Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Lockdown Lectures

www.sofo.org.uk

“The Secret Life of Ian Fleming” 26^th April at 7PM

Uncover The Secret Life of Ian Fleming, best known as the author of the James Bond  novels, Talk and Live Q&A with Dr. Christopher Moran.

Christopher Moran is a specialist in the work of British and American secret services and has worked as historical consultant to the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. and is co-editor of the Journal of Intelligence History.

What role did Ian Fleming really play in British intelligence operations during WW2 and after? What impact did he have on US intelligence during the Cold War, and how was his fictional spy, James Bond, viewed by those conducting real spy work?

 SOFO  Lockdown Lectures are free to watch, but we can’t continue our lecture series without your support. Please consider making a donation if you enjoy the talk.

WATCH HERE (VIDEO LIVE FROM 7PM 26/04/2021)

“The Pegasus Bridge Story” (Archived)

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In the opening hours of D Day – 6 June 1944 – a small glider borne coup de main force seized key objectives in Normandy ahead of the main landings which marked the start of the invasion of Europe.  This is the story of the men in this operation, what happened when they hit the ground, how they took on their German enemies and why their actions that day will always be remembered in that part of France.

This lecture is one of the Army Flying Museum’s Lockdown Lecture series and was created in partnership with the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum. This lecture was first broadcast on 21st January 2021, the video you can watch below is an archived video including an edit of the live Q&A session that followed (an early part of the Q&A was affected by some sound issues, with the affected section re-recorded for the video below).

The Pegasus Bridge Story

“The 52nd Foot at Waterloo” (Archived)

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Gareth Glover delve into the history of The Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry to address the  debate surrounding The 52nd Foot at Waterloo and the part they really played in the famous battle.

As the Battle of Waterloo reached its momentous climax, Napoleon s Imperial Guard marched towards the Duke of Wellington s thinning red line. The Imperial Guard had never tasted defeat and nothing, it seemed, could stop it smashing through the British ranks. But when the Imperial Guard  was sent reeling back in disorder, the credit for defeating them would go to the 1st Foot Guards – then renamed the Grenadier Guards in honour of their actions.

However, the 52nd Foot also contributed to the defeat of the Imperial Guard yet received no comparable recognition. The controversy of which corps deserved the credit for defeating the Imperial Guard has continued for decades, even centuries, a contentious subject over which much ink has been spilled.

Now, thanks to the uncovering of the previously unpublished journal of Charles Holman of the 52nd Foot, Gareth Glover is able to piece together the exact sequence of events in those final, fatal moments of the great battle. Along with numerous other first-hand accounts, he has been able to understand the most likely sequence of events, the reaction to these events immediately after the battle and how it was seen within the army in the days after the victory.

Who did Wellington honour at the time? How did the Foot Guards gain much of the credit in London? Was there an establishment cover-up? Were the 52nd robbed of their glory? Do the recent much-publicised arguments stand up to impartial scrutiny?

52nd at Waterloo