Working with people preparing graduate dissertations is one of the most rewarding aspects of academic life. On behalf of King’s College London I have supervised scores of master’s theses written by students at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. Since 2010 I have taught a Special Subject for the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies, which includes dissertation supervision and assessment. I also supervise and mark theses on the Master of Studies in Historical Studies offered by OUDCE.
I have supervised doctoral theses for King’s College London and Oxford Brookes University, and examined a number of completed doctoral dissertations at universities in Britain and beyond. I’ve also acted as Independent Chair and Facilitator for a number of King’s College London PhD viva voce examinations.
Doctoral theses examined:
Christian John Makgala, ‘The Policy of Indirect Rule in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1926-1957’ (Cambridge, 2001).
David Macri, ‘Hong Kong in the Sino-Japanese War: The Logistics of Collective Security, 1935-1941’ (Hong Kong University, 2011).
Dan Spence, ‘Imperialism and Identity in British Colonial Naval Culture, 1930s to Decolonization’ (Sheffield Hallam, 2012).
Matthew Carnell, ‘India from Colony to Nation-State: A Re-reading of India’s Foreign Policy in South-east Asia, c. 1945-1955’ (Sheffield, 2012).
Oliver Coates, ‘A Social History of Military Service in South-Western Nigeria, 1939-1955’ (Cambridge, 2013).
Judson Alphin, ‘The Early Military Thought of Winston Churchill’ (Oxford, 2015).
Jacob Stoil, ‘“Friends” and “Patriots”: A Comparative Study of Indigenous Force Cooperation in the Second World War’ (Oxford, 2015).
Mark Baillie, ‘British Cabinet-Level Policy on the Malayan Emergency: An Enquiry into the Reasons for the Decisions’ (King’s College London, 2016).
Oliver Tembo, ‘Zambia during the Second World War’ (University of the Free State, 2016).
Rachel Chin, ‘Between Policy Making and the Public Sphere: The Role of Rhetoric in Anglo-French Imperial Relation, 1940-1945’ (Exeter, 2016).
Mark Frost, ‘Preparation is Key: The Effect of the Pre-War Years on Senior Command of the British Army of the Second World War: A Social, Cultural, and Institutional Study’, (King’s College London, 2018).
James Fargher, ‘Steam, Cannons, and Wires: The Royal Navy and British Imperial Expansion in North-east Africa’, (King’s College London, 2018).
Marios Siammas, ‘Cyprus and the Cyprus Regiment in the Second World War’, (King’s College London, 2019).
Timothy Hicks, ‘The Indian Army 1939-1945: Transformation and Adversity’, (University of Birmigham, 2022).
Adonis Ming Yeung Li, ‘“Wagons of Fire”: Hong Kong’s Kowloon-Canton Railway’, (Hong Kong University, 2022).
Kevin Noles: ‘Forgotten Men: Post-war memory of Indian Prisoners of War of the Japanese in World War Two’, (Oxford, 2022).
Rishika Yadav, ‘“The Boys Up North”: A History of South Africa’s Cape Corps and the Indian and Malay Corps in the Second World War, 1940-1946’, LSE, 2022).
Masters by research theses examined:
Richard Baker, ‘Keijo Prisoner of War Camp and Japanese POW Propaganda, 1942-1954’, MA by Research in History (University of Kent, 2018).
Completed PhD students:
Nick Barley, ‘British Army Military Capacity Building in Support of the UK’s International Defence Engagement Policy: The Deployment of Short-Term Training Teams to Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Somalia (2014-2019)’ (King’s College London, 2021). Primary supervisor (with Dr Cathy Scott).
Dan Lear, ‘A Comparative Analysis of the Differing Political Military Command Approaches Undertaken by New Zealand and Australia in the Mediterranean/North Africa Theatre of War, 1940-43’, (King’s College London, 2021). Primary supervisor.
Dennis Vincent, ‘Hero to Zero: An Evaluation of the Leadership of General Sir Alan Cunningham during His African Campaigns of 1941’ (King’s College London, 2021). Primary supervisor.
Nathan Kwan, ‘”Designs against a Common Foe”‘: Suppressing Piracy in South China, 1841-1899’ (King’s College London-Hong Kong University Joint PhD Programme, 2020) Primary supervisor (with Professor John Carroll, HKU).
Alex Wilson, ‘The Indian Army in Africa and the Mediterranean, 1939-1945’ (King’s College London, 2018) Primary supervisor (with Professor Brian Holden Reid).
Francis Grice, ‘The Insurgent Myth of Mao: A Critical Reappraisal of the Chinese Guerrilla Legend’ (King’s College London, 2014). Primary supervisor.
Stephen Massie, ‘The Imperialism of Cecil John Rhodes: Metropolitan Perceptions of a Colonial Reputation’ (Oxford Brookes University, 2016) Secondary supervisor (Dr Donal Lowry primary supervisor).
Current PhD students:
Nick Hawkins, ‘The British Army and the Refugee Problem during the Second World War’ (King’s College London). Primary supervisor.
Liz Gardner, ‘Marriage Made in Cairo: The Heritage, Identity, Purpose, Significance, and Legacy of the Libyan Arab Force’ (King’s College London). Primary supervisor.
Edward Pinfield, Pacific Rising: A comparative study of the legacy of the Second World War in the Pacific (King’s College London). Primary supervisor.
Katherine Moar, ‘Changing Perceptions of Winston Churchill’. Co-supervisor with Kate Clements, Imperial War Museums.
Ashley Jackson 