Dr Simon Elliott has won Military History Monthly’s Book of the Year prize for his work Sea Eagles of Empire: The Classis Britannica and the Battles for Britain.
The award is presented annually to the title that readers of Military History Monthly feel has made the greatest all-round contribution to the study of military history.
Dr Elliott’s book explores the history of the Classis Britannica, the Roman Fleet in Britain, and Britain’s first-ever navy, exploring the vessel types, personnel, tactics, roles and technology in use during the period, much of which had never been studied in-depth before.
Military History Monthly said the book was a worthy winner of the award, calling it a ‘masterly text’ that ‘restores the Roman navy in Britain to its rightful place at the centre of any comprehensive understanding of the long duration of Roman power’.
Dr Elliott recently completed his PhD in Classical and Archaeological Studies in the School for European Culture and Languages, with a thesis that explores the military presence in Kent during the Roman occupation, under supervision from Dr Steve Willis.