Marlborough Country
Charles Spencer tells how the victories of his great ancestor John Churchill have always fascinated him.
The battle of Blenheim has always intrigued me. At school, it was a mere footnote at the conclusion of our ‘Tudors and Stuarts’ period, considered unworthy of the attention afforded Naseby or the Spanish Armada. However, it surely shares their identity as pivotal moments in English history: the battle was the first time since the Middle Ages that this island committed its men to a central role in European warfare.
As a boy, I read up on Blenheim by myself. This private study yielded a public dividend when, aged ten or eleven, we were set a test in class by a particularly unpopular master.
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