Wednesday 27th September 2023
St John’s Place, Lower Road, Bemerton, SP2 9NP
7.30-9.30pm
Our September meeting will consist of two talks presented by Society members:
- Barba del Puerco: A tactical engagement with strategic consequences
- Withdrawal from Aden, November 1967
Over the winter of 1809/10, Wellington tasked Brigadier ‘Bob’ Crauford’s newly-formed Light Division with providing a screen along the Spanish border while he reconstituted and retrained the bulk of the Army within Portugal. What followed was a masterly demonstration of Crauford’s ‘scientific approach’ to operational readiness – holding vastly superior French forces at bay. This was exemplified at the action at Barba del Puerco, where the rifle demonstrated its utility as a battalion weapon despite its many sceptics – and led to a revolution in infantry tactics.
Entrance for members is included in your annual subscription. For non-members, entrance is £10 (cash, card or cheque) at the door.
Ashley Truluck served with Gurkhas, Signals and Army Aviation and has since acted as a Defence Advisor to Government, the Emergency Services and Industry. Chairman/Vice President of the Society of Army Historical Research, he has made a particular study of Wellington and the Light Division, and has led many tours for MOD and The Cultural Experience on these and other themes.
