Peter James Cottrell (born 1964 ) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

soldier, sailor, writer, educator and revisionist military historian of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

Career

Cottrell is the author of the best-selling military history ''The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles 1913–23'' which challenges traditional nationalist interpretations of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

; the role of the Royal Irish Constabulary and the popularity of the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

campaign whilst supporting the view that the conflict was as much an Irish civil war as a struggle for independence from the UK. He grew up in the village of Kenfig Hill,

Mid-Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

and between 1981 and 2008 served in the ranks of the British Territorial Army and as an officer in both the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and

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 ...

and saw operational service in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. After qualifying as a teacher he was commissioned into the

in 1988 and transferred to the

in 1995, ending his military career as a Major. He is a great-great nephew of the English rugby player

George Cottrell George Cottrell (born 1 October 1993) is a British financier and convicted felon. He was a senior advisor to Nigel Farage and served as head of fundraising for the UK Independence Party (UKIP) until his arrest in the USA following the 2016 Re ...

, and a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association.

Works

*''The Militarisation of Policing in Ireland: 1913–22'' (

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

MA Thesis 2002) *''Myth, the Military and Anglo-Irish Policing 1913–1922'' (British Army Review No 133, Winter 2003) *''The Anglo-Irish War, The Troubles, 1913–23'' (

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British, Oxford-based, publishing company specializing in military history. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company produces ov ...

2006) *''The

1922–23'' (Osprey Publishing 2008) *''The War for Ireland 1913–23'' – Editor and principal contributing author (Osprey Publishing 2009) *''I Am Soldier'' – Contributing author (Osprey Publishing 2009) *''Lies, damned lies and statistics: a British perspective of policing the Anglo-Irish War''. Paper delivered to the

Military History Society of Ireland The Military History Society of Ireland promotes the study of military history, and in particular the history of warfare in Ireland and of Irishmen in war. The Honorary Patron is the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. The society was form ...

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

Conference marking the ninetieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Anglo-Irish War, Dublin, October 2009 *''England's Janissary'' (

Robert Hale Ltd Robert Hale Limited was a London publisher of fiction and non-fiction books, founded in 1936, and also known as Robert Hale. It was based at Clerkenwell House, Clerkenwell Green. It ceased trading on 1 December 2015 and its imprints were sold to ...

, February 2012) – An historical novel set during the Anglo-Irish War *''Wyrdegrove'' (

Kindle Direct Publishing Kindle Direct Publishing is Amazon.com's e-book publishing platform launched in November 2007, concurrently with the first Amazon Kindle device. Originally called Digital Text Platform, the platform allows authors and publishers to publish their b ...

, 2012) – An historical

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novel set in

and the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

*''The Lambs'' (

, February 2014) – The prequel to England's Janissary set during The Great War

References

External links

ospreypublishing.com

spectator.co.uk

thisislondon.co.uk

cda-cdai.ca

National Archives

thecornwallisgroup.org

Dublin Review of Books , Getting Them Out - Southern Loyalists in the War of Independence - Tom Wall

The Anglo-Irish War: The Troubles of 1913-1922 (Paperback 2006) Peter Cottrell - Book reviews

Royal , Royal

England's Janissary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottrell, Peter Living people Royal Navy officers Royal Army Educational Corps officers British military historians 1964 births Alumni of the University of Wolverhampton Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of the Open University Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College People from Raynham, Norfolk People from Kenfig Hill Welsh writers Anglo-Welsh novelists 20th-century Royal Navy personnel 20th-century British Army personnel Place of birth missing (living people)