| Where | Great Broughton Village Hall | Type of Event | Illustrated Talk |
| When | Monday 25th March at 7.30 pm | Tutor | Phil Philo |
After a somewhat delayed start Phil, a local English Civil War enthusiast, gave us first a concise resume of the background to the British Civil Wars of the 17thcentury before launching into a more detailed explanation of both the impact and the practical outcome of the warring Royalist and Parliamentarian battles that actually took place in the North of England. He expertly clarified with good illustrations the situation and origins of the participating armies themselves (from Scotland, York, Hull, Derbyshire etc.) in particular the movement south of the Scots, the strategic value of the river crossings in the Tees Valley at Yarm and Piercebridge and also the importance of Guisborough in the broader picture of the history of that period. We learned of Henrietta Maria’s role in raising money in Holland together with the practical side of being a soldier in times as firepower began its ascendancy. The relatively short period Phil spoke about certainly whetted my appetite to follow through with reading more about a time usually ignored in formal education other than through its personalities Oliver Cromwell and Charles Ist and to comprehend a little better the actual impact of civil war on otherwise isolated communities trying to maintain life.