I have created a new talk on the Battle of Barrosa which took place on 5th March 1811.  Details of this can be seen here.

While Wellington’s Army was driving the French out of Portugal, an Anglo-Spanish Army fought a battle against the French at Barrosa.

Although the majority of allied force was Spanish, these played no part in the battle which was entirely between General Graham’s British Division and two French Divisions. Despite being outnumbered 2:1 the British won and even managed to capture a French Eagle, the first of the Peninsular War.

This talk covers the events leading up to the battle and the detail of the battle itself. It neatly fills in the period between Rod’s other talks on “The Lines of Torres Vedras” and “The Battles of Fuentes de Oñoro and Albuera”.

Rod has produced a new talk on the Battle of Fuengirola. More details can be seen here.

Many people will be aware of Fuengirola as a pretty holiday destination on the Costa del Sol.  What they may be less aware of is that it was the scene of a ferocious battle in 1810, involving British and Spanish forces on one side, against Polish troops on the other.

In 1810 an Anglo-Spanish force attempted to capture Fuengirola Castle, which was initially held by 150 Polish troops.  They were reinforced with small numbers of Polish troops from Mijas and Alhaurin, managing to hold out against an army more than 10 times their strength, and even succeeded in capturing the British General.

This talk covers the background to the battle and the events of the battle itself.  It neatly follows on from Rod’s talk on “The Lines of Torres Vedras”.

I have managed to reduce my talk on “The ’45”, the story of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, down to 50 minutes, which I think is the best I can achieve.  I am pleased that I have managed to keep not only the main battles, but also many of the interesting and lesser known events.

I have completed a new talk, on the Combat of the Coâ, which took place in 1810. Details of it can be seen here:

I will be giving this talk to the Bexhill Hanoverian Study Group on 17th March 2020,

A few days ago, I completed my talk on “The ‘45”, which covers the events of the last Jacobite Rebellion, or Rising, depending upon your viewpoint. 

Being half Scots, I have been interested in the Jacobite Rebellion for many years and have finally got around to producing a talk about it.

I say I have finished it; however, I did a test run and it is an hour and a half long.   I need to cut it down considerably before it is of a suitable length to give to an audience.  I aim to do this by the end of the year.

I always end up doing this with my talks.  I put everything of interest into them and then, if they are too long, see what can be cut out.