For Ireland and King James by - A Personal Review

 

Last month my pre-order of Barry Hilton and Clarence Harrison's new book "For Ireland and King James" popped through my letterbox!!

As some of you may already be aware I already own all of Barry's collection of books on the League of Augsberg/Nine Years War period, so I certainly wasn't going to miss out on this one either.

Back in 2010 I started my collection of 15mm Essex figures based up for Beneath the Lily Banners, myself and Reject Richard started painting up English and French. I soon migrated over to Ireland, it was a toss up between the Battle of the Boyne and Aughrim. I choose the Boyne, but it could so easily have been Aughrim.

Barry and Clarence's For Ireland and King James is a veritable feast of information on the Jacobite army that campaigned in the summer of 1691 culminating in the Battle of  Aughrim on the 12th July 1691 and the 2nd Siege of Limerick Aug-Oct 1691. From uniform guides to a short history of each regiment and their flags.

If you're interested in the period or if you just like reading about history, then this book is for you.

Here's a small selection of  illustration's from the book. giving uniform and flag guides for all the Irish regiments.

I've many books on the period, but Barry has cleverly rolled them all into one book, giving you all the relevant information about each unit. e.g Col Thomas Butler's regt.

More great uniform and flag info. Here we have Butler's unusual blue cross.

More of Clarence's superb artwork

A map of Ireland, a great resource for a campaign, perhaps?

Map of the battle.

He doesn't just write books, you know?

Rapture, Medway Gaming Festival - Dutch Attack on the Medway, June 1667

 

At Parizan in 2022 I had a very long chat with Sir Barry Hilton of League of Augsberg, Beneath the Lily Banners and Donnybrook fame, whilst admiring his wonderful display of the Attack on the Medway in 1667, using his new Mad for War rules.

After the show a thought occurred to me, to see if I could persuade Barry to come down to Kent, to join the Rejects at Rapture Gaming Festival, funnily enough held at Chatham Dockyard, where we could refight the Attack on the Medway game. After all what better place to play the game, than the docks that were actually attacked.

He didn't need any persuading!

See Barry's post here.

Unfortunately for Barry, he's got a longer journey than most of the Rejects, it'll take us a mere 17 minutes and 9.2 miles, while Barry's journey will be 430 miles or a 860 mile round trip, that's dedication for you!!!

So if you feel fighting fit come and join Barry and the Rejects at Medway Gaming Festival on the 1st and 2nd of July at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Main Gate Road, Chatham, Kent.

The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch Wars in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At the time, the fortress of Upnor Castle and a barrier chain called the "Gillingham Line" were supposed to protect the English ships.

The Dutch, under nominal command of Wilem Joseph van Ghent and Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter over several days bombarded and captured the town of Sheerness, sailed up the Thames estuary to Gravesend, then sailed into the River Medway to Chatham and Gillingham, where they engaged fortifications with cannon fire, burned or captured three capital ships and ten more ships of the line and captured and towed away the flagship of the English fleet, HMS Royal Charles.

Politically, the raid was disastrous for the war plans of Charles II of England. It led to a quick end to the war, and a favourable peace for the Dutch. It was one of the worst defeats in the Royal Navy's history, and one of the worst suffered by the British military. Horace George Franks called it the "most serious defeat it has ever had in its home waters

Hopefully we'll see you there!!!