David Hodgson (History, 1989, Furness) recently came back to campus to visit the History Department and take in a few sights that held special memories for him. The visit prompted him to reflect on the way in which Lancaster influenced his career and approach to life in general as he learned to take advantage of opportunities as they presented themselves.

"I graduated from Lancaster in 1989 which was the University’s 25^th anniversary; but even without the celebrations that year, Lancaster and its high-ranking University always felt special.

Initially based back in my home city of Preston after graduating, I was able to continue my links with the University by serving on Court for a number of years and devising and delivering music-based modules in the Adult Continuing Education department, usually at the Storey Institute in the city.

After an initial spell working in a solicitor’s practice in Preston, I embarked on an interesting and diverse 30+ year career in the home civil service. The in-service Fast Stream programme took me to Whitehall in the early 2000s, following which I decided to settle permanently in central London where I still live in Chelsea. I have had the privilege of working in several of the big departments of state including Department of Health & Social Care, Ministry of Justice and Department for Work & Pensions and working with groups as diverse as peers in the House of Lords to serious offenders in drug rehabilitation custodial units.

All the while I maintained extra-curricular activities outside of work including the founding of my own theatre company which delivered theatre dinner presentations in the North West, lecturing in music theory to sixth form students and continuing to pursue opportunities around my Grandfather’s legacy...

In the 1980s I began recording interviews with my grandfather Walter Hodgson, a WWI veteran. Inspired by my studies in History at Lancaster, I continued the project over several years with my questions often being shaped by the knowledge I gained from my Lancaster lecturers. By the time I’d graduated, I’d created a comprehensive audio memoir of Walter's life.

Walter spent his childhood in Preston where he worked in Calverts Mill; the introduction of conscription meant he was sent to the front line in 1917. Surviving the war, Walter went on to live a full life. In his eighties Walter was a regular visitor to Lancaster and was a popular figure amongst the students of Dalton block in Furness College. I kept the recordings safe, however, as technology developed the tapes became obsolete and the possibility of sharing Walter's experiences seemed to diminish. That changed when I brought the recordings to Pearson Publishing in Cambridge (now Anspear). Pearson Publishing's editors saw the potential to rejuvenate the recordings by adapting them for digital publication, creating an educational app crafted entirely around Walter's recollections. The app puts Walter's story into historical context: featuring read-along audio, animated video resources and digitised documents, it gives students a full picture of WWI. The app can be accessed here at: Walter Hodgson: Voice of WW1 - Apps on Google Play and a preview for schools can be seen on this link Walter Hodgson: Voices from the Past (anspear.com)

I was still motivated though to fully research the many hours of audio plus family letters yet to be examined, and so reconnected with the University and after some highly productive sessions over Teams, I finally got to meet Dr Mark McLay and his 2^nd year undergrad students in February this year. The intention is that the topic of Walter’s experiences of life in a Northern mill town in the early 20^th Century through fighting in the Second Battle of the Somme in 1918, leading to the challenges of life following demobilization, will form an innovative and challenging dissertation project.

I am also about to begin a new chapter in my working life and will be managing the front of house team at BBC Earth, a new immersive entertainment experience at Earls Court in London, based on the BBC’s landmark “Life on Earth” series and fronted virtually, as well as narrated, by Sir David Attenborough himself.

It was certainly a great thrill to be back on campus and visiting my old haunts including the legendary bar Trevor in Furness and Nuffield Theatre where I once reviewed visiting productions for “Scan” newspaper.

Being back at Lancaster has reminded me not only of the many happy times I had there and the many friendships I made, but also the enduring value of making the most of the many things on offer on campus…there was always a concert / recital / exhibition / an interesting talk / live band in a bar etc which gave such vibrancy to student life. This approach to accessing what is around me is a philosophy I continue today and will always be grateful to Lancaster for instilling in me."