Battlefield Visits and Other Activities
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Together with wargames, Battlefield Visits can be wonderful eye-openers for the military historian. Quite apart from the 'atmosphere of place' that is mystically imparted by any historic site, a moment on the real terrain can often reveal significant tactical aspects that cannot be relayed through books or even maps. Lines of sight turn out to be very different from what has been imagined from merely the contours, especially when one adds architectural, forestry or agricultural features which are not shown on the contours.
A further problem with maps is that the ones used to illustrate military history books tend to be minimalist sketches designed for instant clarity as visual aids, but not faithful and detailed records of all the true - and complex - wrinkles of the ground. Yet in the lower levels of combat, where troops often shelter their heads at or below ground level, it can easily be the very smallest folds of the 'micro-terrain' which can make all the difference between seeing and blindness: between life and death. A six inch high ridge of soil may prevent a sentry from spotting the raiders who are about to seize his key position, just as a whole battalion may sometimes lie undetected in a slight depression in an apparently flat field.
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I was fortunate in being taken to a number of battlefields while I was still at school (Salamanca, Solferino and Verdun are particularly memorable) - from which I developed a habit of seeking out more of such sites whenever I could. My family and non-mil.hist. friends have become deeply bored with the implications this can have for their holidays; but they miss the key fact that it takes me to the holiday places in the first place (= such places as USA, the Iberian Peninsula, North Italy or almost all of Northern France and the Low Countries. Only Australasia and Antarctica are disappointing continents, in that they have no decent battlefields at all...). In recent years I have also either organised - or commentated for - a number of formal battlefield tours. I could help with yours, too! ( - but only for a very large quantity of money, since a good day's touring takes several days of preparation: it is highly disruptive of my programme. And besides, the best tours can be fitted into a single car: the more people who come too, the slower and more complicated the whole thing becomes).
Also in recent years I have joined the Battlefields Trust, (Regd.charity no. 1017837. Company Registration No. England 2786730), which was set up by Kelvin van Hasselt in the early 1990s, in response to the road-building at Naseby. Its aim is the preservation, interpretation and presentation of battlefield sites, which seems to be an increasingly important need in the current era of ever-accelerating suburban sprawl and rural concrefication.
When there was a threat to build quarries on the field of Blore Heath I found to my great delight that the Trust could actually make a difference. Its representations at the public inquiry helped to keep the quarriers at bay. The Battlefield Trust therefore deserves support, and anyone interested in military history should join it. As a bonus to its preservation work, it issues a regular newsletter and runs a variety of highly interesting study days, battlefield visits &c (for details of its national programme, consult its website at:-
[email protected] ).
Since moving to Manchester I have set up the North West Group of the Battlefields Trust. We aim to make three or four visits per annum to sites of military interest around Lancashire and Cheshire (and occasionally even further afield), plus a Study Day in Preston each November. Some of these meetings have been truly memorable events which have greatly expanded our understanding of the past, and we have succeeded in attracting some very knowledgable and distinguished speakers. The first three study days have been on 'The Battle of Normandy 1944'; 'Riots and Mutinies in the North West', and 'The Jacobites in the North West'. Many interesting themes suggest themselves for the future!
To join the Battlefields Trust, contact its co-ordinator and membership secretary, Michael Rayner, at the Trust's registered office: Meadow Cottage, 33 High Green, Brooke, Norwich NR15 1HR England.
Some of my Other Activities
When I was at Sandhurst I helped set up the WARDIG (which is still very active); and when I lived in Nuneaton I set up the Mercia Military Society (now sadly defunct). Both were stimulating lecture and discussion circles for persons interested in military history.
Now that I live in Manchester I have set up the South Manchester Tactical Society (SMATS) (and once again the name was coined by Andy Callan, not me!) If you happen to be passing by Manchester on the third Monday evening of any month between September and May, let me know you're coming, then drop in on us here from 7.30 pm....
