Profile
Abby S. Whitlock is an independent historian focusing on the World Wars. Her research interests are British and German aviation during the First World War, the development of combat medicine, airborne operations, and welfare and morale practices. She obtained her BA in History and European Studies from the College of William and Mary in 2019, where her honors thesis “A Return to Camelot?: British Identity, The Masculine Ideal, and the Romanticization of the Royal Flying Corps Image” focused on the factors contributing to the masculine ideal of the flying ace for media and official use during the First World War. She received her MSc in History from the University of Edinburgh in 2022, where her dissertation, ‘“It’s a rum life”: Physical Space, Group Dynamics, and Morale Amongst Royal Flying Corps Scout Pilots, 1914-1918″, explored how the infant nature of aviation during the First World War allowed for the maintenance of hegemonic masculine ideals through the creation of physical spaces on aerodromes. She’s presented a variety of lectures and presentations at the Royal Air Force Museum exploring a range of Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force topics.