Until quite recently Mark Connelly was professor of Modern British History at the University of Kent, the culmination of a lifelong passion for history nurtured by his London cabbie father who recognised how buildings and stone bear witness to the past. A specialist in19th and 20th century British cultural history and the architectural and horticultural work of the IWGC, he engaged organisations in WWI centenary commemorations, as director of Gateways to the First World War, an Arts and Humanities Research Council project. He is a regular speaker at Western Front Association branches from whom he received an award recognising outstanding services to organising events and as a speaker.