Merry Christmas to all and thank you to the Society and all the contributors - I really enjoy these personal recommendations of favourite books on particular subjects.

An old blog about Christmas in the Peninsula. daringdutycunningplans.wordpress.com/2019/12/02/c...

Thrilled to have been invited back by the @napwarspod.bsky.social to finally discuss my thesis. As Zack said, I am clearly post-submission: how I see the fencibles and their place in the period has changed so much in 4 years For the better, if I do say so myself 😅 open.spotify.com/episode/0Xz2...

The British Army and the American War, 1775-83: Fresh Perspectives Saturday 14 March 2026 Please save the date for our forthcoming conference to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and the British Army’s doomed efforts to prevent it. Details at www.sahr.org.uk/view-event.p...

Sad news…

Story of two First World War letters home from Australian soldiers on board ship headed to Europe found in a bottle on a West Australian beach. #FirstWorldWar #WW1 #Anzac www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10...

Unexpected visitor to a suburban library in Adelaide last night

In this sample article from our Journal, Pete Starling looks at a scheme from the 1850s to train young African men as medical officers for Sierra Leone: www.sahr.org.uk/docs/shar-boys-of-colour-draft-sahrs1120.pdf Join us to get access to over 400 Journal issues: www.sahr.org.uk/membership.php

Our friends at the Army Records Society have launched another round of their fellowship programme, which offers funding over three years to create a volume in their long-running primary source series. Details at www.smh-hq.org/opps/jobs.html.

Thanks to Owen Davis for a lovely review of King George’s Army Vol 2 (Foot Guards and 1-30 Foot). Vol 3 is out now, and Vol 4 not too far away. #napoleonic #history #helion www.napoleon-series.org/book-reviews...

Look forward to June! Here is a list of new #nonfiction #books about the #18thcentury scheduled for next month: regency-explorer.net/new-releases/ #Regency #Napoleon #history #JaneAusten #read

Join us at York St John University (and online) for a fascinating FREE talk by Dr James Hurst based on his new research into the British heavy cavalry at Waterloo. Wed 28 May, 5:30pm, all are welcome! More info and tickets (completely free!) here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/waterloo-t...

An updated blog post on 'The Fact & Fiction of Captain Peter Blassiere, 5/60th Rifles'. My thanks to Thomas Hemmann for sending me the Hannoversches militairisches Journal article. daringdutycunningplans.wordpress.com/2018/12/19/t...

LAST CHANCE TO TAKE OUR MONEY! Are you a postgraduate student researching any aspect of the history of the British Army? If so, why not apply for our University Research Grants, open to scholars worldwide. Deadline now extended until 30 May. Details at: www.sahr.org.uk/university-r...

Our Annual Members' Meeting last month saw the announcement of 10 new SAHR Fellows. Pictured L-R, Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, Mick Crumplin, Carole Divall, Tim Cooke. For a full list and details of those honoured, see: www.sahr.org.uk/fellowships....

So happy to be able to announce that in a couple of weeks I'm going to be speaking on negotiated authority in the fencibles at @camhistory.bsky.social, hosted by @1812andallthat.bsky.social! Free attendance and all that, & would be lovely to see some friendly faces www.cfg.cam.ac.uk/events/contr...

Live-streaming now: Dr Matthew Spring speaks about British tactics and adaptation during the American War of Independence. Part of the AWI 250 series at the National Army Museum. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lhs...

Support for historians at mid-career: the Society invites applications for its 'Funded Book Workshop' programme bit.ly/4fYQcRC Workshops enable authors of a 2nd or 3rd monograph to hold a day-long discussion of a book MS with 6 readers of their choosing. Closing date: Friday 11 July #Skystorians

“I was in love with the book. In pure, ignorant defiance of the decree of the Iowa Writing School that controls almost all modern fiction, Galt tells without showing.” —Ursula K. Le Guin discusses John Galt’s 1821 novel ANNALS OF THE PARISH 2/6 www.publicbooks.org/b-sides-john...

Look forward to May! Here is a list of new #nonfiction #books about the #18thcentury scheduled for next month: regency-explorer.net/new-releases/ #Regency #Napoleon #history #JaneAusten #read

Sunday's books. Something really good and something really... weird. 😄

Do we know if the British army ever adopted this newly proposed scheme of attaching scythes to cavalry horses? buff.ly/ExWcYQP #Archive30 #SomethingNew @ARAScot

This Easter weekend the U.K. National Army Museum will release a roundtable discussion marking the 250th anniversary of the American War of Independence. Tune in for the livestream on Saturday (3pm BST/10am EDT). www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/was...

Congrats @rmbhistory.bsky.social on his latest publication journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Wishing everyone attending the #WellingtonCongress at Southampton a great time. I wish I was there again - it was such fun! Look forward to hearing about the papers and all the new excellent research that is being done. #Wellington #DukeofWellington

Get a FREE eBook Love and Marriage in the Age of Jane Austen @rorymuir.bsky.social A Little History of the World -E.H. Gombrich Women in Intelligence - Helen Fry Goodbye Globalization @elisabethbraw.bsky.social Why Marx Was Right -Terry Eagleton Claim your free eBook: yalebooks.co.uk/free-ebook/

Can any one help me with a little French transcription? The underlined section is General Junot speaking to Colonel Murrary during negotiations about the Russian fleet in Lisbon, after the battle of Vimeiro.

In case @rorymuir.bsky.social hasn't seen it, apparently this was the front window of Hatchards in London this week... (Credit Anna Vakulenko)

Re-posting with the corrected link. Look at this gorgeous collection of Regency-era clothes and accessories. (Thanks to @alexdecampi.bsky.social for the link.) www.kerrytaylorauctions.com/auction/deta...

Booking for our Wellington Congress 2025 is officially open! Head to this page to see what our programme has in store for you and to book your place! buff.ly/4juc21N #WellingtonCongress2025 @zwhitehistory @napoleonicquarterly.com @latelordchatham.bsky.social @rorymuir.bsky.social

Next talk for Friends of the Lines of Torres Vedras will be by historian Steve Brown on 21 Jan. Title: The command structure, dispositions and strengths of the Allied forces in the Lines. Register interest by emailing: [email protected]. NOTE. Talk starts 8pm UK time due to time differences.

What books or articles on the Art of War in the age of Napoleon are people most keen on? I’m particularly interested in ones published since about 2000. #Napoleonic #ArtofWar #militaryhistory #skystorians

Cover and table of contents for Infantry in Battle, 1733-1783. It's a labor of love project I worked on alongside my dissertation and also while completing Christopher Duffy's festschrift. You can register interest below: www.helion.co.uk/military-his...

Just a couple of days left for you to sign up to @thegreatwargroup.bsky.social’s winter course. This is short, sweet and aimed at giving you a primer on the Italian Front. Your four weekly lectures will come from self, @vandawilcox.bsky.social @kaiserjonny.bsky.social and @jimsmithson.bsky.social

Have just finished reading this excellent article by Rory Butcher on discipline and courts martial in the fencibles in the 1794, which includes a clear explanation of the 1794 mutinies when the men refused to be sent south to the uncivilised wilds of England unless there was an actual invasion.

📢📢📢 Hakluyt Society ECR Essay Prize 2025 📢📢📢 Essays (6k-8k) are invited by ECRs on the history of travel, exploration, cultural encounter or their effects, or that critically engage with the work of the Society. 1st prize £1250 & 2nd prize £250. * Enter by 1/3/25 * www.hakluyt.com/hakluyt-soci...

Look forward to January! Here is a list of new #non_fiction #books about the #18thcentury scheduled for next month: regency-explorer.net/new-releases/ #Regency #Napoleon #history #JaneAusten #Waterloo

Books are a total scam. Every single word is already in the dictionary—they’re just selling them back to you in a different order.

Well that's some fun news! My first journal article on #18thC history is now here: doi.org/10.1177/0968... I argue that the fencible relationship with authority was fundamentally shaped by their limited service, in how justice was administered *and* how the men engaged with their superiors. /1

My next ( Jan) book is a biography of Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough, who had his finger in every aspect of late Georgian politics.

Proof at last that Copenhagen was a unicorn! I always suspected as much.

FREE online event in which I'll be talking about Napoleonic soldiers and service, conscription and casualties, desertion and disease, and much more! Much of this is based on genuinely new research, so if you have an interest in Napoleon's army do come along! Sat 14 Dec, 2pm Canada/7pm UK

So sorry for the delayed response, I have tried everything in my power to avoid this interaction but alas…

Having completed King George's Army Vol 3 (up to the 60th Foot) I did a little study of the places of birth of the other ranks in all the units, to understand their 'national' composition. Some of the results were predictable, others less so. P.S. 3rd Guards and 1st Foot were only about 20% Scots.

If you like stories of a country's head of state launching a coup d'état and censoring the press, only to be confronted by widespread street protests and defiant politicians, have I got a podcast series for you:

Happy anniversary to my favorite copy editor comment of all time. "You use 'long eighteenth century' a lot in this book, but each century is exactly as long as another."

Hello to my new followers! I’ve just started a PhD at ARU looking at the #NormanCross collection at Peterborough Museum. The collection contains over 800 objects made by (or relating to) #Napoleonic PoWs and made from bone, straw, wood etc. There are guillotines, ships, dominoes, boxes & much more!

Explore Eighteenth-Century Studies highlights in our #BlackFriday sale: https://buff.ly/3CIL4Cm 60% off must end Saturday! @bsecs.bsky.social @asecsoffice.bsky.social #C18th #Skystorians