OVER 5,000 tickets were sold at the second ever Military History Festival in Hereford.

The festival almost doubled its visitors' numbers with over 5,000 tickets sold across three days from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September.

The festival gave an opportunity for people to hear from 60 speakers and featured 54 events in total, bringing together internationally renowned historians, authors, journalists, war correspondents and military experts for a rich programme of talks, exhibitions and performances.

Many of the events sold out, including a landmark discussion on the future of the SAS, and talks from Helen Carr, Nicholas Soames, Fergal Keane, Colin Bell and many others.

The second edition of the festival has reinforced its reputation as the UK’s only dedicated military history festival, providing a place for intelligent conversations about conflict, and the lessons the past holds for current months of geopolitical instability.

Commenting on the 2026 festival, founder and festival director Christian Dangerfield said:

“We have been absolutely blown away by the response to our second festival. From sold out crowds and spectacular debates, to Spitfires on Castle Green and a community spirit, the past three days have surpassed all our expectations.

“Most importantly of all, though, this festival was designed to support different communities, organisations and businesses throughout Herefordshire, and I feel as though that is what we have done.

“Whether through our collaboration with Visit Herefordshire, our partnership with the Herefordshire Volunteers Support Centre, our free community fair on Castle Green, our schools programme for 250 pupils across the county and our support for more than 30 hospitality businesses in Hereford and other companies in the county. We are also grateful for new partnerships with the Times Literary Supplement and Literary Review, and everyone else who helped get the word out. Bring on year three!”

On Saturday morning the festival’s flagship event, The Past, Present and Future of the SAS, took place to a sold-out Hereford Cathedral of over 650 people. The panel featured Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, Ed Butler, George Slimm and Bob Parr, all with first-hand SAS experience.

Together they discussed the roots of the SAS, its founding principles and addressed the ongoing debate and urgent question of what happens when human right legislation collides with military force.

The festival opened with DEFCON1, a panel on geopolitics with David J. Betz, Keir Giles, Elizabeth Braw and Charles Hecker which explored the global political landscape and rising risk of escalating conflict, asking how close we are to irreversible tipping points.

Another popular event in the Sterling Series was The General’s Table, which featured General Adrian Bradshaw, Tobias Ellwood and Dominic Cummings, the former Chief Advisor to Boris Johnson, exploring the economics of Britain’s defence and security, the future of NATO, and what we can do to prevent World War II.

War correspondents Lindsey Hilsum, Mark Nicol, Ruth Sherlock and Paul Wood came together on the opening day for a discussion on seeking truth in war reportage, and the challenges facing contemporary journalism.

Mark Nicol described how new, unregulated media sources and social media were creating problems for traditional newspaper readerships, whose numbers have declined steeply, saying:

“We’re not needed anymore. Journalists are being side-stepped.” Lindsey Hilsum also spoke about the importance of poetry, saying that when her words run out whilst reporting on horrors, only the poets can carry on.

Speaking to a sold-out crowd in the Green Dragon Hotel, Helen Carr revealed how she drew on George Eliot’s approach to writing whilst penning her book Sceptred Isle: A New History of the Fourteenth Century, drawing on Eliot’s quote: “I at least have so much to do in unravelling certain human lots, and seeing how they were woven and interwoven.”

Anniversaries were honoured, with 90 years since the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War commemorated by authors and historians Giles Tremlett and Christopher Hall who explored why volunteers from Britain and across the world went to the battlefields of Spain in the 1930s.

The American War of Independence 250-year anniversary was also explored in an insightful event with authors Kevin.J Weddle, Tom Cutterham and Robert Cowley.

The festival closed on Sunday evening with an exclusive dinner and conversation with Nicholas Soames, grandson of Winston Churchill, reflecting on a lifetime close to the heart of world events, and his grandfather’s leadership and legacy, with Monocle’s Georgina Godwin.

The festival was made possible by the generous support from lead sponsor Herefordshire County BID, Herefordshire Community Foundation and lead hospitality partner the Green Dragon Hotel, along with a network of Herefordshire-based organisations, businesses and individuals.

The festival was founded on a shared vision to boost the local economy through increased tourism, while also creating a space for thoughtful dialogue about the role of military history in today’s world tied to Hereford’s own extraordinary past.