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Derby's Military Heritage, Paperback Book

Derby's Military Heritage Paperback

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Few towns and cities in Britain can boast such an exemplary military heritage as that of having saved its nation from being overwhelmed by an aerial onslaught - the city of Derby carries this status with pride. In 1940, the Rolls Royce Merlin aircraft engine - designed and manufactured in Derby - provided the iconic Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes with the power and capabilities to allow dauntless RAF pilots to ensure that the German Luftwaffe would never again threaten to conquer this island nation from the air. The formative years of the future cathedral city of Derby were characterised by successive waves of foreign invaders, as the sword and longbow were used to subjugate and to secure a site of strategic value: Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans forces all left their mark.

In the centuries that followed, local and national disputes were frequently resolved by force.

In the Civil War, Parliamentary troops were garrisoned in Derby, under the command of Baronet Sir John Gell, whose late-Victorian descendant would have a military influence on certain events in southern Africa at the time. In the 1700s, Derby formed its own militia and volunteer corps; armed and placed in uniform to help defend England from any threat Napoleon Bonaparte might pose.

During the two world wars, now with its HQ in Normanton, the Sherwood Foresters continued to emulate the outstanding fighting prowess of their regiment.

As a consequence, 67 battle honours, 2,400 decorations - including ten Victoria Crosses - were awarded.

The names of the fallen are remembered in perpetuity in memorials and plaques throughout the city - testimony to a rich military legacy.

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