AHRC-funded Collaborative PhD Studentship

School of Geography, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus and Porthcurno
Telegraph Museum.

The Strategic and tactical role of Cable and Wireless during the Second
World War

Following the award of an extended programme of AHRC Collaborative PhD
Studentships, the University of Exeter, in partnership with Porthcurno
Telegraph Museum, is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified applicant for a
doctoral studentship for three years commencing on 1 October 2010. 

The overall theme of the extended programme is “Themes in the Historical
Geography of Communication: the Eastern Telegraph Company to Cable and
Wireless, 1869-1945”. Of the three PhD projects identified under this broad
theme, one started in October 2008 (Visual Culture and the Making of
Corporate Identity) and another started in October 2009 (Entwined business
and imperial histories) and the remaining project will commence in October
2010. The principal supervisor will be Professor Catherine Brace and the
second supervisor will be Dr Nicola Thomas.

Project Outline:

During the Second World War, the operations of Cable and Wireless were
critical; governments co-ordinated policy, broadcasters received the latest
war news and families exchanged messages with men fighting overseas.  Cables
lent a tactical advantage; they could not be intercepted as radio signals
could, though cables were frequently cut.  At the beginning of the war,
Cable and Wireless had over 200 stations worldwide. Fourteen cables came
ashore at Porthcurno.  Cable and Wireless staff overseas were drafted into a
uniformed unit named ‘Telecom’, created with War Office co-operation. The
relationship between government and private business was renegotiated in
light of the strategic importance of the company’s assets and activities
which allowed the integration of intelligence with decision-making. In 1937
the British government pressured the company to dismiss all foreigners
employed in cable stations in the British Empire.  Together, the British
Government and Cable and Wireless devised a ‘scrutiny scheme’ which used the
Official Secrets Act of 1920 to sanction telegraphers to read cable slip and
retransmit useful information to London (Headrick, 1991). None of these
aspects of the company’s activities has previously been researched in any
critical depth, and are only fleetingly covered in Headrick’s (1991) account
of telecommunications and international relations.

Research Questions – it is anticipated that the project shall address
questions such as: 

·      What was the wartime role of Cable and Wireless in the UK and overseas?

·      How were distant cable stations mobilised in the war effort?

·      What was the company’s participation in secret activities, code
breaking and intelligence?

·      How does the company’s wartime activity in censorship, cable scrutiny
and radio interception help us to understand the relationship between
private commercial enterprise and the operations of government?

·      What can we learn about the place of global telecommunications in the
strategic and tactical issues that emerged in wartime, using the case study
of Cable and Wireless?

·      To what extent did Cable and Wireless use the circumstances of war to
resist the commercial threat of wireless communications, and secure
competitive advantage?

Under the terms of the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award Scheme, the
successful applicant will benefit from opportunities to work closely with
Porthcurno Telegraph Museum team, who are responsible for the management and
promotion of the museum and its activities. This will involve gaining
first-hand experience of working on the management of the collection instead
of simply viewing it as a scholarly resource. The experience of working with
this collection will enhance the employment-related skills and training of
the doctoral student.

Specific skills related to the handling, preservation and organisation of
fragile archive material will be augmented by more generic skills
transferable into any workplace such as negotiating between priorities,
managing time and resources, working to a brief, working with others, and
communicating findings to expert and lay audiences. A key feature of this
collaborative project is that the student will have the opportunity to
communicate the outputs of the PhD research to non-academic audiences
through, for example, exhibitions, WebPages, leaflets and talks.

This project should interest applicants with backgrounds in diverse
disciplines and subject areas, including, for example, cultural geography,
historical geography, history. Applicants should hold a 1st Class or Upper
2nd Class Honours degree in a relevant discipline. A Master’s degree, either
held or in progress, in a relevant area, would be an advantage. The
successful applicant will further benefit from working within a lively and
expanding research environment within the School of Geography at the
University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus near Falmouth in Cornwall.

The award will cover University tuition fees and provide a maintenance award
of at least £13,290 per year for three years. The terms and conditions of
the award will be those of the AHRC’s postgraduate studentships. Applicants
must therefore have a relevant connection with the United Kingdom, usually
through residence.  For further information, or informal discussion about
the position, please contact: Professor Catherine Brace (email
[log in to unmask]).

Applications

 In order to apply you will need to complete an online web form where you
must submit some personal details and upload a full CV, covering letter and
details of 2 referees.

Your covering letter should outline your academic interests, prior research
experience and reasons for wishing to undertake this project. 

If you have any general enquiries about the application process please email
Helen Pisarska [log in to unmask] or phone +44(0)1392 723310.

The closing date is 12 noon Monday 19th April 2010.  Interviews are likely
to be held over two days on 24th and 25th May 2010. Applicants will be
required to attend on both days.