Peter Hart (born 10 January 1955, in

Weardale Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. Th ...

, England) is a British military historian.

Biography

Hart grew up in Stanhope and

Barton-under-Needwood Barton-under-Needwood is a large village in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Situated a mile from the A38, and located between Burton upon Trent and Lichfield. It had a population of 4,225 at the 2011 census. It is al ...

. He attended school in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (1967–73) and

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

(1973–76). He then undertook a post-graduate teaching course at Crewe & Alsager College (1976–77), and lastly a post-graduate librarianship at

Liverpool Polytechnic , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

(1979–80). He was an oral historian at the Sound Archive of the Imperial War Museum in London from 1981 to January 2020.

Works

Hart has written mainly on British participation in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. His books include; '' The Somme,

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

1916, Bloody April'' on the air war in 1917, ''Passchendaele, Aces Falling'' (on the air war in 1918), ''1918 A Very British Victory and Gallipoli''. He is a regular contributor to Britain at War magazine. Hart's books contain references to the eyewitness accounts of the participants, many of whom he has interviewed. In recent years, Hart has been a frequent visitor to the

Gallipoli peninsula The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanell ...

, accompanying group tours of the battlefields. In so doing, he made the acquaintance of Australian historian

Mat McLachlan Mat McLachlan is an Australian author, historian and television presenter. His first book, ''Walking With the Anzacs: A Guide to Australian Battlefields on the Western Front'', was published by Hachette Australia in February 2007. It was reprinte ...

. After retiring from the Imperial War Museum, Hart launched the "Pete & Gary's Military History" podcast. The debut podcast was made available in February 2020. His friend Gary Bain serves as a

Straight man The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the c ...

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

to the irreverent Hart persona. The blend of historic analysis coupled with humour has its critics but reviews are generally favourable. The podcast is backed by McLachlan, and is a Living History production. Hart's most recent book on Gallipoli was published by McLachlan's Living History production. In 2022, he published "Laugh or Cry". Hart has also made contributions to the "History Hit" podcast series chaired by

Dan Snow Daniel Robert Snow (born 3 December 1978) is a British popular historian and television presenter. Early life and education Born in Westminster, London Dan Snow is the youngest son of Peter Snow, BBC television journalist, and Canadian Ann Mac ...

. Hart has given talks at symposiums, alongside the likes of Taff Gillingham, Spencer Jones, Alexandra Churchill, Rob Thompson and Richard Van Emden. His expertise has seen him engaged by the Great War Group and regional associations of the Western Front Association to give presentations at their meetings.

Published works

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Notes and citations

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Peter (military historian) 1955 births Living people People from Stanhope, County Durham People from Barton-under-Needwood Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University British military historians Historians of World War I Historians of World War II Imperial War Museum