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Henry Yallop

Henry Yallop is Keeper of Edged Weapons & Armour at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

Having completed his first degree in History (BA Hons, King’s College London 2001-2004), Henry Yallop went on to focus on the Middle Ages at the University of York (MA, Medieval Studies, 2004-2005). Henry then began his museum career as a long term volunteer at the Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service, whilst also working part-time.

He returned to London to work for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, firstly with the Export Licencing Department of Cultural Goods and then for The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest. When MLA relocated, Henry took the opportunity to do a Museum qualification at the University of East Anglia (MA, Museum Studies & Cultural Heritage, 2010-11), where he focused on arms & armour collections.

With a lifelong passion for arms, armour and military history, he took up the post of Assistant Curator (Edged Weapons) in 2012. In 2014 he co-curated the museum’s new First World War gallery: Bullets, Blades and Battle Bowlers and the online encyclopaedia Arms and Armour of the First World War. In 2015 he co-curated the museum’s offerings for the Waterloo bicentenary. These were the exhibition Waterloo: The Art of Battle, in association with the Royal Academy of Arts, the new permanent display The Waterloo Campaign: June 1815 and the online Arms of the Battle of Waterloo. He was also appointed Deputy Editor of the museum’s peer-reviewed journal Arms & Armour in 2015. In 2016 he was Lead Curator of the museum’s 2016 exhibition Warrior Treasures: Saxon Gold from the Staffordshire Hoard and the accompanying multi-disciplinary conference. He has spoken at national and international conferences and appeared on television documentaries, most notably the History Channel’s Sean Bean on Waterloo (2015).

In 2017 Henry Yallop was appointed Keeper of Edged Weapons & Armour, with overall responsibility for the Edged Weapons, Armour and Oriental collections and staff.

In 2019 he organised the multi-disciplinary conference I.33 – The Heart of the Art of Combat at the museum.

Henry is interested in the development, use, and effect of arms & armour.  He is especially interested in European edged weapons, with a particular interest in the development, use, and effect of them in military contexts.

Recent publications

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