Discover the Hereford Military History Festival, a unique event celebrating the power of storytelling in understanding war, conflict and military heritage.
Held in the historic city of Hereford – home to a proud military tradition and the legendary SAS – this festival brings together acclaimed authors, historians and military experts for three days of engaging talks and insightful discussions.
Focusing on military literature, memoirs, historical analysis, and war writing, the festival offers a rare opportunity to hear from the leading voices in the field.
Whether you’re passionate about military history books, enjoy war memoirs, or are interested in the literary legacy of conflict, the Hereford Military History Festival is an event which you can’t afford to miss.
Perfect for history enthusiasts, students and readers alike, it’s a powerful blend of education and commemoration – right in the heart of the beautiful county of Herefordshire.
The Festival is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant and is committed to supporting the Herefordshire Veteran Support Centre.
Event Speakers:
Peter Apps is global affairs commentator at Reuters, a British Army reservist and executive director of pop-up think tank the Project for Study of the 21st Century (PS21). Peter has reported from across the world as Reuters political risk and global defence correspondent, and was appointed a columnist in 2016. He undertook reserve military training with both the British and U.S. armies and more recently as a UK specialist army reservist, providing advice, analysis and training and serving two full-time tours of duty during the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war.
He is the author of two successful Kindle Singles, Before Ebola and Churchill in the Trenches.
Patrick Baty was a former officer in both the regular Army and also in the Artists Rifles. He has since become the archivist and historian of the latter. He has an artistic background. Two great grandparents were the artists Robert Bevan and Stanisława de Karłowska and he has researched the circles in which they moved and assisted in exhibitions of their works.
Since leaving the Army he has pursued a career in the decoration of historic buildings. His work covers research, paint analysis, colour & technical advice. Projects have ranged from King Henry VIII’s heraldic Beasts and London social housing estates to major structures such as Tower Bridge and Stowe House.
Patrick is a Fellow of both the Societies of Antiquaries of London and also of Scotland.
A former regular officer in the British Army, Antony Beevor served in Germany during the Cold War. His books include Stalingrad, Berlin, D-Day, The Battle for Spain and the Second World War. His work, which has received major prizes, has appeared in thirty-seven languages and sold more than nine million copies. His latest book is Russia – Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Historical Society, and a former chair of the Society of Authors, he has received honorary doctorates and fellowships from five universities. In 2014, he received the Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Literature, and in 2016 the Historical Association’s Norton Medlicott Medal for services to history. He was knighted in 2017.
During his 40 years as a British soldier, Major General Denaro commanded his Regiment in the war to liberate Kuwait and was Chief of Staff of some 44,000 multinational troops during the Balkans conflict. He then became Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for 3 years. For 6 years until his retirement in Mar 2003, he was the Middle East adviser to the UK Secretary of State for Defence.
He became an OBE after the Gulf War in 1991 and a CBE following his time in the Former Yugoslavia in 1995. He was a trustee and a council member of the Princes’ Trust 2000-2008, and an adviser to the Crown Prince of Bahrain 2003-07. He became a senior adviser to the court of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and other governments in the Gulf Region. He formed an Advisory Board to the UK MoD on Middle East issues, which lasted until 2020, and he now works with Forward Thinking, a non-governmental organisation that works in the UK and the Gulf-MENA region to resolve conflict through inclusive dialogue.
Major General Denaro is an Extra Equerry to His Majesty the King and a retired Deputy Lieutenant for Herefordshire.
Angharad Hampshire was born in Manchester in 1972. She has worked as a radio producer for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service in London, honorary lecturer in journalism at the University of Hong Kong and regular contributor to the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. She has a Doctor of Arts in creative writing from the University of Sydney. Angharad lives in York with her family and teaches creative writing at York St John University.
Bill Jackson is a member of the College of Healing, practicing for over 50 years using crystals created by Buddhist monks under meditation. Also practices distance healing. Mind, Body, Spirit Wellbeing and Energy Healing. Lectures and give talks worldwide and has an international energy healing practice using traditional healing for contemporary times. Engaged in environmental organisations, including the early stages of Green Peace protecting the whales and involved in the Herefordshire & Radnorshire Nature Trust from the early 1960s to a lifetime membership of the Wildlife Trust. Awarded life membership of the Marine Conservation Society. Bill is the author of 3 books: A Thousand Years of High Sheriffs in Herefordshire Mortimer Landscape of North Herefordshire, with his third book to be published shortly.
Hilary Meredith-Beckham is a solicitor, lobbyist and campaigner best known for her work on behalf of UK service personnel, veterans and their families. Hilary has acted in thousands of cases against the MoD, recovering hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation. Hilary’s career in protecting the welfare of the armed forces spans cases from Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Gulf War 1, Afghanistan and Iraq including incidents on manoeuvres and in training in countries from Belize to Hong Kong and Canada.
She provided evidence to the Select Defence Committee on the Iraq historic abuse cases, which ultimately contributed to the closure of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team. Hilary gave evidence at the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Brecon Beacon fatalities, Beyond Endurance, recommending that the MoD should be subject to the Corporate Manslaughter Act where there has been a reckless disregard for life – a recommendation which the Inquiry upheld.
The Law Society paid tribute to Hilary’s “groundbreaking work on behalf of the Armed Forces”.
Venues:
Hereford Cathedral
The present Hereford cathedral dates back to 1079 and has the largest library of chained books in the world, its most famous treasure being the Mappa Mundi, the largest medieval map still known to exist, depicting the known world at the time, created around 1300.
College Hall
The Hereford College Hall is actually the Hereford Cathedral College Cloisters, a Grade I listed building built between 1472 and 1475. It was originally designed to house 27 vicars but underwent renovations in the 16th and 19th centuries. The building complex was known as the College of Vicars Choral.
The Green Dragon Hotel
One of the oldest hotels in Britain, with roots dating back more than 900 years to an inn on this site called the White Lyon. The stonemasons who built Hereford Cathedral are believed to have been housed here. During the Middle Ages, it became a popular hostelry for pilgrims visiting the shrines of St Ethelbert and St Thomas Canteloupe, in the Cathedral.
Hereford Town Hall
The elegant Edwardian building was opened in 1904 and houses the town’s civic administration, including council chambers and the registrar’s office.
The Town Hall was designed by the architect HA Cheers and constructed by WJ Bowers. The result is an outstanding example of Edwardian architecture and is listed Grade II* by English Heritage for its historical value.
Castle Green Pavilion
The Pavilion at Castle Green is a Grade II listed Georgian building on Medieval foundations located in the heart of Hereford City on the banks of the River Wye and overlooking the historic Castle Green itself.
Book tickets now – https://www.herefordmilitaryhistoryfestival.com/our-events
