podcast, Season 2 Ep. 3, (29 June 2023)

Alex talks about his research into the morale of the British soldier in the final 18 months of the Great War. He and the host talk about their respective perspectives on morale and motivation of the British soldier in the last two years of the war. They consider the respective importance of hope, small group cohesion, social norms, junior leadership, and ideology.

The State of Great War Scholarship, Mentioned in Dispatches Podcast, Ep. 300, with Prof. John Bourne and Prof. Jonathan Boff (15 May 2023)

Alex joins Prof. John Bourne and Prof. Jonathan Boff (both of the University of Birmingham) to discuss the current state of academic research on the First World War.

Invited Speaker, ‘WW1 and WW2 through a different lens’, CPD Subject Day, The PTI, (17 March 2023)

Alex was invited to contribute to a PTI subject day. He ran a lecture and workshop in which he and a group of secondary school teachers considered how to teach the history of the First World War in new and exciting ways.

2022

Invited Speaker, ‘Love and War’, In Conversation with JC Niala, PoliNations Festival, Birmingham, (4 September 2022)

Alex took part in a lunchtime talk hosted by Claire Ratinon at PoliNations Festival, Birmingham. Alongside JC Niala he discussed how people draw closer to nations in times of crisis, be they pandemics or war.

Morale in the British Army during 1917 and 1918, Mentioned in Dispatches Podcast, ep. 267, (8 August 2022)

Alex talked about his research into the morale of the British soldier in the final 18 months of the Great War.

Invited Speaker, Fig.studio presents - JC Niala: 1918 Allotment, TORCH Oxford and Art Council England, Oxford, (19 March 2022)

This event marked the launch of JC Niala’s book of poetry entitled ‘Portal: 1918 Allotment’ which comprised poetic, photographic and narrative domentation of her project recreating a 1918 style allotment in Oxford. As one of the speakers at the event, Alex explored allotments, vegetable shows, and coping during the Great War.

‘A Noisy Noise Annoys an Oyster’, Podcast from the Past, Season 4 ep. 22, (26 January 2022)

Alex and fellow historian Karen Averby joined Tom Jackson to discuss the postcards from their pasts. We meet the Brummies of North Devon, Pete Seeger and Joan Baez at the Albert Hall, Mr George next door, and look for a better picture of ruins. Taking a closer look at the postcards of the First World War and seaside Grand Hotels, our guests share cards from their collections.

2021

‘Alex Mayhew on British WW1 Wartime Myths’, Real Time History Podcast, Episode 4, (15 July 2021)

Alex joins the Real Time History Podcast discusses how British ‘myths’ of the First World War formed. Some are fabrications, others are the product of more modern concerns and retrospections, whilst the origin of others can be found in the experience of 1917 in Belgium and France.

‘British Army Allotments during the First World War’, The Times and Times Radio, (3 February 2021)

Alex’s research into the proliferation of allotments and vegetable shows on the Western Front was covered by The Times’ historical correspondent and Times Radio.

2018

‘Making Sense of the Western Front: English Infantrymen’s Morale and Perception of Crisis during the First World War,’ Mentioned in Dispatches Podcast, ep. 115, (27 May 2018)

Alex joined the Mentioned in Dispatches Podcast to discuss English infantryman’s morale and perception of crisis on the Western Front.