Dear Bernard , something slightly different I hope!

I live near Fort William in the Highlands , have an amateur interest in local history . Very close to where we live there is an elegant obelisk that commemorates a local hero who was killed at Quatre Bras . I was aware that this year(2015) was going to be the 200th anniversary of this occasion , and set out early to attempt to have much needed conservation work undertaken on this monument before that date . With fund raising and associated red tape to deal with and underway , it occurred to me that I had very little basic knowledge about this period and the Napoleonic Wars  . I did buy your latest book about Waterloo and found this excellent , and other bits and pieces about Napoleon (and his women ) , but then stumbled on Patrick O’Brian and this same period and read them all . While browsing for these , I was lucky to pick up Sharpe’s Waterloo , and struck gold !  I finished this and felt like I had actually been there , amazing .  My project by then had  legs and managed to raise £17000 to have the conservation work carried out , funding mostly from the Centennial War Memorials Project ( ideally aimed at 1st/2nd World War memorials ) and the balance from the Gordon Highlanders Regimental Assoc. plus local Clan Cameron’s. We had a very pleasing local occasion on the 200th anniversary of the demise of Colonel John Cameron , on 16th June , when he lost his life at Quatre Bras in command of the 92nd Highland Regiment , or Gordon Highlanders as they were known . The emphasis was also on the men from Lochaber who had been with him through these campaigns. We had the local Pipe Band ,and rededicated the monument .  Subsequently , I have immersed myself in Sharpe’s adventures through this period , and have emerged as if I had been a witness , and somewhat exhausted !!  I just wish to express my appreciation for this experience , and the admiration for your research and imagination which has made my education an enjoyable journey. Anything since has not been in the same class .

Roddy Mainland.

PS . There is a ‘memoir’ written about Colonel John Cameron , by a local Minister and about fifty years after Waterloo . It is the best recorded information about his life and career , but leaning toward being sycophantic as he was the family Minister . The descendants of this family did not contribute to the conservation project !