FIBIS Blog

Reconsidering the Raj image

Reconsidering the Raj

01 Feb | News,

Reconsidering the Raj imageReconsidering the Raj

A lecture series on British India presented by  the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia

Tuesday 6 February

With Havelock at Lucknow 1857: City, Siege and Resistance

The Siege of Lucknow is one of the most dramatic events of the Indian Mutiny. At great odds the small garrison of soldiers, civilians and schoolboys defended the British Residency against over 8000 rebel sepoys. A relief force under General Sir Henry Havelock cut through but was too weakened by casualties to evacuate the defenders. It was not until two months later that an army under Sir Colin Campbell fought its way through the forces investing Lucknow, estimated by now at over 30,000, to link up with Havelock and evacuate the defenders. Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones OBE, author of many acclaimed books on Lucknow, and Sir Mark  Havelock-Allan QC, 5th Baronet of Lucknow and great-great-grandson of General Havelock, analyse the siege and the attempts to relieve the beleaguered garrison, and explore why it so gripped the imagination of Victorian Britain. A re-examination of an extraordinary episode in imperial history.

Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones is author of  The Uprising of 1857  (2017) and RSAA Archivist

Sir Mark Havelock-Allan is President of BACSA

Tuesday 6 March

Afghanistan: Britain ‘s Imperial Misadventures

It is often overlooked that Britain ‘s most recent military involvement in Afghanistan is the fourth in a string of conflicts dating back to the nineteenth century. Determined to safeguard British India ‘s borders, the British fought three campaigns on Afghan territory between 1838 and 1919. The Anglo-Afghan wars of the 19th and early 20th centuries resulted in some of the worst military calamities ever sustained by the Raj in this part of the world. In the first war alone, a column of 16,000 soldiers and civilians was annihilated on the retreat from Kabul. Jules Stewart ‘s talk looks at the lack of understanding of Afghanistan and its people that led to disaster and considers the lessons to be learnt.

Jules Stewart is  author of  On Afghanistan ‘s Plains, The Savage Border  and five other books on Afghanistan and the North West Frontier.

6-8.30pm, Wolfson Conference Room 1, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, Malet Street, Bloomsbury WC1E 7HU

Tickets £7.50  include wine reception ( £5 BACSA members)  

Booking online:  see  http://www.bacsa.org.uk/?page_id=2043