PhD researcher granted fellowship with the Army Records Society

They will curate a collection of primary material about the history of the British Army, focusing on the Fencible Regiments of Great Britain and Ireland in the French Revolutionary Wars.

Rory Butcher, PhD researcher in the School of History, will undertake the fellowship alongside his doctoral research on the Fencible Regiments.

The Army Records Society annually publishes collections of primary material relating to the history of the British Army. These include correspondence, papers and diaries of those involved in historic conflicts. The collections aim to give the material a wider audience and to improve access to primary documentation on a range of topics.

On being offered the Fellowship, Rory says:

I am deeply honoured that the Army Records Society has chosen to patronise this topic, to not only publish the material but also to support me throughout the process.

The researcher hopes that the Fellowship and publication will highlight the importance of research into the late eighteenth century. He says:

Because events never exist in a vacuum, the role that the Fencibles played in protecting Britain in this period informs us about the wider questions of identity, civil-military relations and motivations for service both before and after their existence.

Rory’s curated volume is scheduled for publication in 2026.

Image

Kay, John, "Three officers of the Hopetoun Fencibles, Lord Napier, Maj. Palmer, Maj. Clarkson. 1795" (1795). Prints, Drawings and Watercolors from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:230243/.