Napoleonic Re-enactors this weekend!



68th
(DURHAM)
LIGHT INFANTRY
AT HUTTON-LE-HOLE & RYDALE
1811



1811 (An outline)
Britain is at War, there is a Tory Government and the system of Governance is changing.
In February King George the IIIrd was pronounced ‘unfit’ to rule having descended into madness. His son George the Prince of Wales has been declared sovereign by proxy. He rules as king in all but title. So begins ‘The Regency’. However his extravagant lifestyle and spending continue to make him unpopular as is the Tory Government which has made him Regent. Led by Spencer Perceval, (In 1812 to become the only British Prime Minister to be assassinated.....yet?), the Tory Government is notable only for is lack of senior statesmen. Taxation is rising to pay for the war.
The War with Napoleon’s France continues. This year the Royal Navy has again defeated a French Fleet at the Battle of Lisa on March 13th. Whilst Napoleon himself fights the armies of Russia and Austria in central Europe a succession of his Marshalls lead armies in Spain and Portugal against the Anglo Portuguese Army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington. They have recently been defeated at the Battle of Albuera on May 16th. Portugal is clear from French occupation and the British Army is setting the conditions to commence clearing Spain of its ‘French pestilence’.

The 68th Regiment
The 68th has been recovering from the disastrous expedition to Walcheren in 1809 and has finally returned to fighting condition.
In early June the 68th sailed from Portsmouth to Join the British Army in the Peninsular. They have left behind a depot in Sussex, and recruiting parties throughout the country, scouring for recruits for the Regiment to be trained as elite Light Infantrymen.

One such party is moving through Ryedale en- route to Scarborough and Hull, enlisting likely lads for adventure in Spain and Portugal, to serve with Honour for King George and their country. Come and meet them today and perhaps ‘list for the life of a soldier’ and take the Kings Shilling.

GOD SAVE THE KING


A Rough Plan for the Weekend

10.30AM The Trotter Knapsack

11.00am "dress a soldier"

12.noon Civilans and Wellington's army.

1.00PM Messing

1.30PM Lunch

2.30PM Musket Firing Display.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Award Winners!

Image
Last night we were crowed the winner of the White Rose Tourism Award for Small Visitor Attraction of the year! We were up against some stiff competition including the James Herriot Museum and the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds, so were over the moon to win this prestigious award, and were honestly shocked when they called our name, I had to quickly put my shoes on to get on the stage! With us being so hidden away, and to win out of the entire of Yorkshire  is an incredible achievement , all the staff and volunteers at the museum have worked really hard to improve the experience for our visitors, and it is so nice that all that hard work has been recognised. You can’t stand still in times like this, we rely on visitors coming through the door to afford to open each year, and to do that we need to continuously be improving our offer and opening the museum up to new audiences. It is a fantastic way to kick start our 50 th Anniversary celebrations next year! It was a real team effor...
Read more

There Be Pirates Perform in The Manor House

California based band 'There Be Pirates' put on a stirring performance at the museum on Sunday. Visitors packed out the Manor House to see and hear the pirates' music performed, and to take part themselves, children of visitors were encouraged to provide backing music as drums and maracas were distributed among the audience. Below is a video of some of the show (sound quality is not great but it gives an idea of the fun) as well as some photographs of the Pirate band. Carrie Gough (photos by Pete)
Read more

Ryedale Calling Ecuador

Image
Ryedale Calling Ecuador was an evening event held at the museum as part of the current family learning project. A live Skype-Video weblink was established allowing families from Ryedale to communicate directly with families from Ecuador. This was an opportunity to learn about the differences and similarities between our cultures. We discovered we share many traditions such as Christmas Carols and a similar Father Christmas tradition. There were also many differences such as national dress, food, wildlife and schooling among others. For some highlights of the night click on the videos below. One of the participants, Declan, was kind enough to bring his guitar and played some Christmas songs to those in Ecuador. The video below is of an improvised version of 'silent night', a song the Ecuador families knew in Spanish. To end the night the families in Ryedale and the families in Ecuador joined together to sing a few verses of 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas' led by Declan o...
Read more