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Famous Welsh Battles
Although the Welsh are perhaps not widely known for their military history, the story of warfare in Wales spans some three thousand years. In "Famous Welsh Battles," Philip Warner gives a detailed account of the major battles in Wales from prehistoric and Roman times up through the Battle of Fishguard in 1797. Whether fighting as mercenaries in the Middle Ages when they were greatly esteemed and widely feared, or engaging in guerilla combat on more rugged battlefields, where their best allies were mountains and rivers, the Welsh generals' clear grasp of strategy and tactics served them well in times of war.
Battles of Prehistory -- The Battles Against the Romans -- The Battles for Supremacy -- The Battles Against the Normans -- The Battles of Owen Gwynedd -- The Battles of Llywelyn ap Iorweth -- The Battles of Llywelyn the Last -- The Battles of Owain Glyndwar -- The Battles of the Civil War -- The Battle of Fishguard.
Illustrated with eight black-and-white maps.
Includes Index and seven Appendices.
Battles of Prehistory -- The Battles Against the Romans -- The Battles for Supremacy -- The Battles Against the Normans -- The Battles of Owen Gwynedd -- The Battles of Llywelyn ap Iorweth -- The Battles of Llywelyn the Last -- The Battles of Owain Glyndwar -- The Battles of the Civil War -- The Battle of Fishguard.
Illustrated with eight black-and-white maps.
Includes Index and seven Appendices.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Philip Warner
91 books9 followersPhilip Warner (1914 - 2000) was an outstanding military historian, and for the last 13 years The Daily Telegraph's peerless Army obituarist. Indeed, he played a vital role in setting the standard for the modern Telegraph obituary. He had a relish for the piquant detail and an understanding that a good story should never be overdressed.
He was a master of the laconic, lapidary phrase. Warner's direct, uncluttered and transparent prose, was a reflection of the man. Above all, he felt deep admiration for the lives he celebrated. His own character, always strong, had been tempered by his terrible experiences at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.
One of the Allied soldiers rounded up and imprisoned after the fall of Singapore on February 15 1942, he spent some time in the infamous Changi jail, and worked on the Railway of Death. For every sleeper laid on the 1,000 miles of track through Malaya, Burma and Thailand, a prisoner of war was lost. Philip Warner was saved by his tough-mindedness and by his belief in the virtues of loyalty. To help his fellow prisoners forget their troubles, he organised plays, talks and debates.
Afterwards, he never liked to mention his ordeal. He felt he owed his survival to his physical condition (he performed 30 minutes of exercises every day of his life), his scrupulous hygiene (hard to stick to when one is starving), and to his strong sense of belonging to his family back in Britain. At night he would look at the moon, and think of it passing over Warwickshire.
In 1944 Warner and other able-bodied PoWs were stowed under deck in a troopship (he enjoyed the irony of being almost torpedoed by the Americans), and taken to Japan, where he worked in the copper mines, in dark, hot and dangerous conditions.
As the Americans closed in, he and his fellow PoWs had the unnerving experience of being herded into caves, while the Japanese guards set up machine-guns outside. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved the prisoners from massacre.
At the beginning of the war Warner had weighed 14 stone; in 1945 he was 4.5 stone. In 1,100 days of captivity, he only received half a Red Cross parcel. He was never among those inclined to bestow easy forgiveness upon the Japanese. The maltreatment which he had endured increased his natural reticence. Although he set great store by loyalty, he gave his trust warily.
Once certain that he could rely on someone, he would do anything for them; should anyone abuse his trust, he was slow to forgive. "There are six billion people in the world," he was wont to say, "and when this person gets to the top of the pile again, I will give him another chance." After the war Warner taught at Sandhurst and became a prolific writer, turning out more than 50 books.
He would produce two volumes a year, not to mention up to 200 obituaries and many book reviews - all with an absolute minimum of fuss. He worked on the principle that, once he had covered a page with writing, he could always cross it out. He was a firm believer in the virtues of perseverance - "Stick at the wicket and the runs will come" - and in early starts: "One hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon, is worth three in the evening."
In the 1970s he was seriously ill, but under his colossal labour he throve as never before. Without it, he used to say, he would have had to play golf every day; and, useful player though he was, that was not his idea of a tolerable life.
Though the last man to preach, Philip Warner set a supreme example of how to tackle old age. While eager to enjoy himself, and, still more, to see that his friends enjoyed themselves, he instinctively understood that pleasure is best courted against a background of disciplined endeavour.
Philip Arthur William Warner was born at Nuneaton on May 19 1914, the last in
He was a master of the laconic, lapidary phrase. Warner's direct, uncluttered and transparent prose, was a reflection of the man. Above all, he felt deep admiration for the lives he celebrated. His own character, always strong, had been tempered by his terrible experiences at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.
One of the Allied soldiers rounded up and imprisoned after the fall of Singapore on February 15 1942, he spent some time in the infamous Changi jail, and worked on the Railway of Death. For every sleeper laid on the 1,000 miles of track through Malaya, Burma and Thailand, a prisoner of war was lost. Philip Warner was saved by his tough-mindedness and by his belief in the virtues of loyalty. To help his fellow prisoners forget their troubles, he organised plays, talks and debates.
Afterwards, he never liked to mention his ordeal. He felt he owed his survival to his physical condition (he performed 30 minutes of exercises every day of his life), his scrupulous hygiene (hard to stick to when one is starving), and to his strong sense of belonging to his family back in Britain. At night he would look at the moon, and think of it passing over Warwickshire.
In 1944 Warner and other able-bodied PoWs were stowed under deck in a troopship (he enjoyed the irony of being almost torpedoed by the Americans), and taken to Japan, where he worked in the copper mines, in dark, hot and dangerous conditions.
As the Americans closed in, he and his fellow PoWs had the unnerving experience of being herded into caves, while the Japanese guards set up machine-guns outside. The atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki probably saved the prisoners from massacre.
At the beginning of the war Warner had weighed 14 stone; in 1945 he was 4.5 stone. In 1,100 days of captivity, he only received half a Red Cross parcel. He was never among those inclined to bestow easy forgiveness upon the Japanese. The maltreatment which he had endured increased his natural reticence. Although he set great store by loyalty, he gave his trust warily.
Once certain that he could rely on someone, he would do anything for them; should anyone abuse his trust, he was slow to forgive. "There are six billion people in the world," he was wont to say, "and when this person gets to the top of the pile again, I will give him another chance." After the war Warner taught at Sandhurst and became a prolific writer, turning out more than 50 books.
He would produce two volumes a year, not to mention up to 200 obituaries and many book reviews - all with an absolute minimum of fuss. He worked on the principle that, once he had covered a page with writing, he could always cross it out. He was a firm believer in the virtues of perseverance - "Stick at the wicket and the runs will come" - and in early starts: "One hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon, is worth three in the evening."
In the 1970s he was seriously ill, but under his colossal labour he throve as never before. Without it, he used to say, he would have had to play golf every day; and, useful player though he was, that was not his idea of a tolerable life.
Though the last man to preach, Philip Warner set a supreme example of how to tackle old age. While eager to enjoy himself, and, still more, to see that his friends enjoyed themselves, he instinctively understood that pleasure is best courted against a background of disciplined endeavour.
Philip Arthur William Warner was born at Nuneaton on May 19 1914, the last in
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 5, 2025
Well written and informative.
Information about Offa’s Dyke helped me make a link with ‘Landlines’ by Raynor Winn whereOffa’s Dyke is mentioned.
The author,PhilipWarner, is a military historian and his information is slanted in that direction.
I am also familiar with some of the information about the former Dyfed from an archeological perspective. It was a very good revision of previously acquired information.
Information about Offa’s Dyke helped me make a link with ‘Landlines’ by Raynor Winn whereOffa’s Dyke is mentioned.
The author,PhilipWarner, is a military historian and his information is slanted in that direction.
I am also familiar with some of the information about the former Dyfed from an archeological perspective. It was a very good revision of previously acquired information.
May 26, 2015
While this is a short book, it still took me a while to get through it. It's kind of dense and I had to let things percolate between reading bits. It's kind of a condensed military history of Wales. As such, I found it fascinating. The author clearly knows his material, though, and relates the events of each battle in an engaging manner. My main problem was that I had a very hard time pinning down the events in their temporal and geographic contexts. I can only blame this on my unfamiliarity with British history--particularly the progression of the kings and queens (bad Scadian, no biscuit for me)--and my even sketchier familiarity with British geography. I really wish there had been more maps...a LOT more. But it would seem, from what I gather in the Appendices, that many maps can be referenced for free at any decent British library. While I didn't notice much in the way of online map resources mentioned, I'll have to look again--it could be hiding.
July 30, 2015
There's a lot of information about Welsh in battle against each other and the English over the centuries. It's interesting although there's so much covered that sometimes one gets lost in the details of who is fighting too and what for.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews