Rachel Williams, a full-time research student with HART, is undertaking a doctoral research project on ex-service personnel, as part of a wider HART programme on physical activity, physical cultures and embodiment, led by HART Director, Dr Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson. As part of this programme, a 3-year doctoral research study, funded by the University of Lincoln, is in progress. Rachel is supervised by Dr Jacquelyn Allen-Collinson, Dr Karen Windle (CaHRU) and Dr Adam Evans (University of Copenhagen).
The context for the project is widespread concern regarding the ability of UK healthcare services to manage age-related health and wellbeing, and the role of physical activity in encouraging older adults to maintain healthy lifestyles. The overarching aim of the research is to examine the experiences of retired service personnel, who served in the British Armed Forces. The study takes a longitudinal and sociological perspective in order to examine in-depth the topical life-histories of the men’s embodied life experiences in relation to ageing, the ageing experience and physical. We are particularly interested in how inter-corporeal experiences (relationships between bodies) affect participants’ memories and experiences in relation to physical activity and ageing.
