Trained as a journalist, James has worked as a writer and editor for over a decade, launching three history magazines and one true crime magazine.

He knows a worrying amount about some of the strangest things

The Battle of Paadeberg (Britain at War 145)

The Battle of Paadeberg (Britain at War 145)

James Hoare

The Second Boer War is light on engagements that Britain can take pride in, but I was challenged to find something that would work as part of Britain at War’s regular Decisive Action feature.

Ultimately, I chose the Battle of Paadeberg because of the role it has - or had, until it was displaced by the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge - in the national psyche of Canada, being the first engagement fought by the new Canadian Army and the foreshadowing of the gruelling attritional warfare that defined the middle period of the First World War.

The Battle of Paadeberg appeared in Britain at War issue 145, priced £4.80. Find out more at britainatwar.keypublishing.com.

VC Valour on D-Day (Britain at War issue 146)

VC Valour on D-Day (Britain at War issue 146)
Ivar the Boneless – The Crippled Viking King who Conquered Much of England

Ivar the Boneless – The Crippled Viking King who Conquered Much of England