About the 2026 festival
Following our inaugural festival in 2025, our aim this year is to create a bigger, better and richer series of events for military history fans of all ages.
With more than 50 speaker events this year, we are offering our audience the chance to listen to some of the world's best-known military historians, strategic minds and highly-distinguished veterans talking about the full spectrum of military history, from Ancient Sparta and Greece to the war in Iran today, in the heart of one of Britain's oldest garrison cities.
Our new Stirling Memorial Series creates a platform for debate and discussion on some of the most important national and global issues of our time, including a candid discussion on the Past, Present and Future of the SAS, the impact and consequences of Epic Fury in Iran and a full survey of the geopolitical landscape, from urban Britain to Ukraine.
Alongside events in our five venues in Hereford, we are developing a programme of parallel activities which will celebrate Herefordshire's extraordinary role in Britain's military history with a display of tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers and historic SAS Land Rovers, the ‘Ledbury Convoy’, a military history fair with re-enactments from the Vikings to the Victorians on Castle Green in Hereford, a commemoration of the extraordinary links between the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Hereford and Ross-on-Wye and a series of military history trails across the county.
The Festival is a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant and is committed to supporting the Herefordshire Veteran Support Centre.
The Stirling Series
The Stirling Memorial Series is named after Lieutenant Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, OBE, founder of the SAS. This series will include discussions and debates on some of the most important issues of our time, between some of the best minds and most interesting voices in Britain today.
Events in the Stirling Series include:
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The SAS - Past, Present and Future.
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DEFCON1? - A survey of the current national and global geopolitical landscape.
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Epic Fury - The impact and consequences of the war in Iran.
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Blood Money - Military force in the British Empire and the case for and against reparations.
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From the Spur to the Drone - How warfare accelerates technological progress.
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What Are We Fighting For? - the rise and fall of the British Army
Festival Venues
In the 20th century, Hereford played a critical role in Britain’s military story. The munitions factory at Rotherwas supplied shells to the British army in both world wars and the RAF training base at Credenhill equipped pilots for service in Fighter and Bomber Command.
Today, Stirling Lines in Hereford is the headquarters of 22 SAS Regiment. An estimated 25% of Herefordshire's population has a connection to the armed forces.
