Martin Pegler, a brief review
After almost 20 years as Senior Curator of Weapons at the Royal Armouries Museum (See our Links page www.armouries.org.uk), based initially at the Tower of London, then at the new museum in Leeds, Martin has gained an unequalled reputation for his knowledge of the weapons technology of the Great War. He has the unique experience of having studied, fired and written about all of the weapons commonly associated with the war of 1914-1918. He is now recognised as a world authority on the history and development of military sniping and has several books published on the subject (See My Books page).
“Thank you both for your warm company and to Martin for his knowledge and guidance”.
One of Martin’s more unusual experiences was to act as a mechanic/gearsman in the sole original working British MkIV tank based at Bovingdon Tank Museum in Dorset that was being used for filming purposes, an event where he readily admits that 'once was enough’. It did, however, provide him with a unique perspective into the fighting conditions inside the early tanks and enlivened his lectures on the subject. He is a life member of the Friends of the Tank Museum, Bovingdon.
“Absolutely brilliant! Excellent in every way & even the in-house humour…can’t wait till next time”
As well as extensive technical knowledge, he spent many years during the 1980’s with his wife, Kate, interviewing veterans of the Great War for the renowned author, Lyn Macdonald, which gave them a very personal insight into the lives of a generation now sadly lost to history. Their interviews went into the sound archive of the Imperial War Museum in London. In 1980, in association with a small number of like-minded individuals they were two of the founding committee of the now hugely successful Western Front Association. (See our Links page).
Martin and Kate are also members of the French Somme Remembrance Association (see our Links page). Martin was pleased and honoured to have served as their Vice President (UK) during 2006, 2007 and 2008.
They are also members of The Friends of Lochnagar. (See our Links page). The crater at La Boisselle, known as Lochnagar Crater, is the sole surviving mine crater to be blown on 1st July 1916 and its owner, Richard Dunning, has been a close friend for over thirty years.
Martin is the author of numerous books on military subjects, and usually has a new title in preparation. He has appeared in numerous television documentaries as well as acting as a weapons technical advisor for several film productions. He has also provided research material for a number of authors. He is in constant demand for his lectures, which are invariably informative, entertaining and often unorthodox. Wherever possible, he uses genuine examples of all of the weapons to illustrate his talks in addition to the use of slides and film.
The Royal Armouries has built strong links with Huddersfield University and a new military research unit has recently been established linking museum expertise with the University’s History Department. As part of this dynamic alliance, Martin has recently been confirmed as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University, along with two of his former colleagues at the Museum, Graeme Rimer, Academic Director and Peter Smithurst, Senior Curator. (See link www.hud.ac.uk)
The following web link will take you to the press release regarding the new Arms and Armour Research Group that has been formed by Huddersfield University.
www2.hud.ac.uk/armsandarmour/index.php
Martin brings his wealth of knowledge and practical experience to bear when leading tours around the battlefields, bringing history to life with the stories and anecdotes gleaned from the soldiers themselves and backs these up with facts and figures where appropriate and without ever allowing it to become dull. (See Motorcycle Tours page). Guests relaxing over a drink in the evening after taking one of our tours tend to continue bombarding him with questions and he is rarely unable to supply the answer.