Unusual tale from our maritime past
Britain's Last Invasion, by Phil Carradice
In Britain's Last Invasion, historian Phil Carradice tells how the women of Fishguard came particularly to the fore that month when 1,400 drunken and out-of-control French soldiers from the Legion Noire landed for an attempted takeover. When the local men fled, the women stood fast, and one – armed only with a pitchfork – captured 12 enemy soldiers.
The whole incident was hardly in the league of William the Conqueror, as Carradice readily acknowledges, but he makes a good case for this being a genuine invasion.
And although it was all over in a few days, he says it influenced the development of the British fleet – and even led to the introduction of paper money.
Britain's Last Invasion: The Battle of Fishguard 1797
By Phil Carradice
Pen & Sword
ISBN: 978 15267 43268
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Unexpected family fallout from the Titanic disaster
Titanic Legacy, by Dan E. ParkesDan Parkes, a filmmaker known for his 40 years of award-winning work on the Titanic, brings a different story to life in his first book, which explores the legacy of the disaster for the family of Captain Edward Smith – a member of the Nautilus predecessor union MMSA.
When the Merchant Navy goes to war
The QE2 in the Falklands War, by Commodore Ronald Warwick and David HumphreysWhen the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 became a STUFT (ship taken up from trade) in the 1982 Falklands War, the vessel's civilian crew were up for the challenge.
Crowning the latest Queen
Queen Anne: A Photographic Journey, by Chris Frame and Rachelle CrossThis glossy title celebrates the launch in May 2024 of the Queen Anne, Cunard's second largest ship, and the eighth 'Queen' in its fleet of luxury passenger vessels.
Passenger liners at their peak
The True Transatlantic Super-Liners, by David L. Williams and Richard P. De KerbrechThis captivating book transports the reader to a world before the advent of affordable air travel, when passenger liners ruled the Atlantic Ocean.