Museum Friends Talks Programme

All talks take place on the last Saturday each the month at 2pm. The talks are a live event at the museum but also simultaneously broadcasted on Zoom. Talks are free for the Friends. For others, the charge is £6 either via Eventbrite or tickets purchased at Warwick Tourist Information Centre. Tickets include admission to the museum.

If you are a member of the Friends and not attending in person, a link will be automatically sent to your email at 1:45pm. If you are not currently a Friend, talks can be either be booked through Eventbrite (go to The Fusilier Museum, Warwick (fusiliermuseumwarwick.com)) or by contacting the Friends' Secretary Jonathan Davy at friends.fusiliermuseumwarwick@gmail.com. Tickets can also be brought in the Fusilier Museum Warwick or Warwick Tourist Information Centre.

Talks Programme 2024

27/01/24  ‘The 350th Anniversary Talk: William of Orange and the founding of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1674-‘the sooner you can come here the better’’ by David Baynham: The talk will include a rare chance to see the original letters written by William of Orange to Sir Walter Vane.

24/02/24   ‘Hannah Snell-an 18th century female icon’ by Chris Kirby: Hear the most remarkable and disputed story of Hannah who disguised herself  as a man to join the Sixth of Foot (later Royal Warwicks) and ended up a celebrity on the West End Stage.

30/03/24  ‘Women and Children First’ by David Seeney: The incredible story of how this code of conduct was born when the Birkenhead was wrecked in 1852 with the 6th Foot (later Royal Warwicks) and other Regiments on board; on show will be artefacts from the wreck and a medal awarded to a man who survived.

27/04/ 24 ‘Drones and Digital Mapping-Recreating the Royal Warwicks’ progress in Normandy 1944’ by Jonathan Davy: As we approach the 80th anniversary of this iconic campaign, follow the story of the two Royal Warwicks battalions involved in the fighting and learn about the final journey of four men commemorated on the Warwick War Memorial.

25/05/24 ‘Monty Vs. Rommel on D-Day’ by Zita Fletcher: An In-depth look at the personal and strategic duel between Montgomery and German Field Marshal Rommel in the build-up to and launch of Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944, with insights from German sources.

29/06/24 ‘Gallantry at Sea 1917’ by David Seeney: Learn how men of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment were awarded the rare Sea Gallantry medal with one of the awards on display. 

27/07/24 ‘Napoleon and the World’s Best Medal’ by Mick Atkinson: When in exile, Napoleon befriended Captain Poppleton who was sent to guard him; learn why Napoleon presented Poppleton with his very own and unique Légion d’ Honneur, what happened to the medal subsequently and how the speaker remarkably managed to acquire it.

August     no talk

28/09/24 ‘From Trenches to Beaches-Brigadiers of the British Army in France and Norway 1940’ by Phil McCarty: A popular misconception believes that after two strategic failures in Norway and France in 1940, there was a far-reaching clear out of the officer corps; using the Army’s upper middle management (Brigadiers), this talk will show that some officers thrived after 1940 but this was not the case overall!

26/10/24 ‘Two Continents and Four Wars: the 6th Foot in America and Europe from 1775 to 1815’ by Ian Binnie: An outline of the little known but fascinating story of the 6th Foot (Royal Warwicks) in America and Spain between 1775 and 1815: they crossed the Atlantic four times in the service of the King.

30/11/24 ‘Remembrance after the Great War’ by Andrew Hamilton: Following six years of research into how communities and families commemorated their dead, Andrew will talk about the wealth of fascinating information uncovered at the same time highlighting the artistic merit and occasional quirkiness of British memorials.

December-no talk