Celebrating our amazing volunteers

This Volunteers’ Week we want to say a huge thank-you to all our wonderful volunteers. The Historical Association – now 120 years old – could not continue to exist and to provide ‘history of all, for all’ without you.

Volunteers form all of our committees and working groups, run our branches around the UK, organise historical talks and events, deliver CPD and short courses, speak at our annual conference, judge our competitions, write articles, edit our outstanding journals, and create high-quality learning resources. We are privileged to work with so many passionate and dedicated volunteers and we are deeply grateful to you all.

And if you don’t yet volunteer for the HA, please think about whether you could offer your time or expertise – there are so many ways to get involved. Volunteering for something you care about is a highly rewarding experience. This is what some of our volunteers have said makes it all worthwhile:

Peter Hounsell (Current Chair of Branches and Members Committee, Trustee, Branch Officer) 
I have been in a branch office for a long time... I became branch secretary in my 30s. I enjoyed it, you were inviting the speakers and organising the events. Being a part of the Association’s executive makes you feel that you have a role in shaping how the Association works and develops over time.   

Christine Counsell (Teaching History editor, Conference speaker)  
I have always read lots of history scholarship, so the Historical Association was another way to stay connected and carry on being a reader of history. Then I got dragged into being chair of the secondary committee of the Historical Association relatively soon after I discovered it, and from then on I’ve been passionate about everything it does, and I’ve always said, “Ask not what it does for you, but ask what you can do for it.” I feel quite passionate that we should serve the Association. 

Ben Walsh (Conference speaker, former Chair of Secondary Committee, former Deputy President) 
As I gained expertise from the HA, I was fortunate enough to be able to be a part of their own work. I was privileged to be the chair of the Secondary Committee to represent secondary teachers and to try to establish how the HA could best help them. 

Susie Townsend (Primary History contributor, Conference presenter) 
It’s been really interesting being a contributor for Primary History... And from a purely personal point of view, it’s really nice to get the chance to write and to be perhaps respected a little bit more within your own profession, I think that’s really exciting. In a workshop someone mentioned my article and I thought, oh that’s really nice. It’s a really nice community and I feel that it’s benefited me. 

Branch Officer (anonymous, via Membership Survey) 
There have been so many enjoyable and memorable moments. Nothing quite beats the exhilaration of organising an event that many people attend and that turns out to be 'the best ever' or 'one of the best'. 

Dr Jenni Hyde (Branch chair and member of the Historian editorial board)
It keeps me up to date in developments in historical research and in education, but it's also a supportive community made up of individuals who value each other’s opinions and support each other's goals. Without the HA, I would probably never have had the confidence to go back to university and study for my PhD.

If you would like to get involved or find out more, please visit our support us pages or get in touch at enquiries@history.org.uk.