Last updated: 8 February 2012
The British Army may appear a conservative institution steeped in tradition. It has not always been so. The Army was forged in the revolutionary upheavals of the 1640s and 1680s. This gave it a distinctive character and military doctrine, with a way of war based on movement, firepower, and aggression.
The superiority of its method was proved first by Cromwell’s Ironsides and then by Marlborough’s Redcoats. Using Naseby and Blenheim as exemplars, this lecture will explore the contested origins of the British Army and the creation of a mould-breaking 'British way of war' that enabled the British to humble the power of France and win a global empire.
Dr Neil Faulkner is the Editor of 'Military Times', a Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and Co-Director of the Great Arab Revolt Project in Jordan. The author of numerous academic papers and several books, he is currently writing 'A History of the British Army in 25 Battles', which is being serialised in 'Military Times' in association with the National Army Museum.