Luncheon Lecture

February 8, 2024 11:00 AM

The Historical Society of Topsail Island is proud to present Cliff Tyndall who will speak about The history of Camp Davis.

About our speaker…

Cliff Tyndall is a recently retired History and Geography Professor at Bladen Community College. During his tenure at BCC, Cliff was selected by his peers as “Instructor of the Year” and was awarded a “Teaching in Excellence” award for his Interactive Television courses. Tyndall’s areas of interest are American Military History, North Carolina History, Science & Technology in American History, and American History from 1876 to Present. In addition to his tenure at BCC, Tyndall taught various courses for East Carolina University, Southeastern Community College, Caldwell Community College and Lenoir Community College.

Prior to teaching college full-time, Cliff worked for the North Carolina Dept. of Cultural Resources, Historic Sites Section in addition to working with the National Park Service, North Carolina State Parks and serving as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. He and his sister maintain a NC Dept. of Agriculture certified “Century Farm” in southern Lenoir County that has been in his family since 1840. They have restored a 100+ year old farmhouse for use as family retreat and farm office and are reforesting portions of the farm with long leaf pines.

Cliff earned a BA Degree in History from UNC-Chapel Hill and a MA Degree in History from East Carolina University and took additional courses at UNC-Wilmington. Post-college, he graduated from the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School and completed the Infantry Officer’s Basic Course, both at Fort Benning GA.

Cliff is an accomplished researcher and author, publishing four books; two on Camp Davis: Greetings from Camp Davis, the only fully documented history of the WWII facility, was published in 2006 and an illustrated compendium, Camp Davis: a 21st Century History & Guidebook, was completed in 2018.

Cliff’s most recent publication is the 2022 release, A Snapshot of Kinston & Lenoir County

During the Civil War, which is a highly illustrated work detailing the fascinating Civil War history of Tyndall’s native-born county, with an emphasis on the people and the home front. New research highlights the lives of women and African Americans, both enslaved and free, as well as offering insights into the war’s impact on the citizens of Lenoir County. In 2002, he penned his first local history work, Threshold of Freedom, a full-length detailed history of the home front in that eastern North Carolina County. He was the first researcher to discuss the controversial 1864 hangings and apparent elevated levels of dissatisfaction with the Confederacy on the coastal home front. His newest work, scheduled for a March 2024 release, is A Snapshot of Kinston & Lenoir County During WWII, which chronicles the fascinating story of Kinston during the Second World War. Kinston hosted a Marine Corps Air Base, and it became the most popular liberty town for Marines from Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point. These chaotic war-years in the county have never been fully documented and the search for information recently led Cliff to the National Archives in Atlanta.

Tyndall lives in Wilmington with his wife, Mary, and a clowder of cats. He is an animal and environmental advocate and enjoys paddling his surf ski, working out, walking, and attending concerts; the most recent being Depeche Mode.

Save the date, February 8, 2024

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