Adventurous Females Part 2
On a previous post I spoke about women who had occupations not usually associated with the ‘fairer sex’. Most of those employments, such as accompanying the army or working down the mines were undertaken out of economic necessity. Today I’m looking at ladies who don’t quite fit that category; in fact, at least one of […]
The weaker sex – a myth? Surprising female occupations of the past.
I’m sure many people today believe that women in the past didn’t do much outside of the domestic sphere. Up to fairly recently it was almost a given that a woman’s place was in the home. Women have been called the weaker sex. We often hear how it took World War I to change things. […]
With Love From Me to You: Love Letters from the Past
Love letters are nothing new. For as long as people have been writing there have been those who expressed their feelings to a loved one in written words. Abelard and Heloise In the 12th century, we have Peter Abelard and Heloise d’Argenteuil. Abelard was already a famous scholar when he was employed by Heloise’s uncle […]
Wellington: Was his one failure the making of him?
I thought I’d write a little bit about a real-life Regency hero, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). From unpromising beginnings, Wellington rose to become one of the towering figures of the nineteenth century. His reputation for integrity and devotion to duty make him stand out in an age when these qualities were seldom […]
Will You Take the High Road? A Tour of Scotland
Regular readers of my blog may recall my article about John Byng, Viscount Torrington, an 18th century diarist who wrote about his travels round Britain. Well, in the Gentleman’s Magazine, I discovered yet another chap who enjoyed touring the country. Amongst the ecletic mix of articles in the July 1812 edition, one in particular caught […]
You’ve Got Mail: A look at the mail coach service
I’ve written before about the various ways in which mail got delivered in the past, specifically the packet ships . Now I’m looking at the mail coach service and John Palmer (1742-1818), the mail coach pioneer. John Palmer was born in Bath to a family of wealthy brewers. As well as the brewery business, his […]
Learning the Drill:The Good Soldier, Part 3
Here is my third and final post about Sir John Moore’s system of training. Today, I’m looking at drill. Drill was an important feature of a soldier’s training. Recruits were initially taught this on an individual basis, then as they progressed, they were taught in squads, then companies and battalions. Starting with close order drill, […]
The Good Soldier: Sir John Moore’s System of Training
As some background reading to my historical stories I’ve been looking at Sir John Moore’s System of Training. This book by Colonel J.F.C. Fuller D.S.O, published in 1924, outlines the methods of training established by Sir John Moore early in the 19th century. Sir John Moore (1761-1809) was a British Army general, renowned for his […]
Learn How Not To Travel: Two Dangerous Trips
I’ve been looking at my October 1812 edition of The Gentleman’s Magazine and discovered amongst the many news reports, accounts of two hair-raising events. On the 1st Oct it was reported that, at one o’clock in the afternoon, a Mr Sadler ascended in his balloon from Belvedere House, near Dublin. It must have been windy, […]