A boy in the Peninsular War : $b the services, adventures and experiences of Robert Blakeney

At the tender age of fifteen, a young Irishman steps into the ranks of the 28th Regiment, trading schoolyard games for the harsh realities of the Peninsular War. His memoir unfolds from the cramped tents of Spain and Portugal, where camaraderie is forged amid the roar of artillery and the relentless march of supply wagons. The narrative captures his raw, unvarnished observations of battle, the rhythm of daily drills, and the fleeting moments of levity that sustain soldiers in a landscape scarred by conflict.

Beyond the clash of swords, the account offers a vivid portrait of the men who shaped his early life—generals whose decisions echo across the hills, and ordinary comrades whose jokes lighten the gloom of bivouacs. He writes with the frankness of a teenager who has learned to survive, yet his voice retains a youthful curiosity about the world beyond the frontline. Listeners will be drawn into a personal history that blends gritty frontline detail with the timeless spirit of a boy learning what it means to serve and to endure.