Visiting the sites of six important conflicts, this book sets out to recreate episodes which have represented turning points in British history. The author describes the conduct and topography of the battles of Hastings, Bosworth, Naseby and the Boyne, the evacuation of Dunkirk, and the Blitz.
In this programme, he walks and rides over the Hastings battlefield that marks a turning point in British history, handling the weapons and equipment of the period, and becoming a Norman knight to reveal just how close William the Conqueror came to defeat.
In this edition, he visits a battlefield on which the course of British history was changed, as Henry Tudor's dynasty toppled that of King Richard III. Holmes encounters members of the Wars of the Roses Federation, who gather to re-enact the battle, and meets present-day supporters of Richard, convinced that he was not the soulless villain portrayed by Shakespeare.
In this edition, he travels to Naseby, where, in 1645, King Charles I lost his struggle against Parliament during the decisive clash of the English Civil War. At the site, members of the Sealed Knot Civil War Reconstruction Society demonstrate the lethal power of the musket and the pike.
Richard Holmes walks by the River Boyne where William III defeated James II in 1690 and enjoys a battle re-enactment by The Irish Military And Living History Organisation.
Richard Holmes walks the beaches and breakwaters from which thousands of British troops escaped capture in May 1940.
Richard Holmes visits the sites that encapsulate the memory of the night of 29 December 1940.