WINTER 2008
The end of a wonderful year
for the Society and its members. Reflecting on the year, we had the
honour to welcome some famous British regiments to Spain and Portugal.
Very moving moments standing on the battlefield of Salamanca near the
village of Arapiles, where soldiers of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers lay
buried. The one minute's silence was observed by today's regiment. The
Royal Engineers, who came in October, enjoyed not only our Chairman's
anecdotes and knowledge but the great hunks of grilled beef at our
friend, Julio's restaurant in the village.
BOOK SIGNING
We welcomed old members
back, and it was a pleasure to have the book signing. Indeed such was
the demand for copies of ADC TO WELLINGTON'S CAVALRY that our dear
Editor, Bruce, in Boston, has advertised it on the Society's homepage.
The 3rd printing will be out by early February, 2009.
Orders can be made via the
Chairman's email:
Chairman@wellsoc.org
THE YEAR 2009
The 200th anniversary of
the Battle of Talavera, 28 July 1809-2009 will be recorded by the
Society, including field trips by air conditioned coach, overnight stay
at the Parador of Oropesa. Also a series of luncheons and dinners and
wine tasting for our members. More details will appear in our PENINSULAR
WAR section of our web pages in a few months.
HAPPY 2009 TO OUR MEMBERS
We wish all our members a
merry Christmas and of course a happy 2009. We all look forward to
continuing the Society's great activities in the coming year!
SUMMER 2008
200th ANNIVERSARY OF PENINSULAR WAR
After taking officers and other ranks of the
famous Royal Welsh Fusiliers to Salamanca where their regiment fought
with Lord Wellington in July, 1812,our Chairman went back, this time to
take officers of the Royal Engineers. A day of morning mist rising over
the countryside, healthy hike up the French ridge, bright sunshine by
noon, a private tour of the museum followed by a hearty meal in the
Castile village of Arapiles, added to make it a great day. Colonel
H.T.S.Rickets wrote thanking the Chairman:
'On behalf of all those who attended, may I
thank you for a wonderful and most enjoyable battlefield study of
Salamanca ....You certainly know your stuff and your many anecdotes
brought alive what is an excellent battle to study. I applaud your
continued efforts to maintain the pristine nature of the battlefield.'
Shortly afterwards our devoted Chairman was back
once more with the Chief of the British Army Staff no less & the retired
Colonel of the Coldstream Guards.....can it get any higher? This VIP
tour was due mainly to our Life Member Charles Elwell, a direct
descendant of Captain Samuel Dudley.
THE BOOK IS PUBLISHED!
The Society is so proud to announce the
publication of Captain Samuel Dudley and his exploits in Portugal &
Spain for the campaigns of 1809 & 1810. Our dear Editor, Bruce, in
Boston will be putting information on how to obtain a signed copy on our
website later this year. Already many Members have been contacting us
for their own copies. The publisher in England will soon be in great
demand from us for many more!
GHOSTS IN MADRID
Our Theme Tour, 'Bloody Madrid' is always a
favourite with Members and to make it even more exciting we have added a
Ghost stop. We kid you not! A ghost buster and friend of the Society
will be taking us down to the cellars of a 18th century tavern in the
Old Quarter to tell his experience of what he has seen down there. It is
a fact that he is not on his own and cleaners refuse to go down there on
their own! An extra round of drinks are now included!
MODERN ART MUSEUM
For those interested in modern art, we shall be
offering a Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning tour of the Madrid,
Reina Sofia Art Museum. This will be for Members only, and just small
groups, family size maximum and lasts a very entertaining and
informative hour.
Spring 2008
200th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PENINSULAR WAR.
Gosh! what a busy time we have had with our
Theme Tour 'UPRISING' and the start of Spain's War of Independence. The
University of Syracuse, Madrid Campus, invited our Chairman to give a
series of power-point lectures on the origins of the War for their
students on campus. This was followed with a walking tour following the
route of the dreaded French Marmalukes on 2nd May 1808. If you or
your organization are interested in doing a tour with us, please contact
us or see our
history tour pages.
THE LONDON TOUR
Again our Chairman flew to London to be private
historian cum guide to a Canadian family of four. As our Chairman's
friend, Colin Burgon MP, was free, they had the additional luxury of a
private tour of the Houses of Parliament. Add to this a boat trip down
the Thames to Greenwich, a walking tour of Charles Dickens' London and a
very pro view of Richard the Third and our other Chairman's hero, Oliver
Cromwell! It was of course a great success.
Families and groups interested in having our Chairman as their guide in
the English capital should
contact us directly.
ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS
The famous Royal Welsh Fusiliers arrived in
Madrid for a three night tour of Wellington's battle sites. Rightly,
they contacted the Society and we were there at Barajas airport with
luxury coach to meet them, all twenty-five officers and other ranks.
They enjoyed the much famed tapa tour through Old Madrid and in true
military style, were ready and waiting with baggage at the hotel lobby,
early the next morning for our private bus trip to Salamanca.
Their regiment fought at the battle of Salamanca on 22 July, 1812. They
were at the center of the fighting as part of General Cole's 4th
Division and suffered over one hundred casualties. There was a very
moving moment when we held a minute's silence at the burial ground where
their comrades rest in peace. Photos of the Society and the Regiment can
be seen on our Peninsular War section. We had a visit of the military
museum, delicious lunch in the village of Arapiles and a delightful
evening in the great university city of Salamanca.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL DUDLEY.....THE BOOK!!!!
After a delay and some slight changes and teeny
corrections we are all in hope that our Chairman's book on Captain
Samuel Dudley, Aide-de-Camp to Lord Wellington's cavalry will be
published soon. Expect details of purchasing a signed copy in our Summer
Newsletter. This is an offer only for Members of the Wellington Society.
TIME OUT MAGAZINE
The English edition of Time Out now features the
Wellington Society and we are pleased to greet British visitors to
Madrid.
