Wednesday 1st June
14.30

Ambassador, diplomat, prisoner in the Tower, dismissed, recalled, loyal subject of one king and defector to another, but most of all a soldier.  To be a great British commander required and requires the ability to work in a coalition, to placate difficult allies and to be a master of logistics.  John Churchill had all of these qualities but was also a strategic and tactical genius, who lead armies instinctively and never lost a major battle.

Much of his behaviour would be viewed with opprobrium today, but these were different times. This talk traces the career of the First Duke of Marlborough and asks was he Britain’s greatest general?