Jake Gasson

Research Topic

Morale, emotions and combat in the British Salonika Force, 1915-18

Supervisor: Dr Adrian Gregory

I am a first year DPhil student at Pembroke College. My research focusses on the British experience of the Macedonian front of the First World War. Far from France and Flanders, British soldiers fought for three years in the Balkans, plagued by disease, the harsh climate, and an uncertainty as to why they were fighting in the region. As a campaign out of sight during the war and subsequently neglected in historiography, I seek to understand what sustained the men of the British Salonika Force, both in combat and during the rigours of campaigning in the region.

I previously studied for my BA in History at King's College London and my MSt in the History of War at Oxford. My master's research focussed on the multinational composition of the Salonika campaign, examining how British soldiers viewed the different allies and adversaries they encountered.

I am also interested in the Salonika campaign from beyond a British perspective, and am currently researching the experience of the Italian expeditionary force as a side project.

Conference Papers

'the most weird mixture of humanity': British views of friends and foes at the onset of the Salonika campaign, October - December 1915.

Paper accepted for the Society for Army Historical Research Centenary, 21 April 2021.

Academic Prizes

First Place, Society for Army Historical Research Undergraduate Essay Prize (2018). This can be read online here.