blogs
Good for Frightening Horses!”
“Good for frightening horses!” was a comment made by the Duke of Wellington to his staff in reaction to having watched a trial firing of the new-fangled weapon, the rockets!Have Fin and Thomo risked t ........
THE IRON DUKE
There are many statues of Wellington as you travel around Britain, some have been ‘decorated’ with road cones or graffiti but there is no doubt that the countries of the United Kingdom thought it a fi ........
KING JOSEPH’S CHAMBER-POT
It is not every day that you might be invited to share drinks from a loving cup that was originally a chamber pot! However, officers of the 14th Light Dragoons have taken great pride in being part of ........
WATERLOO ON A TABLE-TOP!
On one of our family days out during the summer holidays I was taken to Dover Castle and for the first time saw part of Captain William Siborne’s model of the Battle of Waterloo. Having just started p ........
A GRAVEYARD SURPRISE!
When I first moved down to Dorset, I explored the area enjoying many walks across the countryside and particularly around the coast of the Isle of Purbeck. On one Sunday afternoon the route took me th ........
BRINGING HISTORY TO LIFE!
I spent a lovely half hour chatting to this gentleman as part of the reenactors of the 95th Regiment of Rifles. The fact that I had distracted him from his work of creating leather protective guards f ........
FROM AIRFIX TO HISTOREX!
At the end of my first teaching post in Suffolk I was given as part of my leaving present, much to the surprise of many, this model kit made by the Historex company.For those of us brought up on the A ........
HORSE-AND-MUSKET WARFARE
I bought this book, or one very similar in the early 1970’s, have still got it and now note that it was first printed in 1962 and mine was probably a 1972 reprint. It must have been the gateway for ma ........
ROCKETS AT WATERLOO
Many years ago, my Dad had a jigsaw puzzle of the Battle of Waterloo that apparently showed rockets streaking across the sky. I was unaware of Wellington’s army having any such weapon and took it to b ........
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY!
I first saw this painting in a book giving an overview of the Napoleonic Wars and for a long time believed it to have been created by Lady Butler. Delving a little more into the subject I discovered i ........
“MY GOD SIR, I’VE LOST MY LEG!”
Watching the film Waterloo with my dad at the cinema in the early 1970’s many individual incidents sparked an interest that developed into my love of Napoleonic history. Coming towards the end of the ........
NEW HISTORICAL ADVENTURE SEES ROCKETS WREAK HAVOC WITH NAPOLEON’S ARMY AT LEIPZIG!
In my third adventure with Fin and Thomo, they embark on a secret mission direct from Wellington himself. Outwardly it would appear that they have to escort the infamous and injured Sir Robert de Lace ........
FROM AIRFIX MODELS TO WRITING NOVELS!
Well, I’m not sure whether my books can be equated with novels but I certainly got through many a box of Airfix soldiers and model kits!Can you remember the boxes of Airfix figures of the 1960’s and 7 ........