Visiting Research Fellow, King's College London

Dr Christopher Knowles studied history as an undergraduate at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1971-74. After a career in electronic publishing and computer software, he resumed his academic studies at the Centre for Contemporary British History (CCBH) at the University of London in October 2005. He is now a visiting research fellow at King's College London and was Archives By-Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, for the Easter Term, April-June 2018.

His principal area of interest is the Allied Occupation of Germany after the Second World War. His PhD thesis on the subject was awarded the annual prize of the German Historical Institute, London, for 2014. His book Winning the Peace: The British in Occupied Germany, 1945-1948 was published by Bloomsbury Academic in January 2017. His second book, an edited collection, Transforming Occupation in the Western Zones of Germany: Politics, Everyday Life and Social Interactions, 1945-1955, will be published in August 2018.

He has a particular interest in the relevance of the past to the present and how a better understanding of history can contribute towards improving the quality of public debate on contemporary issues. He has researched and written a series of case studies for History & Policy (H&P) which provide examples of best practice and showcase a wide range of H&P activities and impacts