Peter James Cottrell (born 1964 ) is a Welsh soldier, sailor, writer, educator and revisionist military historian of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

and

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 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 Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

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 (), 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 aim of establishing an ind ...

; the role of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

and the popularity of the IRA 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 in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, 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 Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

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 naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and saw operational service in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. 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, 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 Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

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

Anglo-Irish War The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the 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 wi ...

, The Troubles, 1913–23'' (

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

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/

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () 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 three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

Conference marking the ninetieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Anglo-Irish War, Dublin, October 2009 *''England's Janissary'' ( Robert Hale Ltd, February 2012) – An historical novel set during the

*''Wyrdegrove'' ( Kindle Direct Publishing, 2012) – An historical

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel set in

and the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

*''The Lambs'' ( Robert Hale Ltd, 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) Welsh military personnel