Many battles have been fought - and indeed won - around the coast of the British Isles, and in other British territory such as the Falklands. There are accounts from as early as 897AD that record battles against powerful foes such as the Vikings.

Hundreds of years later in Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798, Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson achieved one of the most decisive victories in the age of sail, and re-established British command of the Mediterranean.

Read about some of the most significant of these conflicts in the following pages, and see how much we owe to the men and women who had the courage to fight selflessly for this land which we call home today.