John Childs – författare

First published in 2006. This study looks at the first standing army in England during time of peace was that of Charles II until its dissolving. Since the earliest times kings of England had raised temporary armies in time of war, but the concept of a force which was not disbanded on the conclusion of hostilities was a radical departure.

First published in 2006. This study looks at the first standing army in England during time of peace was that of Charles II until its dissolving. Since the earliest times kings of England had raised temporary armies in time of war, but the concept of a force which was not disbanded on the conclusion of hostilities was a radical departure.

From Aeneas Tacitus to Zhukov, this is the most comprehensive dictionary of military history and military science to have been published. It covers those people, battles and campaigns, wars, countries, institutions and weapons that have fundamentally affected the nature and development of warfare. It also has a particular concern with civil-military relations and the role of armed forces in society. From the Hellenic period to the present day, including the questions of chemical and biological weaponry raised in the conflict with Iraq, the dictionary has comprehensive coverage of military history for students, scholars, specialists and general readers alike. Originally published in French under the title Dictionnaire d'Art et d'Histoire Militaires, the new English language edition is expanded and completely revised and updated. All entries now carry full lists of recommended reading, and bibliographies have been thoroughly updated to include the latest literature. Many bibliographical entries have been added, as well as accounts of individual campaigns and battles. A main feature of the book is its broad thematic entries on such topics as naval and air warfare, as well as strategy, ballistics and other specialized topics.

Between 1689 and 1697 the British army fought as a member of the Grand Alliance against Louis XIV. Despite the military and political significance of the European conflict, this book is the first historical investigation for over a century dealing with the operations of the principal campaigns in the Low Countries.John Childs begins his comprehensive study by exploring the diplomatic origins of the Nine Years’ War. Leading on from this political background, the author then focuses on the detailed organisation of the British, Dutch and other allied armies and the conduct of the operations. The specific campaigns are also examined and in particular the author looks at the strategic and tactical role played by the British. This campaign and operational study of the British army will be of interest to both specialist and general military historians, as well as to political historians.

Governor Percy Kirke's Out-Letter Book, here transcribed verbatim and annotated, covers the terminal decline of English Tangier, ending just before the arrival of Lord Dartmouth's expedition charged with demolishing the town and evacuating all personnel. It contains 152 official letters mostly addressed to the Tangier Committee, the subcommittee of the Privy Council responsible for Tangerine affairs, and Sir Leoline Jenkins, secretary of state for the south. Although all matters of civilian and military administration, from the essential to the trivial, came within the governor's purview - there was little delegation - the weight of Kirke's correspondence traces the decay of both the town's military fabric and the soldiers' morale and effectiveness, and the impossibility of reaching a satisfactory modus vivendi with the leaders of the besieging Moroccan armed forces. The text is supported by a comprehensive biographical dictionary and histories of the rival armed forces.

First Published in 2000. This book reasserts the place of the arts - dance, drama, music and the visual arts - in the primary school curriculum at Reception and Key Stages 1 and 2. It acknowledges the time constraints in a crowded curriculum and stresses a common developmental approach to the different forms of creative and aesthetic expression. The arts are presented as the vital '4th R', integrated modes of learning alongside Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, where children can absorb and express ideas, feelings and attitudes. Supported by illustrations, examples of work, a glossary of terms, appendices of addresses for resource materials and further reading, the work will stimulate and give confidence as a course textbook for student teachers and as a professional handbook for practitioners, including arts coordinators, advisory teachers and artists working in educational settings. Clear guidance is given on the development of a personal, autonomous teaching style and on evaluating and monitoring children's progression in skill acquisition, creative production and critical response.

General Percy Kirke (c. 1647-91) is remembered in Somerset as a cruel, vicious thug who deluged the region in blood after the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. He is equally notorious in Northern Ireland. Appointed to command the expedition to raise the Siege of Londonderry in 1689, his assumed treachery nearly resulted in the city’s fall and he was made to look ridiculous when the blockade was eventually lifted by a few sailors in a rowing boat. Yet Kirke was closely involved in some of the most important events in British and Irish history. He served as the last governor of the colony of Tangier; played a central role in facilitating the Glorious Revolution of 1688; and fought in the majority of the principal actions and campaigns undertaken by the newly-formed standing armies in England, Ireland and Scotland, especially the Battle of the Boyne and the first Siege of Limerick in 1689. With the aid of his own earlier work in the field, additional primary sources and a recently-rediscovered letter book, John Childs looks beyond the fictionalisation of Kirke, most notably by R. D. Blackmore in Lorna Doone, to investigate the historical reality of his career, character, professional competence, politics and religion. As well as offering fresh, detailed narratives of such episodes as Monmouth’s Rebellion, the conspiracies in 1688 and the Siege of Londonderry, this pioneering biography also presents insights into contemporary military personnel, patronage, cliques and procedures.

General Percy Kirke (c. 1647-91) is remembered in Somerset as a cruel, vicious thug who deluged the region in blood after the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. He is equally notorious in Northern Ireland. Appointed to command the expedition to raise the Siege of Londonderry in 1689, his assumed treachery nearly resulted in the city’s fall and he was made to look ridiculous when the blockade was eventually lifted by a few sailors in a rowing boat. Yet Kirke was closely involved in some of the most important events in British and Irish history. He served as the last governor of the colony of Tangier; played a central role in facilitating the Glorious Revolution of 1688; and fought in the majority of the principal actions and campaigns undertaken by the newly-formed standing armies in England, Ireland and Scotland, especially the Battle of the Boyne and the first Siege of Limerick in 1689. With the aid of his own earlier work in the field, additional primary sources and a recently-rediscovered letter book, John Childs looks beyond the fictionalisation of Kirke, most notably by R. D. Blackmore in Lorna Doone, to investigate the historical reality of his career, character, professional competence, politics and religion. As well as offering fresh, detailed narratives of such episodes as Monmouth’s Rebellion, the conspiracies in 1688 and the Siege of Londonderry, this pioneering biography also presents insights into contemporary military personnel, patronage, cliques and procedures.

This title provides an authoritative account of the wars between Britain and Ireland in the 17th century.William III's defeat of James II's Catholic army at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690 ended the Stuart dynasty's last hope of survival. It has also been central, together with the siege of Londonderry, to the foundation myth of Northern Ireland. John Childs, the leading military historian of the period, gives a clear and authoritative account of the campaign in all its stages.

The comprehensive defeat of the Jacobite Irish in the Williamite conflict, a component within the pan-European Nine Years' War, prevented the exiled James II from regaining his English throne, ended realistic prospects of a Stuart restoration and partially secured the new regime of King William III and Queen Mary created by the Glorious Revolution. The principal events - the Siege of Londonderry, the Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim, and the two Sieges and Treaty of Limerick - have subsequently become totems around which opposing constructions of Irish history have been erected. John Childs, one of the foremost authorities on warfare in Early Modern Britain and Europe, cuts through myth and the accumulations of three centuries to present a balanced, detailed narrative and chronology of the campaigns. He argues that the struggle was typical of the late seventeenth-century, principally decided by economic resources and attrition in which the small war' comprising patrols, raids, occupation of captured regions by small garrisons, police actions against irregulars and attacks on supply lines was more significant in determining the outcome than the set piece battles and sieges.

This work provides practical ideas for early music making and more sophisticated ideas for creative improvisation. Specific sections of music are explored. The first of these is that of the basic ingredients of music, such as rhythm, pitch and timbre. The second section to be explored is music for those who experience learning difficulties. Also considered is the question of how to build musical relationships. The text looks additionally at the development of musical choice and creativity.