On Thursday 1st August 2024 at 12pm, Dr Andrew Duncan will be looking at the RAF Reserves over its first 100 years. This talk will be hosted in-person at the RAF Museum's London site and virtually via Crowdcast.

This lecture will cover the initial formation of the RAF Reserves in the wake of the First World War their development and expansion during the interwar period as well as the creation of new categories of reserve, the role that mobilised reservists played in the initial phases of the Second World War and the changing size and role of the reserves after 1945. The lecture will link the history of the reserves with the broader context including the strategic outlook, government policy, budgetary limitations and the economic situation, developing technology, and demographic trends.

Andrew completed his MA (Hons) and M.Litt, both in Modern History, at the University of St Andrews. He read for his PhD at the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Prof Jonathan Boff. He remained at Birmingham as a Teaching Fellow after completing his PhD, and taught modules in the Modern History and War Studies degree programs there. He then moved to Lincolnshire and taught on the academic course for officer cadets at RAF Cranwell. He now holds the post of Senior Researcher with the Air Historical Branch.

Lunchtime Lecture (London): A Century of the RAF Reserves