Essex in the Napoleonic Wars
Wendy Shepherd
- Organisation:
- Fordham History Society Essex
- Region:
- Essex
- Notice Period:
- Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
- Type:
- Hobby
- Fee:
- Paid: £50
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 22nd November 2023
What began as a small local study of two Fordham men who served at Waterloo, evolved into a talk about Essex and the Napoleonic Wars. The talk sets the scene with a brief talk about the 7 coalitions and then there is a comparison of the two leaders Napoleon and Wellington. Maps show us the main attacks and how the two protagonists came together. We will look at some of the archaeology which has helped us understand more of the final day including the Waterloo Uncovered Project and Hougoumont Project. Returning to Essex we learn how Essex prepared for invasions with the building of Martelo Towers and look at Colchester and Weeley and a very interesting Ardleigh document in a little more detail. Finally we hear about two men from Fordham who served at Waterloo and are buried locally.
Views: 511 | Enquiries: 2About Wendy Shepherd
I am a retired Primary School Teacher and Assistant Headteacher. I have lived in Fordham Essex since 2012 and was pleasantly surprised that the small village had a History Society; that I immediately joined. I became chairman and organiser of Fordham History Society back in 2017. I have been a family history researcher since 1986 after my father died and my mother came to live with me. An old battered suitcases of family treasures started my interest in family history, although I have always liked history. In Fordham we are fortunate to have an archaeological dig site. My brother is a professional archaeologist and in the past I have worked with him on digs in Norfolk over a period of 10 years. Fordham History Society has a very good archive of documents and over 2000 photographs. From this archive, books have been written by our members. I have written a book about Fordham and WW1 to commemorate the Centenary of WW1 and with the help of Heritage Lottery money I was able to write the book, organise a week long exhibition, write a Scheme of Work for the village Primary School and having researched all our casualties on our war memorial; had ten more missing names added to the memorial. I am now in the process of writing a book about Fordham and WW2 and I am working on other village projects such as a photographic project of all the gravestones in the village churchyard. I have been giving historical talks to groups for eight years. These talks are varied, they include a range of talks relating to family history, photography and parish records, there are military themed talks covering Waterloo, WW1, WW2, Jutland, Raid on Zeebrugge, Women's Land Army and Conscientious Objection (the village school headteacher was an objector) and two that I do in costume; one as a pilgrim and another as a suffragette.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Wendy Shepherd
- Women’s Land Army – ‘The Land Army fights in the fields!’
- The Raid on Zeebrugge 23rd April 1918; A Twist in the Dragon's Tail.
- Gravestone Photographic Project
- Tracing your Ancestors using photographs
- Women – your country needs you! The Suffragette Movement (In Costume.)
- Pilgrim Badges – souvenirs of the past (in costume.)
- The Battle of Jutland 1916 - success or failure?
- Smallpox, Triplets and Double Murder - Tales from Parish Records
- Conscientious Objection: A Headteacher's story in WW1
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