ASSOCIATION EVENTS

A.G.M

The 2008 Annual General Meeting will be held in the Lecture Theatre, National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea on Wednesday 23rd April 2008. After dealing with official business there will be a presentation on "What Tolstoy's great work "War and Peace" can tell us about the Napoleonic Wars."

There will be light refreshments for those who wish to partake, from 6.00 and for which a charge of £3.00 per person will be made. Non members are very welcome to come along and join on the night.

Higham Hall Study Weekend 2009.

The seventh annual study conference arranged by the Association in conjunction with Higham Hall College of Further Education will take place from Friday 27th -Sunday 29th March 2009 at Bassenthwaite in the Lake District. The course will continue the commemoration of the bicentenary of the events in 1809 in the Peninsular.

Full details of speakers and papers will in due course. Regular delegates will know that this annual event has
become extremely popular, and the 2008 weekend was fully booked six months in advance. Members who would like to receive an opportunity to book before the Higham Hall brochure is published should contact: Janet and David Bromley, djbromlev@derventio.fsnet.co.uk

Association visit to Waterloo, 2Oth -23rd June 2008

It is three years since the successful Association visit. to Waterloo when members explored the battlefield. For 2008 Ian Fletcher is again organising a battlefield tour for Association members. Members will travel by
Eurostar from St. Pancras, staying at the luxury Four Star Grand Hotel situated not far from the battlefield for three nights on a half board basis.

All travel, visits, museum entrance fees, guide and coach are included. The price is £550 per person sharing a double room with half board. Single supplement £70.

To book or for further information contact Ian Fletcher Battlefield Tours, PO Box 112, Rochester, Kent, ME1 2EX. Telephone 01634319973. www.ifbt.co.uk.

OTHER EVENTS

15th International Napoleonic Fair

This will take place at Cressing Temple, Essex on l0th and 11th May 2008. The format will remain as last year, but with hopefully more re-enactors. This  family-orientated event provides an enjoyable and relaxing day out. Cressing Temple was a Knights Hospitaller site and is an interesting place to visit in its own right. Visit  www.internationalnapoleonicfair.com

200th Anniversary Ceremony in the British Cemetery, Elvas

The annual May ceremony of The Friends of the British Cemetery will take place on Wednesday, May 14th in Elvas, Portugal. This year is the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Peninsular War, in 1808.

The ceremony will start at 12:00 and all attending should be in the cemetery by 11.45. Please park your cars on the broad wall over the Porta de sao Vicente. Transportation can be arranged from the parking area to the cemetery, if needed. Dress for gentlemen is suits or jackets and ties and medals. Please contact the Friends of the British Cemetery if you would like a short list of  hotels and B&Bs.

The May ceremony in Elvas is attended each year by the city's mayor, Sr. Jose Antonio Rondao Almeida, and a representation from both the Portuguese and Spanish armies who lay wreaths in memory of those who fought at the Battle of Albuera and in the Sieges of Badajoz. Members of the British regiments that fought in the Peninsular War lay wreaths in honour of their fallen comrades.

The patron of the Friends of the British Cemetery, Lady Jane Wellesley, will attend the ceremony. It is hoped to welcome the British Ambassador to Portugal. Photos of last year's ceremony can be seen on http://british-cemeterx-elvas.org/mav2007.html

The Battle of Albuera

The Spanish town of La Albuera commemorates the anniversary of the Battle of Albuera each year on 16th May and celebrates for several days thereafter. The week's events will be posted in April on http://www.laalbuera.es/ For information about the Battle of Albuera see http://british-cemetery-elvas.org/albuera.html

Conference: War, Empire and Slavery c.1790-1820

16-18th May 2008

Three-day conference at The King's Manor, University of York.

This conference will examine the impact of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars on world history, and will look at developments taking place in the political, military and economic systems of Asia and Africa, in the Mogul, Persian, Ottoman and other empires. The focus of the research project based at the University of York, 'Nations, Borders and Identities' lies in the comparative study of the experiences of European men and women in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, from 1790-1820.

For further details contact the organiser, Jane Rendall, Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, The King's Manor, University of York, Exhibition Square, York YOI 7EP. E-mail: war@events.vork.ac.uk Website: www.york.ac.uk/inst/cecs/

Conference: Men at Arms: New Histories of Soldiering in Britain and Ireland, c. 1750-1850

4-5th September 2008

Conference at the University of Northampton

The figure of the soldier in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain is an intriguing subject. On the one hand, the military had a prominent role in the  construction of national and gender identities. On the other, the army could be politically distrusted, soldiers often occupied a marginal position in society, and even the manliness of the profession could be called into question. Soldiering as an activity was similarly the source of much debate. Should it be the duty of  citizens or the preserve of professionals? Would an armed citizenry act as an incitement to, or a bulwark against, revolution?

For further details contact Dr Matthew McCormack at matthew.mccormack@northampton.ac.uk.
Website: www.northampton.ac.uk/socialsciences/

Conference: Surgeons and the Royal Navy

 A Saturday in October 2008 to be confirmed.

Conference organised by the Naval Dockyards Society. 2008 marks 800 years of organised surgery in Britain. The Naval Dockyards society will hold a conference to mark connections between surgeons and the Royal Navy, and this event will examine all aspects of naval medicine. For further details visit their website http://navaldockvards.moonfruit.com or contact the secretary Dr Ann Coats email: ann@dockvards.org

RESEARCH
The German States Study Group is a small group of people from the UK, Europe and the USA who have a
shared interest in the German involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. Their December 2006 newsletter has some interesting articles on Rheinbund troops 1812-14, a Wurttemberg Surgeon's account of the Battle of Borodino, and the Hessian contingent in the spring campaign of 1813. The articles are the result of much original and detailed research, with members pooling their extensive knowledge. If you have an interest in any of the German nations involved in the period, then this group will be of great help in your research. For details contact John Henderson of 46 Dextra Way, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DLT 8EY