As part of our 60th Anniversary celebrations (2023) we invited Professor Tony Pollard to join us at our party at Dunollie on the 10th of June, and we further asked him to become our first Patron.
We are delighted and honoured to announce that he has accepted.
Professor Pollard grew up in Oban and was introduced to archaeology as a teenager by one of LAHS most respected members, the late Charles Hunter. His parents did not think an art degree worthwhile, but archaeology was acceptable, and a very respected career begun. He did his thesis on the Oban caves, his first published work being an article in the Spring 1983 journal on Scottish Crannogs
He will be giving us a very special lecture on the archaeology of the Battle of Waterloo as part of our winter series 2023/2024
From University of Glasgow website
Professor Tony Pollard is the Director of the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology and a Professor of Conflict History and Archaeology. He is convener of the MSc in Conflict Archaeology & Heritage run through the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology, the first course of its type. He has carried out battlefield and conflict related archaeological projects in the UK, mainland Europe, Africa and South America. His interests range from 18th century warfare, particularly in relation to the Jacobite rebellions in Scotland, to twentieth century conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars.
On behalf of the Australian Army he directed the programmes of survey and evaluation which brought to light the First World War mass graves of Australian troops at Fromelles in France. Other projects directed by Tony include the first investigation of the Culloden battlefield, the identification of the site of the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn, and the excavation of escape tunnels related to the Great Escape at the infamous German POW camp, Stalag Luft III in Poland.
Current research interests include the 1982 Falklands War, which also features in his history special subject on Islands at War in the 20th century. He is a co-director of the Waterloo Uncovered project, which 2015 has brought together archaeologists, historians, injured military veterans and students in the investigation of the famous battlefield. Professor Pollard is also the lead academic in Glasgow University’s Great War Project, which is exploring the impact of the was on the university community. He is also a co-director of Digging In, which has recreated First World War trenches from the Western Front in Pollok Park, Glasgow.
Professor Pollard regularly appears on television and radio, having first brought battlefield archaeology to public attention with the BBC series Two Men in a Trench, which he co-presented with Neil Oliver. He has written widely for both popular and academic audiences and is co-editor of The Journal of Conflict Archaeology. He has supervised PhDs in a wide range of topics, with both historical and archaeological themes, including: Jacobite material culture, the impact of metal detecting on battlefield preservation, aircraft archaeology, the Thirty Years War, First World War memorialisation, GIS modelling of conflict landscapes, The laws of war in 16th century Europe, and the Falklands War.