Defence Collection

Flag of the Scottish Covenanters
The Flag of the Scottish Covenanters. They were Presbyterians sworn to defend their religion, part of a Protestant effort to seize power in Scotland against the English

The Admission by H. M. Bateman
A courtroom erupts into laughter as a defendant in a witness box admits the truth. Date: 1931

William Heath Robinson drawing showing soldiers unaware of the camouflaged famous Stonehenge moving around in Wiltshire. Date: 1941

Defence of Chateau de Hougoumont - Battle of Waterloo
Defence of the Chateau de Hougoumont by the flank company, Coldstream GuardsWatercolour by Denis Dighton, 1815Associated with Napoleonic Wars

British WWII poster
Help Britain Finish the Job! - wartime poster drumming up support for British forces, illustrated by five soldiers manning an anti-aircraft gun for defence of the coast

Gloster Gladiator
The last of Britains biplane fighters, it entered service in 1937 and took part in World War Two, notably in the defence of Malta, though quite outclassed by its opponents

Recruitment Poster - British Military 1900
THE BUFFS EAST KENT REGIMENT, 1900 (c). Poster, artist unknown, published for the Ministry of Defence, 1900 (c). Recruitment poster with uniform studies of soldiers from 1572 to 1896

Empire Air Day Poster
A poster for the Empire Air Day on Saturday 20th May 1939 at Warmwell near Dorchester. The Hawker Hurricane planes played a key role in attack and defence during WW2

Winston Churchil visiting gun sites, England, 1944
Winston Churchill visiting anti flying bomb defences in June 1944. Seen here at a gun battery in southern England. The caption on the back of the photograph reads, " The Prime Minister today

Singapore, bastion in the East, by G. H. Davis
Britains great bastion in the East: Singapore, stubborn obstacle to Japans ambitious projects in Southern Asia during the Second World War

Two Wellington bombers by G. H. Davis
Two Wellington bombers: two outstanding aircraft ready to strike. Equally famous in attack and defence: a Wellington MK 1A and (above) a Wellington Mk II. Date: 1940

Baroque main gate of the Royal Citadel, Plymouth, Devon
The Baroque main gate of the Royal Citadel, Plymouth, Devon Date: circa 1910s

AFS despatch rider and messenger, WW2
An AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service) despatch rider and messenger on a motorbike at an LFS sub-station during the Second World War

First English Civil War: Siege of Lathom House, 1644
Royalist stronghold Lathom House in Lancashire defies Parlimentarian pressure and raises the royal standard. The ensuing siege lasted three months, but was eventually lifted

Trades union membership certificate
A trades union membership certificate for the United Operative Plumbers Association of Great Britain and Ireland, with Defence and Defiance as their motto

Haltwhistle Milecastle
A view toward the Haltwhistle milecastle, on the southern side of Hadrians Wall. The milecastles served as stationing posts along the length of the wall system

Ww2 Gas Mask
A man demonstrates how to put on a gas mask

Siege of Malta 1565
Jean de la Valette defends the island against the Turks

Soldiers doing target practice on a shooting range
A group of men doing target practice on a shooting range before the outbreak of the First World War. Their success or otherwise is written up on various blackboards

Siege of Londonderry
SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY A popular image depicting the successful defence of the city by the protestants against James II

Wellington reorganizes his defence - Battle of Waterloo
7pm - June 18, 1815. The Duke of Wellington reorganizes his central defence after the loss of La Haye Sainte. At the same time, The Prussians once again regain control of Plancenoit

Winston Churchill and his daughter unite for the war effort
Mr. Churchill at a London gun site during a raid:drawing made on the spot. The premier watches his daughter, subaltern Mary Churchill, in the control room

The Modern Boy front cover - Nelson polar bear attack
Front cover of The Modern Boy featuring an illustration showing Horatio Nelson when young fighting off an attack from a polar bear when his ship was frozen in ice in the Arctic. Date: 1932

Cooling Buoys Icing the Gulf Stream to Chill the Enemy
British U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic, showing mine-like cooling-buoys armed with icing apparatus for lowing the Gulf Stream temperature and the morable! Date: 1941

William Thompsons fight off Poole, Dorset, 30 May 1695. Thompson was a local fisherman whose fishing boat was fired on by a French privateer near the Isle of Purbeck

Woman police officer in self-defence exercise
Woman police officer (Moya Wood-Heath) taking part in a self-defence demonstration exercise at an outdoor event, watched by spectators. Date: circa early 1970s

WW2 Poster -- Women of Britain Come Forward Now
Women of Britain -- These scientific instruments demand nimble fingers and quick brains. Come Forward Now. Recruitment poster, Auxiliary Territorial Service

Pit Ponies in Retirement - Plum & Danny with Alfred Brisco (Organising Secretary). Card issued on behalf of The National Equine Defence League. Date: circa late 1930s

Mitsubishi A5M4 Claude
A Japan - Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A5M4 Claude Parked Date: 1940s

Mitsubishi A5M Claude
A Japan - Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A5M Claude Parked Date: 1940s

Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (1661-1747). Corfu. Gree
Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg (1661-1747). Marshal defender of the city of Corfu of the Turkish invasion of 1716. Marble statue. Corfu. Ionian Islands. Greece

Map, Britain -- Spearhead of Attack, WW2. Date: 1940s

Blitz in London -- Auxiliary towing vehicle and trailer, WW2
An example of an Auxiliary towing vehicle and its trailer pump, used during the London Blitz. Such units would have been allocated to sub-stations (under the control of a regular fire station)

British troops WWII
Pictures of the 4th Border Regiment who held a large sector of the Somme during a vital stage in the German advance. They were an ordinary Infantry Battalion

Margery Crandon 7
Spirit photo of controversial American medium Margery, with alleged spirit faces. Few today would attempt a defence of Margery - writes investigator J Gordon Melton

Cicero V Verres
Cicero leads the opposition against Verres, governor of Sicily, who will throw up his defence and take flight

?Army. Protecting Britain?s future?, 1993.Colour photolithograph recruiting poster, published by Ministry of Defence, 1993. Date: 1993

Advertisement, James Figg, sword fighting, boxing
Advertisement for the services of the champion boxer James Figg - teaching gentlemen the use of the small backsword and quarterstaff, at home and abroad

WW2 defence, illustration by William Heath Robinson
Defence during WW2 -- Stout members of the sixth column dislodge an enemy machine gun post on the dome of St Paul s, illustration by William Heath Robinson. Credit must appear as: Courtesy of Mrs J

Turkish poster celebrating defence of Gallipoli, WW1
Turkish poster celebrating the defence of Gallipoli against the Allies during the First World War. Date: 1915

Pterois volitans, red lionfish
Plate 112 from the John Reeves Collection. John Reeves, a 19th Century Tea Inspector, travelled to Canton, China in order to develop a large collection of Chinese natural history drawings

HMS Bonaventure - an Astraea-Class second-class cruiser
Royal Navy - HMS Bonaventure, an Astraea-Class second-class cruiser of the Royal Navy, ordered as part of the eight-ship Astraea class under the Naval Defence Act of 1889

Uk Army Aeroplane No. 207 a Maurice Farman Type Royal Ai?
Uk Army Aeroplane No. 207 a Maurice Farman Type Royal Airforce 2 Squadron Aircraft Date: 1910s

Southwark Cavalry. Aquatint by and after Thomas Rowlandson, 1799 (c). From a volume of 86 aquatints entitled ?Loyal Volunteers of London and Environs

Westminster Cavalry. Aquatint by and after Thomas Rowlandson, 1799 (c). From a volume of 86 aquatints entitled ?Loyal Volunteers of London and Environs

Uhlans at Liege
A detachment of German Uhlans charging a fort at Liege, Belgium, only to encounter the barbed wire defences constructed by order of General Liman, commander of the Belgian troops in Liege

LFB-AFS convoy and fire exercise
Part of the Civil Defence Corps until it was disbanded in the late 1960s, the Auxiliary Fire Service consisted of volunteer firefighters who would attend a fire station for drill and training

Blitz in London -- AFS firefighters, WW2
Blitz in London -- a personal photograph, taken by a colleague, of life in the AFS at a sub-station, showing firewomen on the Heavy Unit of Sub-station 67Z

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