An enthusiastic audience of over a hundred crowded into East Tilbury Village Hall on Friday 13th, May, to hear Professor Richard Holmes CBE TD, give a lecture entitled “Tommy”, presented by Thurrock Local History Society in aid of the Coalhouse Fort Project.

Richard Holmes gave a lively and informative talk on the history of the First World War, mainly from the aspect of “Tommy”, the ordinary private soldier and his life in the trenches. The audience was captivated with his detailed knowledge of this momentous episode of British history. He willingly signed copies of his books that members of the audience had brought along and the evening finished with a question and answer session. Special guests, Cllr. Ian Harrison, Thurrock’s Mayor and Daphne Hart, Mayoress, were keenly interested in the subject due to their several visits to the World War I battle sites.

The photograph shows:

Ian Harrison, Thurrock’s Mayor, Daphne Hart, the Mayoress, Professor Richard Holmes and Susan Yates, Chairman of Thurrock Local History Society.

Richard Holmes is currently (June, 2005) presenting the Life of Sir Winston Churchill on BBC 4 which will be shown on terrestrial TV in the autumn. He is professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University. He rose to the rank of Colonel in the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment and has been a Brigadier in the Territorial Army since 1999. He was appointed OBE (Military) in 1986 and was awarded the CBE in 1998. His expertise is in military history with an accent on the 19th century and the two world wars. He supported Coalhouse Fort in the 1st series of the BBC’s Restoration programme.