On Saturday 29th July I attended the Royal Anglian Regiment’s ‘Talavera Day’ event in Northampton. The Royal Anglian Regiment is the British Army regiment which incorporates Northamptonshire.
Talavera Day marks an important battle during the Peninsular War in 1809 in which the 1st Battalion of the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment led by the 1st Duke of Wellington played a key role in defeating enemy French forces under Napoleon in the Battle of Talavera.
During the event in Northampton, the Royal Anglian Regiment gathered at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Sheep Street to hold its annual remembrance service and witness the re-dedication of two stained glass memorial windows to its predecessor, the Northamptonshire Regiment, who fought at the battle in 1809.
I always welcome the opportunity to commemorate Northampton’s history, and celebrate our town’s distinguished heritage and military community through celebrations like Talavera Day.
(Photo: Sir Michael Ellis MP with Lt. Colonel Robert Blomfield MBE TD, the Northamptonshire County Colonel, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Northampton)