British soldiers at Imandra station in 1919: a historical commentary on one photo

The article contains an interpretation of one photo of the British interventionists, taken in 1919 at the Imandra station, from the State Archive of the Murmansk region. The historical commentary is based on the study of a wide range of sources. It includes a description of the British soldiers, their position in the hierarchy of the British army in 1919, the conditions of their stay on Murman, a description of their uniforms, as well as the building near which the photo was taken, which has survived to the present time. According to the author, the Imandra station is an integral part of the Khibiny historical landscape associated with the time of the Civil War and the intervention.

Reflex syncope in the UK Armed Forces

IntroductionReflex syncope is the most common subtype of syncope and, despite not being associated with increased mortality, often results in significant morbidity and costly diagnostics. Reflex syncope can be of concern for certain occupational groups and may be exacerbated by some occupations. Reflex syncope in the military is anecdotally common but the extent in the UK Armed Forces (UKAF) is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and prevalence of reflex syncope in the UKAF.MethodsA retrospective search of the Defence Medical Information Capability Programme using prespecified read-codes was performed at defence primary healthcare centres over the period of 1 January 2019 to 1 January 2020. Data were obtained on 76 103 service personnel (SP) (53% of the UKAF).ResultsThe overall syncope case rate for the UKAF was 10.5 per 1000 person-years (p-yrs). In comparing services there was a significantly increased risk of syncope in the British Army (10.7 per 1000 p-yrs) compared with the Royal Air Force (8.6 per 1000 p-yrs) (p=0.0365), SP who served overseas (16.7 per 1000 p-yrs) in comparison with UK medical centres (10.3 per 1000 p-yrs) (p<0.0001), and British Army units that regularly took part in State Ceremonial and Public Duties (15.8 per 1000 p-yrs vs 10.2 per 1000 p-yrs) (p=0.0035). Army training units conferred a significantly reduced risk of syncope (p<0.0001).ConclusionsThese data are the first to define the incidence and prevalence of syncope in the UKAF. Orthostasis and heat are probable triggers, although recruits are potentially protected. These data offer opportunities to improve the health and well-being of SP, with economic, logistical and reputational benefits for the UKAF. Further research to identify personnel at risk of future syncopal events may allow for targeted use of countermeasures.

Revisiting the Past, Narrating War Memories: Retelling the Falklands War in A Soldier’s Song

Private Ken Lukowiak was a member of the Second Battalion Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) of the British Army deployed to the Falkland Islands for the 1982 British-Argentine conflict. The veteran’s creative drive motivated him into writing down his memories, and writing helped him overcome his war traumas. This paper seeks to explore Lukowiak’s memoir as a work offering an alternative retelling of the Falklands War, based on a deep emotional framework, in contrast to the narrative of heroism favoured by mass media. His personal account emphasizes the psychological distress and detachment of a soldier in opposition to the supposedly exemplary and outstanding behaviour of troops as often portrayed in mainstream journalism during and after the armed conflict.

The Battlefield as Enlightened Space: War, the Senses, and the Emotional Soldier, ca. 1790–1840

The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars produced a new generation of military authors and artists who recounted their wartime experiences with unprecedented vividness and immediacy. Exploring the intense conflict and suffering of men at war while also underscoring their virtue and heroism, this work typifies what has come to be known as “military Enlightenment.” This essay examines a selection of military texts and images that represent soldiers’ sensory and emotional experience of the wartime spaces of battlefield and bivouac: the anonymous Journal Kept in the British Army (1796), L. T. Jones's Historical Journal of the British Campaign on the Continent (1797), the work of the army officer and historian William Napier (1785–1860), and the Waterloo images of the army officer and painter George “Waterloo” Jones (1786–1869) presented the wider British public with a complex understanding of war. Even as they represented battlefield violence and death with visceral intensity, they understood battlefield space itself to be grounded in affective practices associated with enlightened modes of virtue, sensibility, and civility. There the chaos and horror of conflict gave way to duty, order, civility, and community, and the distinctions of rank were maintained, even as the common humanity of officers and their men was affirmed.

Global Capitalism and the Lahures : A Study of Modernity in Anagarik, a Film Directed by Rambabu Gurung

The Nepali men, also known as the Gorkhas, who joined the colonial British army during and after the Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16), are considered the first foreign economic migrants. These Nepali men, who used to be popularly known as Lahures in their villages, proved to be one of the major harbingers of modernity in Nepal. Since the 1990s, other types of Nepali economic migrants, along with these Lahures, have shaped the Nepali modernity. Against this backdrop, this paper analyzes the Lahure culture in Rambabu Gurung’s debut film Anagarik [The Unbecoming Citizen] in the light of discourses of modernity. Locating the Lahure culture in the national as well as international historical contexts, this study fleshes out a few major findings. Firstly, the Lahure culture is a significant factor, which has heralded and sustained modernity in Nepal. Secondly, it connected Nepal to the world outside even during the Rana rule. Thirdly, the recent trend of Nepalis migrating abroad for employment is nothing but the variation as well as continuation of the same Lahure culture. Fourthly, the Lahure culture is symptomatic of Nepal’s status as a peripheral country in the capitalist world order. This paper is expected to contribute to the ongoing debates surrounding modernity, international migration and Nepal's position in the global capitalist order.

Use of an isometric mid-thigh pull test during musculoskeletal rehabilitation: can the criterion values from the updated British Army physical employment standards be used to inform UK Defence Rehabilitation practice?

IntroductionObjective outcome measures that can quantify the force generating capacity of the lower limb are required to allow clinicians to accurately measure functional status and treatment adaptations over time. The aim of this prospective observational cohort study is to: (1) evaluate the acceptability of the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) test as a measure of functional strength with military personnel undergoing residential hip pain rehabilitation; (2) compare the peak force values recorded against the updated Army physical employment standards (PES) assessment criteria and (3) assess if the minimum PES required of military personnel has the potential to inform clinical decision making and return to duty criteria within UK Defence Rehabilitation.MethodsAcceptability was assessed against patient’s adherence to the testing procedures and test burden. Clinician acceptability was assessed against ease of administration and safety of test procedure. Hip pain was recorded before, immediately following and 1 hour after testing. Net peak force was recorded using portable force plates.ResultsFull patient and clinician acceptability to IMTP testing procedures were demonstrated. Minimal changes in visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores were demonstrated between baseline values at rest and follow-up. Despite being medically downgraded and functionally compromised due to chronic hip pain, 100% of patients met the PES expected on entry to the British Army and 79% met the PES expected at the end of basic training.ConclusionThe IMTP provides rehabilitation clinicians with an objective quantifiable measure of maximum muscle strength that can be used early in the rehabilitation care pathway. Based on our finding, it is unclear if the current British Army PES can be used as a criterion standard in Defence Rehabilitation. Therefore, further research focused on generating clinically relevant patient-specific IMTP score criteria, with a larger sample of diverse diagnostic sub-groups is required.