The Siege of Loyalty House 

Jessie Childs:  Thursday 29 September, 7pm, School 

The award-winning author, broadcaster and historian will speak about her book on this painful period of history: 

‘a thrilling, immersive read, especially searing in our own tormented and besieged times. Her beautiful writing shines with a compassionate understanding of human courage, folly, obstinacy and frailty, at times almost Tolstoyan in its emotional intelligence and literary power.’  Simon Schama  

Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917 to 1921 

Sir Antony Beevor:  Wednesday 12 October, 7pm, New Hall 

Sir Antony Beevor was educated at Winchester and Sandhurst, where he studied military history under John Keegan. A regular officer with the 11th Hussars, he left the Army after five years to write. He has published four novels and thirteen books of non-fiction with total sales exceeding 8.5 million copies in 35 languages. We look forward to hearing Sir Antony Beevor talk about his latest book.  

Across a Waking Land: A 1000 mile Walk through a British Spring 

Roger Morgan-Grenville:  Wednesday 2 November, 7pm, New Hall 

As a soldier in the Royal Green Jackets for 9 years, Roger served in five continents and led the first expedition to successfully retrace Shackleton’s extraordinary journey across the island of South Georgia. He was the first head fund raiser for the charity Help for Heroes. A passionate, but talentless, cricketer, Roger co-founded the White Hunter Cricket Club in 1986, the subject of his book Not Our First Ball. 

The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (OW) 

Douglas Russell & Sara Wheeler:  Thursday 10 November, 7pm New Hall  

Apsley Cherry-Garrard (OW) was a talismanic figure in Scott’s 1910-13 Antarctic expedition. Sara Wheeler (Apsley’s biographer) and Douglas Russell (Natural History Museum) talk about his 1922 book, judged by the National Geographic the finest work of expedition literature ever written. With Bowers and Wilson he walked for five weeks in near darkness and bleak conditions, so cold that Apsley’s teeth shattered, in pursuit of Emperor penguin eggs, with the hope of understanding their embryology and evolutionary history.  

Operation Frankton  (better known as the film The Cockleshell Heroes)  

Lt. Col. Ewen Southby Tailyour RM:  Weds 7 December, 3pm, New Hall 

Lord Mountbatten described the Cockleshell Raid as ‘the finest commando raid of the War’. We are honoured to have Lt. Col. Ewen Southby Tailyour RM, distinguished Falklands veteran and authorised biographer of ‘Blondie’ Haslar, its extraordinary leader, tell us why it is considered one of the finest deep-penetration raids of all time, commemorated each year by the Special Boat Service with a December supper.