Professor Connelly was drawn into his History anorak lifestyle when, as a small boy, he became fascinated by ladybird history books. For him, the subject of History was all about castles, knights, Airfix kits (constructed with incredibly little skill and amazing amounts of glue) and Action Man Scorpion tanks.
This obsession has been taken into aduthood and he now combines his interest in films, television and visual images with his interest in military history, this is reflected in many of his publications. Not content with keeping his interests to himself he now shares his passion for history with others, most notably his students and his family. As a result, he claims that his wife is now adept at spotting a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone or a war memorial in a misty churchyard from quite some distance away.
So, if you are interested in why the British army decided to adopt Lewis guns in the Great War, want to interpret trench maps and the crazy names individual trenches were given and/or want to have a good snivel at Celia Johnson's magnificent performance in the 1945 British film classic, Brief Encounter, then opt to study one (or more!) of his modules in the School of History at the University of Kent.
Courtesy of the University of Kent.