Colonel Nicolas John Lipscombe (born 5 June 1958 in Angers, France) is a British historian, author, tour guide, lecturer and university tutor.
Military career
Lipscombe was commissioned into the
Royal Regiment of Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in 1981 following his military and academic training at the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...
where he was awarded the Tombs Benson Memorial Scholarship. During his 34 years of military service in the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
he spent most of his career abroad and/or on operations. He was awarded the United States
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
in 2006 in recognition of services during coalition operations in Iraq.
Academic career
Lipscombe was educated at St. Peter's Catholic School, Bournemouth. In 1990 he obtained his
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree from
Cranfield University, Shrivenham and the Indian Defence Services Staff College.
He is the author of a number of historical works that are best categorised as military history from the seventeenth through to the nineteenth centuries. Having lived and worked for 7.5 years in the location, he is recognised as a world authority on the battles and battlefields of the Iberian Peninsula and Southern France.
Andrew Roberts selected the ''Peninsular War Atlas'' as one of the
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
(History) Books of the Year in November 2010. Lipscombe edited (and contributed to) the official Waterloo 200 book, ''Waterloo, The Decisive Victory'' compiled to commemorate the Bicentenary of the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
.
Lipscombe was chairman of Peninsular War 200 (now dissolved), the official organisation established in 2008 to commemorate the bicentenaries of the battles and sieges of the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
1808–1814. The organisation worked for both the UK
Ministry of Defence and the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
and in conjunction with Waterloo 200 and the civil and military authorities in Spain, France and Portugal. He is a trustee of the
British Cemetery at Elvas, Portugal.
In 2015 Lipscombe was an advisor and presenter on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary on ''Wellington: The Iron Duke Unmasked''.
He was elected a fellow of the
in 2015. He has been a tutor at the
’s Department of Continuing Education since 2017. Having been a member of the British Commission for Military History for a number of years, Lipscombe joined the Committee in 2018.
, Revised Edition 2014)
* ''Wellington’s Guns'', (Osprey Publishing, 2013)
* ''Bayonne & Toulouse 1813-14, Wellington Invades France'', (Osprey Publishing 2014)
* ''Wellington’s Forgotten Front'', (Gerard Books 2013)
* ''Wellington’s Eastern Front, The Campaign on the East Coast of Spain 1810-1814'', (
, 2016)
* ''Waterloo, The Decisive Victory'', (Osprey Publishing 2015)
* ''The English Civil War, An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1639–51'', (Osprey Publishing 2020)