Born in Portugal, as were his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, Clive Gilbert has visited the Portuguese Peninsular War sites over the years when he began by walking the Lines with Robert Bremner, the acknowledged expert and co-author of ‘The Lines of Torres Vedras’. As Vice-Chairman of The British Historical Society of Portugal he has given talks and written articles on the subject both in English and Portuguese as well as acting as a guide for Richard Holmes in the B.B.C. T.V. production ‘The Iron Duke’.

Nick was a professional soldier for 23 years in the Green Howards. Retiring to Portugal, where he spent the next 27 years, his interest in the Peninsular War was intensified when he assumed the chairmanship of the Association formed to care for the British cemetery in Elvas. In this role he was responsible for organising memorials to the regiments that fought at Albuera and Badajoz, and has led several tours to these important actions. He is also well informed on the actions in the “northern corridor” of Ciudad Rodrigo to Almeida and its associated battles of Fuentes de Oñoro and the Coa as well as the decisive battle of Salamanca. He has advised the military novelist Allan Mallinson and is a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides.

Mark has been fascinated by Napoleonic history ever since reading G.A. Henty as a schoolboy. When he moved to Portugal in the late 1980s, he was impressed by the quantity of historical sites from the Peninsular War and started guiding informal visits in 2003. Having served in the Royal Horse Artillery, he derives especial pleasure in re-living the heroic exploits of Captain Ramsay at the battle of Fuentes de Oñoro and Captain Lefebure at the battle of Albuera.