A few Dutch-Belgians more ... and some Brunswickers as well!

I have now finished varnishing and basing the unit of Dutch-Belgian Carabiniers that I had forgotten that I had ...

... along with an additional unit of Brunswick Infantry ...

... and a mounted Brunswick officer.

The latter is a carefully repainted Prussian mounted officer (Blucher, I think) that was surplus to requirements.

The next batch of figures that I hope to tackle is some Hanoverian Infantry (enough for an additional unit) and two Hanoverian officers on foot.

The 'Journal of the Waterloo Campaign kept throughout the campaign of 1815' by Captain Cavalié Mercer

I am currently reading Captain Cavalié Mercer's famous JOURNAL OF THE WATERLOO CAMPAIGN KEPT THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN OF 1815 ... and it is an even better book than I expected it would be.

The book was written sometime in the early 1840s and published after Mercer's death in 1870. It was based on notes that Mercer wrote at the time of the Waterloo Campaign, and he acknowledges that the book might not be totally accurate. That said, he did try to verify any points upon which he was unsure by corresponding with other survivors. The book covers the period from April 1815 to January 1816 and deals not only with the immediate events of the Battle of Waterloo, but also what happened in the run up to the battle and the occupation of Paris.

I have found the book to be a very interesting read, and its style is nowhere near as stodgy as I expected. In fact the descriptions of Flanders and its population are a delight, and having travelled in that area I was struck by how little it has actually changed over the past two hundred years.

Spanish Civil War: Day-by-Day: 8th August 1936

The French Government changed its attitude towards Republican Spain and stopped further sales of arms and ammunition. This marked the beginning of the Non-Intervention Policy.

Dutch-Belgian reinforcements are on their way!

The Dutch-Belgian Infantry that I began to renovate, varnish, and base last Sunday are now finished, and are ready to take their place alongside the rest of my small Dutch-Belgian army.

I now have five unit of Infantry (each of six figures), two units of Cavalry (each of four figures) four officers on foot, and one mounted officer in my Dutch-Belgian army. I also have a further Cavalry unit (which I had forgotten I had!) waiting on my work table to be dealt with, along with enough Brunswick Infantry to form a further unit for that army. I also hope to re-paint one of my 'spare' mounted Prussian officers so that he is wearing a black uniform. This will enable me to use him as a mounted officer for my Brunswick army.

I have been to ... Fort Charlotte, Lerwick, Shetland Islands

The fort that currently stands near to the seafront of Lerwick is the third to have been built on the site.

The first fort was built during the First Anglo-Dutch War, and was replaced by a second during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. This second fort cost £28,000 in 1665, and even though it was unfinished it held off a Dutch attack in 1667. Unfortunately its garrison was withdrawn at the end of the war and not reinstated when the Third Anglo-Dutch War started, with the result that the fort was unmanned and burned to the ground by the Dutch in 1673.

The third (and current) fort was built on the same site in 1781. It was named after King George III's wife, Queen Charlotte. It was garrisoned during the Napoleonic Wars, and was later used as Lerwick's jail and courthouse and as a customs house and coastguard station. It has also served as a local base for Royal Naval Reserve, and currently houses the local Territorial Army unit and a Cadet Force unit.

Fort Charlotte is now managed by Historic Scotland.

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We entered the fort through one of the side gateways ...

... and emerged into the open centre of the fort.

An excellent guide to the fort was situated near to where we had entered.

We then climbed atop the gateway through which we had come, and this gave us a panoramic view of the fort.

Having climbed down again, we walked to the far side of the fort in order to see it from that point of view.

Along the seaward side of the fort were a number of replica 18-pounder cannons ...

... some of which had proof markings from 1991 to indicate that they could be used to fire salutes.

We then walked towards the barrack block ...

... which is still in use by the local Territorial Army unit, the G Troop, 212 (Highland) Battery, 105th Regiment, Royal Artillery.

We then made our way towards the rear gateway, and this gave us the opportunity to see the landward wall of the fort.

We then passed through the gateway ...

... and made our way uphill towards Lerwick's Town Hall.

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A short history of 105th Regiment, Royal Artillery (also known as 'The Scottish & Ulster Gunners')

105th Regiment, Royal Artillery was formed in 1986 as an Air Defence Regiment, with its HQ in Edinburgh and its batteries (207 (City of Glasgow) Air Defence Battery, 212 (Highland) Air Defence Battery, and 218 (Lothian) Air Defence Battery) in Glasgow, Arbroath, and Livingstone. A year later a further battery (219 (City of Dundee) Air Defence Battery) was added.

In 1993 206 (Ulster) Battery was transferred to the regiment from 102nd (Ulster) Air Defence Regiment, and 219 (City of Dundee) Air Defence Battery was disbanded. The regiment was then renamed 105 Regiment, Royal Artillery (Volunteers).

Twelve years later the regiment's role was changed, and it became a field artillery regiment, armed with L118 105mm Light Guns. At the same time 218 (Lothian) Air Defence Battery was disbanded.

Currently the regiment comprises:

• Regimental Headquarters (Edinburgh)
• 206 (Ulster) Battery
• Battery Headquarters and A Troop (Newtownards)
• B Troop (Coleraine)
• 207 (City of Glasgow) Battery
• Battery Headquarters and C Troop (Partick, Glasgow)
• D Troop (Colinton, Edinburgh)
• 212 (Highland) Battery
• Battery headquarters and E Troop (Arbroath)
• F Troop (Kirkcaldy)
• G Troop (Lerwick)

206 (Ulster) Battery and 207 (City of Glasgow) Battery are responsible for firing all Royal Salutes in Ulster (at Hillsborough Castle) and Scotland (at Edinburgh Castle and Stirling Castle) respectively. An NCO from 207 (City of Glasgow) Battery is also responsible for firing the famous daily 'One O'Clock Gun' at Edinburgh Castle.

April 9th: An interesting film about the German invasion of Denmark in 1940

I recently bought an Amazon Fire TV Stick and have been watching some of the films that are available. One of these was APRIL 9th (originally made in 2015 and entitled 9.APRIL in Danish), and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the history of the early part of the Second World War.

The film tells the story of a group of Danish bicycle infantry who are sent to try to stem the German invasion of Denmark on 9th April 1940. In the last days of peace a Danish bicycle infantry company based in South Jutland prepares for the possibility of war. A motorcycle reconnaissance platoon arrives to support them, and together they are mobilised and sent southwards when a border post is overwhelmed by the German invader.

The motorcycle reconnaissance platoon speeds ahead of the bicycle infantry, ...

... but is soon forced back by the advancing German armoured and motorised troops. The bicycle infantry company makes a stand, ...

... but it too is overwhelmed, and only the remnants of a platoon manage to escape. After stopping for a while at a farm to rest and recover, they then set off to rejoin the motorcycle reconnaissance platoon, who have set up a roadblock. Their efforts are hampered by the crowds of civilians who have come out to watch events, ...

... but the latter soon disperse when the advancing Germans arrive and the defenders are forced to retreat yet again.

They eventually arrive at the town of Haderslev, where they join the defenders. A German atack is not long coming, and the platoon carries of fighting ...

... until it runs out of ammunition, at which point it surrenders, only to find out that the country's government had surrendered to the Germans some hours earlier.

The film has subtitles (something that not all viewers will like) but it seems to be well researched and the military equipment looks very authentic. For those who have a particular interest in weaponry there is one scene that shows a Madsen Light Machine Gun being fired from a rather complex looking tripod mount, and another where a German armoured vehicle is engaged by a 20mm Madsen Anti-tank Cannon that is mounted on the sidecar of a motorcycle combination.

I have been to ... Scalloway Castle, Shetland Islands

Scalloway Castle is on Mainland the largest island on the Shetlands and was built in 1600 by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney (c. 1566 – 6th February 1615). Stewart had just been made an Earl, and the castle was one of the residences he used when on Shetland. Construction of the building took seven years, and when it was completed it also served as a meeting place for Shetland’s thing or parliament.

Patrick Stewart did not remain in power very long, and in 1609 the Shetland lairds made complaints to the king about Patrick's poor governance of the islands. Patrick was subsequently imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle, and executed for treason in 1615 when he encouraged his son Robert to retake his Orkney possessions.

In the meantime control of the islands had passed to the Bishop of Orkney (James Law), and it is recorded that he held his first court at Scalloway Castle in August 1612. From then on the castle went into a slow decline, and by the 1650s it was being used to house a small garrison of soldiers. By the early 1700s its condition was described as poor, and some the original ornamental stonework had been removed and used in building projects elsewhere on Shetland.

The ruins are now maintained by Historic Scotland.

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Scalloway Castle must have been quite an impressive building when it was completed, and its style is definitely 'Scottish Baronial', with lots of turrets ...

... and towers.

The main entrance is on the ground floor, and shows evidence of some sort of carved ornamentation over the door.

When we entered, we went up a short flight of stairs ...

... and along a corridor ...

... before we entered what remains of the building's Great Hall.

Another corridor ...

... gave us access to the castle's undercroft, which was used for storage and as a kitchen area.

We then returned by the same corridor ...

... to the castle's entrance.