Thursday 13 March 2025 at 7.30pm

The life of a Roman soldier and the story of the last battle of Boudica AD 60/61

Eddie Smallwood. Historian, Author and Tour Guide

Roman soldiers 70 A.D. Re-enactment 2005 Legion XV from Pram, Austria © Matthias Kabel (2005). Reproduced under Creative Commons Licence CC-BY-SA-3.0 Unported. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roman_soldier_70_aC.jpg

Eddie Smallwood is a former Bosworth Battlefield guide with 19 years experience of researching battle logistics. He is now a volunteer at the ‘Roman Mancetter Project’ which has been developed to look at the claim that Boudica fought her last battle on the slopes of Hartshill ridge, Mancetter where she was ultimately defeated, possibly dying from self inflicted poison.

But, where was the battle? The easy answer is that no one knows but a small group at a place called Mancetter has staked a claim for there.

Here Eddie describes the Land, the Latin and the Logistics of the battle as well as giving an insight into what life was like for a Legionary Soldier and what items of armour and weapons they would have used.

Eddie will also describe the rules, regulations, tactics and punishments that the soldiers could expect during their time in a Roman Legion in Britain.

The LAHS North Lecture is named after the late Alan and Joan North, long-standing members and supporters of the Society, who were particularly interested in the Roman Period. Further details on this are available here.

No booking necessary. Entry is free of charge. 

Doors open from 7.00pm, with tea and coffee available. The lecture will take place at 7.30pm, at the Ken Edwards Lecture Theatre 3, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester (LE1 7RH)