Louise Bell joined the University of Leeds in October 2020 as a PhD candidate, where she is currently undertaking an AHRC funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership with The National Archives (where she previously worked as First World War Diverse Histories Researcher during the centenary period). The project explores British state provision of prosthetic limbs in the two world wars, and builds on previous research undertaken during her MSc in Health History (at the University of Strathclyde) – which focussed on limbless men in the First World War and two of the hospitals set up to aid them.

This project explores the relationship between the British government, prosthetics manufacturers and men whose limbs were amputated as a result of service during the two world wars. It explore the social, economic and cultural impact of this form of war disability, with a focus on the agency of disabled individuals as demonstrated through interactions with political and industrial institutions. Building on the work of historians of welfare, medicine, and disability this project will examine the influence of a specific category of disabled individuals on the shape of state-provided medical care in twentieth-century Britain.

Her first book was published in 2018 with Pen and Sword and is titled Images of The National Archives: Armistice. In this, she utilised the rich collections of The National Archives and highlighted rarely seen images to explore the story from the final months of the war to Armistice itself and the unveiling of the Cenotaph, as well as the lasting legacies of the conflict on those who experienced it.

She is a founding member of the UK Disability History and Heritage Hub – which is a small group, created by PhD students with links to the heritage industry. We felt there was space for a network to allow those interested in Disabled, Neurodiverse, and D/deaf histories, from the ancient world to the modern era, to connect and collaborate. This hub is open to researchers, students, archivists, museum professionals, activists and anyone in-between!

As well as PGR rep, she is also one of the Community Exchange editors, and is always keen to chat to PGRs about their work and how we can showcase it through the blog (so please do get in touch!)