Cornwall's Military Heritage

The county of Cornwall in the far South West of England is surrounded by sea on three sides. Resisting Roman and Anglo-Saxon invaders, it retained its Celtic independence separate from the rest of England into the Middle Ages. Cornwall has a rich military history that stretches back through centuries and evidence of this military heritage can be seen throughout the county with numerous buildings and other structures still standing proudly today.Cornwall’s Military Heritage explores the long military history of the county, not only the battles that took place on its soil and the measures that were taken to defend it against possible attack but also the heritage of the military units that were raised in the county and which were sent to fight in conflicts abroad. At home Cornwall was home to two uprisings in 1497 and the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549 and raided by the Spanish in 1595. In the English Civil War Cornwall was a Royalist stronghold in the predominantly Parliamentarian South-West, Pendennis Castle was besieged and the strategic Isles of Scilly contested by both sides. Soldiers from the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and antecedents fought through two World Wars and earlier conflicts and the military heritage of castles, fortifications, airfields, military bases and monuments throughout the county is also explored.This book will be of interest to all those who would like to know more about Cornwall’s remarkable military history.