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Pages from the diary of Captain Philip Townsend

A Soldier's Life

In Their Own Words: Captain Philip Townsend

Philip Townsend was an Irish gentleman. In 1756, he travelled to North America, where he fought against the French in the Seven Years War. His diary provides an insight into frontier warfare and the assault on Louisbourg.

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James Wolfe: The heroic martyr

Major-General James Wolfe was one of Britain’s most celebrated military heroes. But his death at the moment of his greatest victory at Quebec in 1759 earned him a reputation as a patriotic martyr.

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On patrol in the jungles of North Borneo, c1964

Indonesian Confrontation

Between 1963 and 1966, British Commonwealth forces fought against Indonesia in a conflict that focused on the future of Brunei and North Borneo.

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Hellfire Corner: A sign of the times

One of our most iconic First World War objects is the signboard used to mark the infamous ‘Hellfire Corner’, a busy and dangerous junction near Ypres.

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British Army patrol in Helmand, Afghanistan, 2010

Fit to fight: Women in the Army today

Women were finally allowed to undertake combat roles in 2016. But female soldiers had been serving in war zones around the world before that.

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Entry of the 5th Lancers into Mons, 1918

Soldiers in love: Courtship, engagement and marriage

Despite the difficulties, soldiers' affairs of the heart have flourished; some casual, others ultimately leading to engagement, marriage and a life together.

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Aden Emergency

The Aden Emergency (1963-67) was an insurgency against British rule in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. The unrest hastened British plans for withdrawal and marked the end of 20 years of decolonisation.

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British infantry vehicles advancing, Iraq, 1991

Gulf War

The war against Iraq in 1990-91 saw the largest single deployment of British troops since the Second World War. Altogether, about 35,000 British servicemen and women served in the campaign.

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Second Battle of El Alamein

Fought in October-November 1942, this was the climax and turning point of the North African campaign of the Second World War. The armies of Italy and Germany suffered a decisive defeat by the British Eighth Army.

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9th Hodson's Horse in General Chauvel's march through Damascus, 1918

Battle of Megiddo

Fought in September 1918, this was the climactic battle of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War. Ottoman forces found themselves encircled by British Empire forces under General Edmund Allenby.

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Jacobite Risings

The Jacobites, supporters of King James II and his descendants, sought to restore the House of Stuart to the British throne. In 1715, 1719 and 1745 they tried to overthrow the ruling Hanoverian Royal Family.

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War of the Spanish Succession

The campaigns of the Duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13) stopped France from dominating Europe. They also brought about the first popular recognition of the British Army’s fighting powers.

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A 25-pounder of 45 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, fires at enemy positions on the Imjin, 1951

Battle of the Imjin River

Fought in April 1951 in Korea, this was the bloodiest engagement endured by the British Army since the Second World War. For three days, the 29th British Independent Infantry Brigade Group thwarted massed Chinese attacks.

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