Atherstone author Margaret Hughes: I am the last woman standing seeking to prove Mancetter IS where Boudica fought her final battle

CIVIC SOCIETY SECRETARY UNDAUNTED BY AGE OR MALE-ORIENTATED FIELD IN 2,000-YEAR PUZZLE TO DETERMINE WARRIOR QUEEN'S LAST STAND

OCTOGENARIAN Atherstone author Margaret Hughes believes she has not yet won the war in convincing the "hearts and minds of modern opinion" as to Mancetter's genuine claim to be the site of the most important battle in British history before Hastings.

The town's civic society secretary was left "disappointed" over the disproportionate times allocated in a TV documentary series programme which pitched the area claim against the Northamptonshire village of Church Stowe as to the exact location of warrior queen Boudica's last stand.

Mrs Hughes is determined to prove a point she has already made forcibly in her book Boudica at Mancetter , and sees the challenge – at 82 and "proud of it" – as the "only woman" fighting the corner against up to nine other male candidates' claims identified by experts in terms of archaeological, archival and circumstantial evidence as well as military suitability.

Her theory goes wider than the straightforwardly martial focus of the other researchers.

The third programme in Channel Select's 5'sBritain's Lost Battlefields, under the title Battle of Watling Street, paints an accurate story of the Boudican campaign – and how close the Iceni tribe leader came to changing the course of the history of these islands.

But when it comes to where the 60AD battle took place involving Boudia's army of 230,000 men, women and children without protective armour against the 10,000-strong crack 14th Roman Legion, the debate was left open-ended.

And reflecting on the end of the programme first shown on Tuesday – where the Hartshill-based historian got two minutes of actual air time from a 90-minute interview behind the cameras – she told Nub News: "I realise the argument is based on a masculine field.

"The programme has opened my eyes to the nature of the big debate

"I am the women out of 10 theories being put forward – all the other candidates are men.

"I am a woman fighting for a woman who was going into battle for the identity of her nation.

"Boudica was our first national hero."

Church Stowe's claim, led by John Pegg, certainly seemed to get longer in front of the camera – put forward an argument based on the physical terrain, the typography of the day, to suggest the battle was there and not in Mancetter.

Hughes, who in February opened Mancetter's Roman & Boudica Heritage Centre in the village church of St Peter's believes because there is no eye witness account of the battle, we have to rely on classical sources, which unlock the puzzle.

Three Latin words – 'velut cuneo erupit' – written 50 years after the biggest battle in British history by Roman scholar Tacitus are the clue to linking the location to Mancetter. Translated they mean "like a wedge shape the legion erupted" and the surface of land around the Warwickshire area is a 'match', says Hughes.

Both the civic socity secretary and history lecturer Eddie Smallwood feature in interviews, the latter's contribution including outdoor shots where he points out the particular landscape contours that support the theory.

Hughes's input is an excerpt from her research that points to Mancetter's unusual importance in this battle-site debate.

She added: "The Mancetter argument is different from any of the others.

"And now I realise I have more work to do to prove why the Mancetter theory is different from the rest."

Viewers have another chance to see the programme tonight, being repeated on Channel 5 Select, Sky: 153; Freeview: 54; Virgin Media: 152 and Freesat: 133 at 7pm.

She said: "New viewers coming to Saturday's upcoming repeat may like to judge for themselves how far the programme is successful in bringing out the remarkable, unique aspects of the Mancetter theory."

Civic society members have said "likeable" presenter Rob Bell's programme comes over as "very professional", treating the participants ideas with "respect and infectious interest".

Footnote: Atherstone Nub News will soon be bringing you more information on the special peculiarities of the Mancetter Boudican hypothesis. Watch this space.