1/94e Regiment de Ligne

The 94e Regiment de Ligne can trace its heritage back to January 1st 1709 when the Regiment Royal Baverie was raised for the War of Spanish Succession by the Comte de Baviere, son of the Elector of Bavaria and was the last regiment raised during the reign of Louis XIV of France.

Comte Emmanuel-Francois-Joseph de Baverie

The regiment consisted of two battalions and saw service during the War of Polish Succession 1733-1738 serving in the Rhineland and Italy, the War of Austrian Succession 1740-1748 taking part in the defence of Prague after its capture in 1742.

During the Seven Years War 1756 -1763 the regiment was ranked 101st seeing service in the European theatre with participation in the Battles of Hastenbeck (1757), Battle of Bergen (1759) and Battle of Minden (1759).

In 1760 the regiment raised a third battalion and was in action against an Anglo-Hanoverian force under Ferdinand the Prince of Brunswick at Emsdorf where it lost 300 men and its Colonel, Count von Helffenberg killed by a cannon shot, with the regiment managing to retire whilst narrowly avoiding encirclement.

Battle of Emsdorf

On April 15th 1780 the regiment came under the command of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt and changed its name to the Regiment Royal Hesse Darmstadt. It would see service during the American War of Independence as part of the French expeditionary forces.

In 1791, with the incorporation of the foreign regiments into the French army, the regiment was retitled the 94e Regiment d'Infanterie, later becoming the 94e demi-brigade de bataille in 1794 as the French restructured their forces to fight the Revolutionary War.

In 1794 the 94e demi-brigade de bataille consisted of the following units:

2e bataillon, 47e Regiment d'Infanterie
1er bataillon, Volontaires de Saone-et-Loire
1er bataillon, Volontaires du Cher
6e bataillon, Volontaires de lYonne
Detatchment of Volontaires de Marne-et-Loire

In 1796 the composition of the 94e demi-brigade changed again:

171e demi-brigade de bataille (1er Bataille 94e Regiment d'Infanterie, 1er bataillon, Volontaires des Pyrenees-Orientales and the 6e bataillon, Volontaires de Saone-et-Loire)
2e bataillon, Volontaires des Vosages
4e bataillon, Volontaires du Haute-Rhin
5e bataillon, Volontaires du Bas-Rhin
7e bataillon, Volontaires du Jura

During this period the the regiment would see service at Valmy and Jemmapes (1792), Nerwinden (1793), Arlon, Fleurus and Aldenhoven (1794) and the expedition to Ireland (1796)

In 1803, and the accession of Napoleon, the regiment was retitled the 94e Reiment d'Infanterie de Ligne under Colonel Jean-Nicolas Razout. With Colonel Razout's promotion to General de Brigade in 1807, the regiment came under the command of Colonel Jean-Antoine-Francois Combelle who would lead the 94e Ligne through to 1813.

Colonel Razout

By the time Colonel Combelle led the 94e Ligne into Spain the regiment had added Austerlitz, Jena and Freidland to its laurels  and was a veteran unit in the truest sense of the word.

Depictions of the 94e Ligne are limited and so I have based the look of my regiment on the Otto manuscript illustrations seen above showing the sappeur and soldiers of the elite companies as they looked in 1807 in Hamburg. The grenadier is pictured wearing the bearskin with red rather that white chords and the voltigeur with yellow rather than green chords.

The sappeur can be seen sporting light blue facings, possibly reflecting the light blue coat colour worn as a German regiment in the old French Royal army, and I aim to include a suitable figure in one of my three battalions and have adopted the light blue facings to adorn my musicians.

My 1/94e Ligne are composed of figures from AB carrying a Colour from GMB Flags

Sources consulted for this post included:
Napoleon's Line Infantry, Haythornthwaite and Fosten - Osprey Men at Arms
French Napoleonic Line Infantry - Emir Bukhari
Napoleon's Soldiers, The Grande Armee of 1807 (The Otto Manuscript) - Guy C Dempsey Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/94th_Infantry_Regiment_(France)
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_frenchinf10.html
http://www.wikiwand.com/de/94e_r%C3%A9giment_d%E2%80%99infanterie
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/94e_r%C3%A9giment_d%27infanterie

The Ever Open Eye - B.D. Wilson

Perhaps like many children of parents who served in World War II I find, especially as I grow older, a growing interest to understand more about the experiences they went through; especially after having experienced all the emotions and feelings of the age they were then, but with perspective that being older brings.

In addition that generation were renowned for not talking too much about their experiences, many happy to forget and move on to what they hoped for, and a better period in their lives, bringing up families and helping to build a better world.

I have treasured memories of conversations with both my parents and indeed other family members who served during World War II but am always on the look out for other references that help to shed yet more light on what was an incredible time in world history.

My father, front-right in the OP Tank, C Troop, 55th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (unit tacsign 74),
Guards Armoured Division in Eindhoven - the ever open eye can be just seen on the right of the front stowage box

I have many accounts and books covering World War II and quite a few covering the experiences of British veterans from most of the theatres, but have only three covering Guards Armoured Division (GAD), particularly.

The Divisional History was purchased in a second hand bookshop quite a few years ago now and is the basic tome that anyone interested in the activities of the division needs to read. In addition I still have my old Osprey Vanguard 9 title covering the history of the GAD by John Sandars. Alongside those histories, I have the personal reminiscences of Robert Boscawen's "Armoured Guardsmen" who served with the armoured 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards.

So it was a pleasant surprise to discover a memoir by Brian Wilson, recently published in 2014, covering similar ground, but this time from the infantryman's perspective, being a former officer in the 3rd Battalion, Irish Guards.

The various regiments that composed the units of Guards Armoured Division and their tacsigns, as illustrated in the Osprey Vangaurd title

"The Ever Open Eye", the title for the book, references the Guards Armoured Divisional badge of the white eye on blue shield with a red border, designed by the artist Rex Whistler, who served with the division and was killed in Normandy.

The badge was worn as a sleeve emblem by all ranks and as a vehicle sign on the left front and rear of all vehicles.

The book is described by the author in his preface as "an account of a brief undistinguished part played as an infantrymen in North-West Europe in World War II. There are no heroics, no famous battles, and even less of the stirring exploits that enliven more dramatic stories. Instead it tries to portray the day to day life of an infantry platoon commander in the Guards Armoured Division...."

I don't think you should be taken in by this typically understated description common to many of the veterans of this era and with this, Brian Wilson's, account of his and his soldiers adventures as they spearheaded 21st Army's pursuit of the German forces out of France into the Netherlands, where his war was brought short by a very serious injury that had him back in "Blighty"before the Arnhem campaign had concluded.

He took the time to record his adventures early in 1945 as he focused on his recovery and the detail of that account served as the foundation to the book written so many years later.

The book follows a time line of events starting with the authors stalled final higher education, completing two terms at Oxford studying law and thus ensuring him a place to continue his studies post war, leaving in the summer of 1943 to join the army, attracted to the Irish Guards with both his parents hailing from Dublin.

Officer and basic training are covered with the young subaltern having to learn everything from basic soldiering, weapons skills and man management, to use the modern parlance; capped off with the typically British regimental peculiarities and customs which in the Irish Guards meant that second lieutenants were ignored in the officers mess until their first six months were up and they made lieutenant. This was a custom developed to instill in the young officers, many of whom were the sons of very important people, awareness that in the army it was military and not social rank that counted.

The book then plunges off into the war in Europe with the GAD joining the allied forces in Normandy in July 1944 and the young Lieutenant Wilson eventually joining the 3rd Irish Guards in a field close to the village of St Charles de Percy in reserve after being in battle the previous day. The cost to the battalion included the loss of the 2IC of No. 2 Company and their second platoon commander and so Wilson became the new second platoon CO and was soon in action in his first attack at Sourdeval.

What follows is a description of the plan of attack and how the plan soon changed on first contact with the enemy, providing a painful learning opportunity, with the added pain of finding out that the Monmouth and Norfolk battalion had put in a similar attack just previously and had suffered a similarly bloody repulse. The attack left Wilson with just four men from his original command and the overall losses to the battalion forced the amalgamation of two companies to provide the author with a full strength platoon. Twenty eight men were killed and sixty six wounded and Wilson never saw a German the whole of that day.

As well as the battle description and the sights and sounds of war, the human aspects are also covered in the descriptions of the daily interactions with the civilians encountered on the route through France, Belgium and Holland.

I know what an impression the welcome the GAD received from the liberated towns and cities they entered and that it left a life long memory on the soldiers, particularly in Brussels, which my Dad often talked about and where he returned post war to meet with the family that put him up during his brief stay in the city. The pictures I have of him in Eindhoven on the run up to Arnhem showed the welcome the British troops received, but I was particularly interested to read Wilson's description of the overwhelming enthusiasm, that seemed to provide the sound to the black and white pictures of the event some of which I first used when I covered the day describing Dad's War.

Today in 1944

Brian Wilson's description of the drive into Eindhoven;

"It was the people of Eindhoven that really moved us. As they heard the approaching rumble of tanks, they poured forth in their thousands, shouting and yelling with joy. At first, we roared back lustily, blowing kisses. But the noise became so terrific that it was impossible to hear yourself speak. Above the clatter of tank tracks, the crowds screamed and bellowed. The long street was packed with people, jostling, pushing, waving, hysterical with happiness. Above their heads was a moving sea of waving handkerchiefs, hats, hands, little flags, streamers. No football crowd was ever like this, and I don't suppose any of us will ever see its like again. From windows and roofs, flags hung down, people leaned perilously out, their mouths moving, but inaudible."

Guards Armoured Division make their way through the happy crowds in Eindhoven, with a carrier from the 5th Coldstream Guards closest to camera (Unit tacsign 61) 

"Down the centre of the street ran a narrow clear lane bordered by a heaving mass of people that swelled out in the gaps between tanks and contracted before the next tank approached. The crowds were so close that we could lean down and touch the waving hands. It was a marvel that the tank drivers, down to a snail's pace, managed to keep so straight a path without running over anyone. Little boys leaned out from the lower levels of the crowed and occasionally darted across the road to debatable safety."

Dad's tank makes its way out of Eindhoven, up the bitterly contested road to Nijmegan, during the Arnhem campaign

It was just after the fall of Nijmegan to the Grenadier Guards that Wilson suffered his wounding, that led to his eventual repatriation and a long painful road to recovery. I was really interested to read about his experience of the medical services and the lumps of shrapnel that were left in place to be carried for the rest of his days. My Dad carried two grey shadows under the skin of one of his calf muscles, the shrapnel,  possibly remains of the mortar bomb that blinded and eventually killed the much loved CO of his tank.

I know from my Dad and the other members of GAD I have spoken to all felt that the Arnhem campaign could have ended quite differently and their frustration at falling short was clear to hear from their accounts of the bitter fighting up the narrow road to Nijmegan and beyond. Brian Wilson concludes his book by looking at what he considered were some of the key failings in the higher commanders and their decisions that effectively caused the failure of the mission. I cannot say I was surprised and they all had a compelling logic that probably doomed the mission from the start.

This is not a long book, just short of two-hundred pages, with six photographs pertinent to the text, with one very good view of the sunken lane at Sourdeval where the Irish Guards attack came to grief. There are also three maps, one showing the area of operations in Normandy at the time described, another, the attack plan at Sourdeval and a simple map of the route to Arnhem showing the position of the start point at Joe's Bridge.

I found it very readable and informative and doing what the best of these kind of military memoirs should do, namely to put the reader into the time and events described, without having to be concerned about the bullets and shells. A very welcome addition to the history of Guards Armoured Division.

I picked up my paperback copy from The Book Depository via Amazon for just £4.79

Photos used in this post were sourced from the link below
Imperial War Museums- On-line Photograph Archive

Armoured Guardsmen - Robert Boscawen
The Story of the Guards Armoured Division 1941-1945 - Rosse and Hill
British Guards Armoured Division 1941-45 - John Sandars, Osprey

Attack at Le Haut Perrier - Part Two AAR

If you enjoyed reading the history behind that Welsh/Scots Guards attack at Le Haut Perrier in August 1944 as part of Operation Grouse, you might be interested in checking out the AAR on the Devon Wargames Group of our play through of this very entertaining scenario.

Devon Wargames Group - Attack on Le Haut Perrier

Operation GROUSE August 1944 - Attack at Le Haut Perrier

1st Welsh Guards - pictured during the earlier Goodwood operation in July 1944

This coming weekend I have had to come up with a game at short notice for our monthly meeting at the Devon Wargames Group and after really enjoying getting out the WWII collection and revisiting IABSM v3 last month fighting the Arnhem themed Baskeyfield VC scenario.

Baskeyfield VC - I Aint Been Shot Mum

This month I decided to have a bit more armour out on the table and not having used my Churchill tanks from the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, settled on a scenario from "Cymru Am Byth", translated as "Wales Forever", scenario book by Richard Clarke covering the wartime exploits of the Welsh Guards with sixteen scenarios and a mini campaign.

After Normandy, the Guards Armoured Division split up into battle groups of infantry and tanks from the different Guard regiments and my Dad, with the 55th Field Regiment RA, spent most of his time attached to the Welsh battle group, so I have an interest in the exploits of the Taffs.

So the scenario selected was "Let's Get at the Bastards", Scenario Twelve from the book

To set the scene for the weekend game, I thought it might be interesting to summarise events prior to our little battle. The map below shows the front line in Normandy on the July 25th 1944 with American forces established on a line from Lessoy to St Lo and ready to take advantage of the German positions which, due to their perceived threat of an Allied breakthrough around Caen, saw 80% of German armour positioned on the Anglo/Canadian front close to that city.

Operation Cobra, the US offensive, when it came, was the longed for break through and saw the town of Avranches and the route into Brittany and central France firmly in American control by the July 31st, heralding the beginning of the end for German forces in France.

To help pin down any attempts by the Germans to move troops to their western flank the British launched a complimentary offensive on the 30th of July, Operation Bluecoat, designed to take control of the vital road junction at Vire and the high ground of Mount Pincon, with both objectives falling to allied troops on August 6th.

In their desperation to restore their line and halt the rapid progress of the Americans, German commanders launched Operation Luttich, the Mortain counter-offensive the next day, looking to break through to the western coast and cut off American spearhead units. With ULTRA warning American commanders of the planned attack and with few German armoured reserves left or, for that matter, in any fit state to launch an offensive, the counter-attack was over by August 13th with barely any effect on the Americans progress.

Thus the scene was set for the launching of the British offensive, Operation Grouse designed to precipitate a collapse of those German forces still contesting the allied advance and which would see the British 3rd Infantry Division and Guards Armoured Division, drive in the 'full of fight' remnants of 9th SS Hohenstauffen Division, as pressure was brought to bear on the rapidly collapsing German front line.

One of these attacks led to the fight for control of the little cluster of farm buildings on top of hill 242 overlooking Chenedolle at Le Haut Perrier and is the subject of the chosen scenario.

What makes this scenario have added appeal is the inclusion of three troops of 3rd Scots Guards Churchill tanks that supported the 3rd Company 1st Welsh Guards on the day of the attack. A unit I built a few years ago with this game in mind, but that have never been on the table in anger.

Churchill tanks of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade, pictured during Operation Bluecoat

The Guardsmen find themselves tasked with taking on a battle-group from 9th SS Panzer Division determined to resist to the utmost and force the Tommies to pay a heavy price for any ground taken

The map for Scenario 12 showing the German set up positions with the British entering the table from the north edge

So the "battle-box" is all loaded up with the impedimenta of tabletop warfare  and as you can see the forces are mustered. In addition I have pulled together revised IABSM V3 scenario briefings with the updated force stats all put on one sheet for the respective sides to refer to.

JJ's Battle-Box

I am really looking forward to seeing these "bad-boys" on the table, although they will be facing a stern test that will see how thick the armour is on a Churchill Infantry Tank

Scots and Welsh Guards ready to go

As I said, a stern test awaits the Guards.

SS Heavy Armour

So if you are keen to see how this one plays out, I will of course be posting a game report on the Devon Wargames Group Blog, and looking to try out something new that I saw on another site, namely using the Aviary app on the IPad as an alternative to blinds.

A Date for the Diary - Legionary 2016

This year I will be putting on a demonstration game at Legionary 2016 to be held at its usual venue at the Matford Centre in Exeter on April 30th.

http://legionaryshow.co.uk/

Action on the Pajar Vergara Redoubt

The game will be "The Attack on the Pajar de Vergara - Talavera" using Carnage & Glory II as featured in the selection of scenarios that accompanied the work featured on this blog looking at the Battle of Talavera as a whole.

So if you would like to see part of the collection in action and how Carnage & Glory works as a set of Napoleonic rules, come along and say hello.

http://www.carnageandgloryii.com/

In addition I will be representing the Devon Wargames Group along with another game from members of the club and so we will be there to advertise the club and the other games we play, for those who might be interested in coming along.

3/63e Regiment de Ligne

The role of the 63e Ligne at Talavera alongside their comrades in General de Division Villatte's 3rd Division was to act principally as Victor's I Corps reserve.

1st Corps: Maréchal Victor - Source Oman
3rd Division: Général de division Villatte (6,135)
Brigade: Général de brigade Cassagne
27th Légère Regiment (3 battalions)
63rd Line Regiment (3)
Brigade: Général de brigade Puthod
94th Line Regiment (3)
95th Line Regiment (3)

General de Division Eugene Casimir Villatte

http://www.frenchempire.net/biographies/villatte/

They were not involved in the combat on the 27th of July and took post on the Cerro de Cascajal behind Ruffin's 1st Division as they prepared to launch their abortive dawn attack on the 28th.

The positions of the respective armies in the afternoon attack on the 28th July 1809

So they could have perhaps been excused any eagerness to get involved in the battle as General de Brigade Cassagne led the 27e Legere and 63e Ligne down into the northern valley in preparation for the last throw of the dice as far as the French were concerned in their effort to break the British end of the allied line.

The previous brigade commander General Pacthod was promoted to General de Division and in March 1809 was recalled to Paris and later sent to join the Army of Italy in preparation for the growing threat from Austria. General Cassagne joined the Corps in the April after having been repatriated from Dupont's army that had surrendered at Bailen the previous year.

General de Brigade Louis-Victorin Cassagne

http://www.frenchempire.net/biographies/cassagne/

The French attack in the northern valley was the last to develop that day and the columns of Ruffin and Cassagne did not start to move forward until the battle in the centre was reaching its climax.

The battered battalions of Ruffin's division advanced on the French right along the lower slopes of the Sierra de Segurilla opposite the Spanish division of General Bassecourt; to their left were the six battalions of the 27e Legere and 63e Ligne of Cassagne's brigade. The whole force was supported by a converged battalion of grenadiers formed by companies from all the fifteen battalions involved probably amounting to about 750 men. Moving behind them in support was Merlin's cavalry.

In front of these 8,000 infantry and 1,200 cavalry stood 5,000 Spanish infantry and another 5,000 Spanish and British cavalry

The positions in the northern valley at the approach of Anson's Light Cavalry Brigade

The French troops in this part of the battlefield faced a problematic dilemma in that to attack the strongly held British position atop the Cerro de Medellin meant exposing their rear and flank to the allied forces in the valley whilst an attack to clear the forces in the valley exposed their other flank to attack from those forces atop the Medellin. Any attempt to detach forces to cover either attack meant having insufficient troops to do either.

In the end the French commanders decided to attack the Medellin with a covering force on their flank, but given the options outlined it is probably not surprising that their advance was tentative, with their fears only reinforced when their troops came under heavy enfilading fire from ten Spanish guns and Retteburg's half battery deployed on the northern slopes of the Medellin.

By the time the French were level with the Casa de Valdefuentes farm buildings the crisis at the centre of the British line had passed and Wellesley was able to give his full attention to his left flank.
Observing the French battalions of Cassagne's brigade sheltering in the lee of the farm and only sending their skirmishers up the slope to engage their British counterparts, it became obvious that the French were not pressing their advance with any great determination.

What happened next is a matter of some debate, although most British observers report that Wellesley gave a direct order for General Anson to charge. However Lord Munster claimed that the order to charge was more discretionary and had the caveat "if the opportunity offered" and was to be supported by Fane's Heavy Brigade.

Whatever the truth of the matter, as soon as Anson's troopers started moving forward "in the most perfect order", the French infantry formed square. The 23rd Light Dragoons faced the large regimental square of the 27e Legere whilst the the 1st KGL Hussars had the smaller battalion squares of the 24e and 96e Ligne.

As the cavalry moved forward at a walk increasing to a trot and then to a gallop 250 yards out from their targets, they were subjected to French skirmish and artillery fire, however it was not the effects of the French fire that brought the charge to grief but rather an unnoticed dry river gully one of several that littered the plain carrying run off from the Sierra to their left.

The charge would not have been at full tilt until about 80 yards out and most British observers report that the gully was about 150 yards in front of the French squares, so the cavalry would have been into their gallop.

Most of the front rank of the 23rd Light Dragoons crashed over and into the gully while most of the second rank squadrons managed to pull up on the home bank albeit in some disorder only added to by a volley from the 27e Legere square to their front.

The survivors on the French side, including Colonel Elley of the 23rd, continued to press their totally disrupted attack and were dealt with without too much difficulty for the French.

The combat during the day and the shambles of the charge cost the 23rd Light Dragoons a loss of 207 killed. wounded or missing of whom 105 were taken prisoner from a starting strength of 459 men, whilst the 1st KGL Hussars got off relatively lighter with a loss of 37 from a strength of 451.

Despite the failure of the cavalry attack, the French position still remained relatively the same with their position still threatened by a significant force of allied infantry and cavalry, and with allied artillery pouring on a punishing fire into the French squares. As news of French failure across the rest of the battlefield reached the French commanders, they decided discretion was the better part of valour and abandoned the attack, leaving both sides artillery to close out the day with a continued barrage which served up the gruesome finale of massive grass fires that quickly spread consuming the badly wounded and the corpses.

Captain Sillery's Company, 7th Battalion RFA at Talavera by David Rowlands - The final artillery exchanges caused massive grass fires that burned to death many of the seriously wounded.

The reserve position adopted by the 63e Ligne throughout the two days of combat is reflected in the second lowest casualty total for all off the eleven infantry regiments in Victor's Corps with a total of 40 casualties including just two men killed.

My third battalion is composed of advancing French infantry from the AB range carrying a fanion from GMB flags. The completion of the regiment just leaves two more, the 94e and 95e Ligne Regiments of General Puthod's brigade with the 1/94e Regiment de Ligne the subject of the next post.

Sources used in this and other posts about the 63e Ligne included:
Napoleon's Line Infantry, Osprey Men at Arms - Philip Haythornthwaite, Bryan Fosten
French Napoleonic Line Infantry - Emir Bukhari
Napoleon's Soldiers, The Grande Armee of 1807 (The Otto Manuscript) - Guy C Dempsey Jr.
Napoleonic Armies, A Wargamers Campaign Directory - Ray Johnson
Talavera, Wellington's First Victory in Spain - Andrew W. Field
The Peninsular War Atlas - Colonel Nick Lipscombe

Caerleon and the National Roman Legion Museum - Part Two

After having spent a rather damp but fascinating tour around the archaeology in Caerleon and after a fortifying hot cup or two of tea and a home made muffin we were off to visit the National Roman Legion Museum.

There is nothing quite like seeing an item close up and being able to take in the scale and detail of it. Visits to museums inform my painting and modelling as does the other activities of battlefield touring and reading and it is just another rewarding aspect of the hobby.

Roman helmets of any period are rare and the example below is the first classic 1st Century model that I had seen. Despite the years in the ground the level of craftsmanship and detail make this iconic helmet a thing of wonder and I was thrilled to see it.

1st Century Legionary Helmet from Brigetio in Hungary

My camera didn't stop as I worked my way round this amazing collection of all things Roman and I have selected some of the best pictures to illustrate the point. This first section focuses on the soldiers equipment, from the helmets weapons and day to day equipment such as cooking pans.

The Roman secret weapon, the pilum,
with those needle shaped points and thin shank

The unmistakable shape of the original landmine - caltrops

The artistry in the enamelled harness stud above is incredible in its complexity and fine workmanship.

The manikins wearing equipment provided by the Ermine Street Guard really bring the display to life and give a vivid impression of what the items on display would have looked like.

As I mentioned in the first part of this post, it is the personal items that provide a link to the people of the time that I find the most interesting and the inscriptions on Roman grave stones by soldiers comrades and/or family fall very much into that category.

Gravestone of  Tadia Vallaunius and Tadius Exuperatus, recording a soldiers family brought up at the fortress. Tadia Exuperatus died while serving with a detachment of the legion in Germany, and it is thought his father had probably been a serving soldier at the time.

The inscription reads
"To the spirits of the departed; Tadia Vallaunius lived 65 years and Tadius Exuperatus, her son, lived 37 years, having died on the German expedition; Tadia Exuperata, the devoted daughter, set this stone up to her mother and brother beside her father's tomb."

This fragment of a head stone had been reused in a building in the town and refers to a Sanctinius Exuperatus, who may have been the father to Tadia and Tadius referred to above.

It reads;
"D(is) M(anibus) / Sanctinius / (E) xsuperatus..."
"To the spirits of the departed Sanctinius Exuperatus....."

Gravestone to a Roman Cavalryman - Aurelius Herculanus
"To the spirits of the departed; Aurelius Herculanus, trooper, lived 28 years; his wife had this set up."

As in Exeter, a major Roman garrison is likely spot to discover coin hoards, probably a soldiers hard earned pay put aside to pay for years in retirement, but destined never to be used.

This cooking pot discovered in Venta Silurum, modern day Caerwent, was found to contain 599 silver denarii and from the date of the latest coin in the hoard was probably buried around 160 AD. The town was a popular retirement settlement for retired soldiers of the II Augusta Legion.

The amphitheatre was a major construction project for the garrison and the soldiers responsible for its building were keen to be remembered for their work with these memorial stones recovered during the excavations and now housed in the museum.

"(centuria) Cl(audi) Cup(iti)
"The century of Claudius Cupitus (built this)"

"coh(ortis) VIII / c(enturia) lul(ius) Geme(lli)"
"The century of Julius Geme(llus) from the eighth cohort (built this)"

Finally it is to be remembered that Isca Augusta was a significant Roman headquarters and base of operations and training so it is not surprising to find examples of materials that demonstrate that importance and status.

The wall screen below with a section painted to illustrate how it might have appeared at the time is illustrative of that status.

In addition the mosaic below found in the headquarters building area is indicative of the kind of offices and apartments you might expect to see in a building occupied by high ranking senior Roman officers.

We really enjoyed the day at Caerleon which provided a lovely contrast of exploring the archaeology in the town that, despite the weather, got us out in the fresh air, with the chance to see the finds revealed in the town together with other associated artefacts that just added to the experience.

I should also say that the museum is really geared up to entertaining and educating children, so if you do have the kids in tow, you will find there is plenty there for them to get involved in including child size Roman equipment to try on. My kids are a bit bigger these days but I know they would have loved this kind of museum.

If you get the chance to visit, then I would recommend you make the time, I don't think you will be disappointed. As you will see below, I picked up the guide book to the neighbouring settlement of Caerwent or Roman Venta Siluram which we didn't get time to see but is on the list for a return visit.

For the wargamer you can also take some time to pop down the road to Cardiff and pick up a few essentials at Firestorm Games. I killed two birds with one stone by getting my contribution to this year's Devon Wargames Group Xmas game, with all members tasked with producing a unit of Dark Age warriors. A new venture for me with some lovely figures to look forward to putting together later in the year.