The Society is very pleased to announce publication, today, of the 26th title in its ‘New Historical Perspectives’ book series: Organised Militarism in Interwar Britain. The Navy League and the Air League of the British Empire, by Rowan Thompson.
Rowan’s book is the first full-length study of militarism and militaristic associational culture in interwar Britain. It argues that militarism was able to survive the 1914–1918 conflict, despite the competing rise of liberal internationalism, pacifism and anti-war sentiment.
Focusing on the ideas, aims and activities of the Navy League and the Air League of the British Empire – two extra-parliamentary organisations established to promote naval and aerial supremacy – the book examines how the Leagues negotiated the trauma of the First World War and how they contributed to the societal and military preparation for a second global conflict
Organised Militarism explains how these Leagues mobilised broad public and political support and what the story of each organisation tells us about the impact of war on British society and culture, civil-military relations, political and private activism, military theatre and commemoration, youth, and the politics of disarmament, collective security, internationalism and national defence.
As with all 26 titles in the New Historical Perspectives series, Organised Militarism in Interwar Britain. The Navy League and the Air League of the British Empire, is published as a free Open Access download and in paperback print by University of London Press.
Recent titles in the series also include: Forging Fraternity in Late Medieval Society. The Palmers’ Guild of Ludlow, by Rachael Harkes, Gareth Roddy’s Atlantic Isles: Travel and Identity in the British and Irish West, 1880–1940, and Waterscapes: Reservoirs, Environment and Identity in Modern England and Wales, by Andrew McTominey.
‘New Historical Perspectives’ is a collaborative publishing project of the Royal Historical Society, University of London Press and the Institute of Historical Research, with further support from the Economic History Society. Previous generous support for the series was also provided by the Past & Present Society.
The series publishes new work by early career historians within 10 years of completing their PhD, from a Uk or Irish university, in the form of monographs and edited collections.
Founded by the historians Simon Newman and Penny Summerfield in the late 2010s, the Series is now co-edited by Elizabeth Hurren (University of Leicester) and Sarah Longair (University of Lincoln), assisted by an editorial board.
All authors contracted to the series receive mentoring from members of the NHP editorial board. In addition, they receive a workshop, with specialist readers and co-editors, to review and discuss a near complete manuscript before a final draft is submitted to the publisher.
All titles in the series are published Open Access, as pdf downloads and in a Manifold Reader editions, with no charge to the author, to ensure the widest possible dissemination of new historical research. As of early 2026, titles in the NHP series have been downloaded on more than 200,000 occasions.
The Series Editors and Editorial Board welcome proposals for new NHP titles via the NHP book proposal form. Completed proposal forms should be submitted to the University of London Press publisher, Dr Emma Gallon: [email protected].
HEADER IMAGE: ‘Empire Air Day’, detail. 1950-306/59, Public Domain, CC BY 4.0. Science Museum Group Collection Online.