Supporting my historical research

Supporting my historical research

Who am I and what kind of content do I produce?

 
Aviation AOI / Mémoires des Guerres Oubliées
 
 
Since 2014 I have been conducting historical research on the East African Campaign (1940 – 1941). This research, initially limited to curiosity, has since progressed with the aim of writing a complete chronicle of these, now largely forgotten, events of the Second World War. At the same time, I am trying to take an interest in other subjects such as the Chronicle of an unknown RAF Squadron: No.615 Squadron. I also plan to work on other relatively exotic subjects such as the Namibia Campaign (1914 – 1915) of which a first version (focusing on air operations) is available on my website or the air operations conducted by the RAF during the various conflicts of the inter-war period (the first version should be published in 2021). Eventually, I hope to be able to deal with other topics forgotten in the history of aviation and military history. All this content is available free on my website: https://aviationaoi.com/en/home/
Since 2019, I have also launched a self-publishing project (Mémoires des Guerres Oubliées) aimed at putting certain subjects on paper. A first book has been published: in this case the Memoirs (translated into French and annotated) of an Italian fighter pilot ; while I am currently preparing the publication of the first volume of a detailed Chronicle on the East African Campaign.
 
Unfortunately, conducting such research has significant financial consequences. I consider, indeed, that the intellectual honesty and seriousness of such a work implies consulting all primary (archives) and secondary (written publications and articles) sources and not stupidly copying / pasting the analysis made by other authors.
Hence the need for a large book budget, but also to have archives regularly copied (especially from TNA – Kew), which obviously has a cost. For information, the cost of copying an archive file varies between 5 and 40 euros. For example, the copy of a RAF loss file (about 10 to 50 pages) costs about 5 euros and the copy of the Appendices of the No.11 Fighter Group for the summer of 1940 (several hundred pages) costs 35 euros. When one considers that one month of operations in East Africa represents a large number of files, the impact quickly becomes apparent. Still by way of example: on 23 June, the expenses related to my research for the year 2020 amount to about 200 euros for archival materials. Added to this is the book budget: about 150 euros (in this case some issues of the Battle of Britain Combat Archives and a few other books). Obviously, this is to be multiplied with my various projects.
Not having (to my great regret) unlimited financial means, the consequence has always been relatively simple: to postpone or slow down some projects in order to balance the expenses. This is the case of my project on RAF Operations during the inter-war period. The synthesis document based on secondary publications is ready… however, the consultation of the archives (highly necessary for such a project) is still pending and probably not before 2021. 
I remind you that my content is available on my website. Hence the idea to propose to those who wish to support my research. Of course, I commit myself to provide scrupulously and regularly (every quarter): the evolution of the expenses necessary for my historical research.
At the same time, I would like to be able, thanks to this tipeee, to collect some funds for the publication of my Chronicle on the East African Campaign in order to consider a possible English translation (requiring me to pay a professional to at least correct my English) and why not dream of a help in terms of layout to obtain a less amateurish result.
 
 

If you wish to support my historical research ?

 
You can do this in several ways.
 
1°: Use my Amazon affiliate link (available in the “Books and Reviews” section).
Indeed, when you buy books (or other products), if you go through this link, I am able to receive a (very) modest contribution (about 1 to 2 euros for a book) allowing me to benefit from a discount when buying books in the context of my historical research. This obviously costs you absolutely nothing while allowing you to participate directly in the financing of my research.
 
2°: Support me via Tipeee
You can either make a one-time (and non-recurring) donation of the amount of your choice, or make a recurring donation (which can be cancelled at any time) by choosing one of the proposed levels.
 
 

3°: Make a donation (unique and non recurring) on Paypal

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that this proposal to support my research is on a voluntary basis only. This does not change my willingness to continue to publish (according to my free time) the entirety of my research for free on my website.