Wellington's Waterloo
Graeme Cooper SpeakerNet Sponsor
- Regions:
- Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, London
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Hobby & Charity
- Fee:
- Paid: Ticket Sales are spilt between a local cause
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 26th October 2024
This pictorial tells the the story of the Battle of Waterloo, a story of such magnitude, not only of the leaders, but also of the men themselves. It is a story of their lives, their families, their fears, and their heroism and, for many, their ultimate sacrifice on that fateful June Sunday in 1815. This great military gamble unfolded some 200 years ago in a small valley 11 miles south of Brussels. With five gross errors of judgement and two incredible chance decisions, amid 115,000 casualties, we discover that at the campaign’s unbelievable end, soldiers in multicoloured coats, amidst the fog of war, did not know whether they had won or lost.
From its dishevelled start to its electrifying end, the Waterloo campaign fascinates in its intensity. It endured four great battles in as many days, the climax of which, dramatic by any standard, saw the defeat of an Empire and ended the dreams and ambitions of the greatest soldier of modern times. The feat of arms at Waterloo changed the entire course of European history when Bonaparte pitted his military brilliance and charisma against the tactical skill and stamina of Wellington, in an effort to decide the fate of Europe.
Views: 92 | Enquiries: 0About Graeme Cooper
Graeme Cooper has been battlefield guiding since 1995 and owns Cooper's Waterloo Tours, a family run business specialising in tailored tours of the Napoleonic Campaign battlefields of the Peninsular War and Waterloo for adults, and leadership training for the military.
A Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society (FINS), Graeme qualified as a Waterloo Campaign Guide with Les Guides 1815 in 1998. Graeme's interest in the Napoleonic Campaigns was sparked during his time as a cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst by his tutors, the late and renowned military historians and authors, Professor Richard Holmes and Dr David Chandler.
This intrigue in the Napoleonic Wars, kept alive by a military career, has maintained his fascination in military history and a strong concern for the preservation of the Waterloo battlefield, which he first visited in 1973.
In November 2002, Graeme founded The International Guild of Battlefield Guides and was the Secretary until November 2009 when he became the first member to be elected to the Roll of Honour for his services to the Guild.
In May 2006 he formed Corporate Battlefields Ltd, a leadership training company for corporate management and has since delivered leadership learning to senior management teams from eBay, Boeing UK, Lilly, Brother, UPS, UK, HSBC and NATO’s Secretary General on battlefields including Waterloo, Isandlwana, Ypres, Somme, the Normandy D-Day Beaches and Naseby.
Graeme is married and has a son and daughter both of whom were commissioned through Sandhurst. Graeme lives in Essex and enjoys golf, photography, chess and telemark skiing.
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