And thanks to everyone 'behind the scenes' from the VMS and the @NAM_London who contributed to making the event such a success!

A big thank-you to the speakers at today's VMS seminar on Young Winston's Wars - @militaryhistori Peter Caddick-Adams, @NAM_London's Susan Ward, Keith Surridge, David Howell and Robert Davidson - covering Churchill's military exploits between 1895 and 1900.

A lovely morning & lunchtime at the @NAM_London , addressing the @BritishSquare on Young Winston's Wars. Now off to the @IWMDuxford to speak at their History weekend. Wearing the tie of the Ukrainian Light Horse.

Another reminder of this excellent event...with @BritishSquare

Happy Empire Day 🇬🇧 #empireday

#queenvictoria @penswordbooks @front

National Scouts Formed in 1901 by the British, this was a formal military unit consisting of Boers. They were primarily used as scouts, guides, and messengers to track down the remaining Boer commandos in the field. By the end of the war in May 1902, the corps had approximately 1,480 members. Other Boers disparagingly referred to them as hensoppers (“hands-uppers” or those who surrendered early) and joiners. Many were despised as traitors, and some were so severely ostracized by the wider Afrikaner community after the war that they established their own congregation, the Kruiskerk (Church of the Cross).

The last survivors of Waterloo in 1880

Happy #EmpireDay everyone! And what better way to mark the occasion than by dipping into the latest issue of our VMS journal, Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ)? If you're not already a VMS member, you can join online at victorianmilitary.org

HMS Warrior, the first iron-clad warship, the pride of Queen Victoria’s Royal Navy. As featured in ‘Queen Victoria – Her Life & Legacy’ Available in the UK from @penswordbooks pen-and-sword.co.uk/Queen-Vi… #queenvictoria #victorianera #history #britishroyalty #thecrown #education @PSHistory @Frontline_Books @penandswordbooks #hmswarrior @HMSWarrior1860 @RoyalNavy

Princess Alexandrina Victoria was born at Kensington Palace #otd in 1819. She became Queen of the United Kingdom in 1837 & Empress of India in 1878. Victoria reigned until 1901, the second longest reigning British monarch. HM Queen Elizabeth II is the longest serving. ❤️

Queen Victoria was born in this first-floor apartment in Kensington Palace at 4.15 a.m. on this day, 24 May 1819. During later years, Victoria’s daughter, Princess Louise, sixth of her nine children, sculptured the marble statue that stands at the entrance to Kensington Palace. It depicts a young Victoria wearing coronation robes. It was unveiled by Queen Victoria on 28 June 1893. As featured in this popular title ‘Queen Victoria: Her Life and Legacy’ by Paul Kendall available now from @penswordbooks pen-and-sword.co.uk/Queen-Vi… Available in the UK from @AmazonUK amzn.eu/d/0OfVE8S #queenvictoria #kensingtonpalace #London #visitlondon #thequeen #britishroyalty #history @PSHistory @Penandswordbooks @Frontline_Books

ONE FLAG 🇬🇧 ONE FLEET Empire Day celebrations in Sydney, NSW 🇦🇺🇬🇧 1906

Just a few weeks to go before our VMS seminar on Young Winston's Wars at @NAM_London - on Saturday 13 June 2026. Speakers include @militaryhistori Peter Caddick-Adams, Keith Surridge, Robert Davidson, David Howell.. Tickets available online at victorianmilitary.org

“Goodbye!” The 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards Leaving Waterloo Station (October 1899) - George Harcourt (1900)

I am now on substack! I thought it fitting that the first article I write would be released on Empire Day. So this article is all about the history of Empire Day and why it should make a comeback in Britain and the Anglosphere. If you would like to support me then please do consider subscribing, it will be greatly appreciated. I will be writing articles on all things British Empire so please do give me any suggestions for topics to cover. Happy Empire Day! Link below!

Young Winston. Omdurman. Malakand. Spion Kop. Boer War escapes. Victorian military chaos. The VMS 2026 Annual Seminar, ‘Young Winston’s Wars’, is at the National Army Museum on Saturday 13 June 2026. Tickets: victorianmilitary.org/shop @BritishSquare

The 1880 United Kingdom general election was held from 31 March to 27 April 1880. It saw the Liberal opposition triumph with 352 seats. Its intense rhetoric was led by the Midlothian campaign of the Liberals, particularly the fierce oratory of Liberal leader William Gladstone. He vehemently attacked the foreign policy of the government of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, as utterly immoral. The endeavours of the Disraeli government in Africa, India, Afghanistan & Europe, which were only partially successful & often accompanied by early, humiliating defeats, gave a good deal of fodder to Gladstone for his attacks. Further, Disraeli's favoured dealing with the Turks, who were responsible for horrendous atrocities against Balkan Christians also laid him open to religious attacks, especially in Gladstone's pamphlet “The Bulgarian Horrors & the Question of the East” (1876). Gladstone's campaign was a synthesis of the two approaches in a populist manner adapted towards liberalism. The Liberals secured one of their largest-ever majorities, leaving the Conservatives a distant second. As a result of the campaign, the Liberal Commons leader, Lord Hartington & that in the Lords, Lord Granville, stood back in favour of Gladstone, who thus became Prime Minister a second time. It was the last general election in which any party other than the Conservatives won a majority of the total votes (rather than a mere plurality), as well the only time (except for 1906) until 1945 in which any party other than the Conservatives won a majority. Images: 1. Leader of the Liberal party, Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (23 July 1833 – 24 March 1908), styled Lord Cavendish of Keighley between 1834 & 1858 & Marquess of Hartington between 1858 & 1891. 2. William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) who served four times as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. #britishhistory #britishpolitics