Archival Expertise

Sean is an experienced historical researcher and has conducted extensive archival study at depositories across the UK for freelance journalism and his PhD thesis. His interest lies in bridging disciplinary divides by using architecture as the central device to connect disparate historical records and form more holistic narratives. In applying this methodological approach, Sean has conducted extensive research at a broad range of holdings from large and complex state archives to smaller collections held by universities and local authority; including, the National Archives at Kew, the National Records of Scotland, the RIBA Archive Collections, the Postal Museum, University of Glasgow, University of St Andrews, Fife Council, and the Highland Archive Centre.

Fieldwork

With over 12 years of fieldwork experience Sean has visited bunkers across Scotland, the UK, and Europe as a freelance researcher. Although his main interests lie within Scotland’s Cold War-era examples he has extended case study contexts to include the ROTOR bunker sites in Nantwich, York, and Essex, the emergency government bunkers in Nottingham, Cambridge, and London, and the WW2-period bunkers in Liverpool and Uxbridge. He has also documented bunkers in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria. All visits to bunkers have been conducted with landowners permission or sites have been publicly accessible.

Exhibition Design

Using his architectural background Sean has proficiency with bespoke museum exhibition design and installation. Working independently he negotiated the recovery and preservation of rare architectural components from a series of decommissioned radar blocks under threat of demolition. Despite the imposed constraints of time and available museum space he expertly designed the temporary ROTOR R3 Radar Plinth exhibit currently on display within the RAF Operations Room at Scotland’s Secret Bunker.

In 2024, whilst conducting a deep-dive investigation of Scotland’s Secret Bunker, Sean led the ‘detritus‘ project that discovered more than 200 historical artifacts leftover in the ceiling ducts and sub-floor service zones. After their robust curation a cross-section of artefacts has been carefully chosen to feature in a range of new museum exhibits planned for the 2025 season. This unique exhibition of found objects will, for the first time, offer a new perspective into the human aspects of life in the bunker during its active Cold War operations.

Talks, Tours and Seminars

Sean has specialist expertise in delivering presentations to a wide range of groups from primary school classes to academic-level researchers, as well as professional bodies. His talks have been given online, through in-person seminars, and are also regularly delivered via in-depth historical tours on location. Centrally, Sean focuses on revisiting historical narratives of Scotland’s unique Cold War past through the lens of bunkers as an architectural typology. Recent contributions include;

War Rooms Knowledge Exchange – Nottingham, 2024

Conflict: The Cold War – Kennoway Primary, 2023

‘Detailing Scotland’s Nuclear Bunkers: From the Macro to the Micro‘ – Subterranea Britannica Autumn Meeting, 2022

European Cold War Heritage Network – Webinar 2022

Solid Knowledge: Bunkers, data and the materialities of information – Amsterdam, 2018

Should you wish to arrange a talk or a bespoke bunker tour please get in touch.