Men-At-Alms by Simon Durnford

Men-At-Alms by Simon Durnford

In 1348, King Edward III created Britain's oldest order of chivalry, the Order of the Garter. As high minded as he was muscular, he also founded a charity for impoverished men-at-arms, who came to be known as the Alms Knights (or Poor Knights). In 1833, their name was changed by William IV to the Military Knights of Windsor. Over the centuries, there have been about six hundred and fifty such knights (far fewer than there have been the Knights of the Garter). Their backgrounds and careers have been very varied: one was a freed slave, another had to bind Casanova over to keep the peace. Most have had a military background (three have held the Victoria Cross) - but there have been astrologers, crusaders, mad baronets, politicians, artists, and con artists. Men-At-Alms tells their stories, set against the history of their times.

Simon Durnford was born into a typical end-of-Empire family - his mother's forebears having served in India for over a hundred years. His peripatetic upbringing was a mix of privilege, as the son of a naval commander, and poverty, when his father exchanged military for Holy Orders. He studied medicine and trained at Guy's Hospital. Subsequently he specialised in aviation medicine, qualifying as an army pilot in 1982. For fifteen years he and his wife, Barbara, ran a herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle and a flock of Wiltshire Horn sheep. He re-joined the army in 2016 as a Military Knight.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781739821227
ISBN 10	173982122X
Title	Men-At-Alms
Author	Simon Durnford
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Zuleika
Year published	2022-09-15
Number of pages	416
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable