The English Connection

Arms, Material and Support Furnished to the Confederate States of America by Great Britain

Mike Nicholls

A Worcestershire man with a large slice of Birmingham where Mike’s maternal ancestors had lived since the 1840’s.  He followed his older brother into engineering at 17 years and worked in that capacity in the automotive industry for nearly 40 years. His two great passions in life are English classical music and British military history.  Foreign travel  from the age of 20 years was, when time and work allowed, another great interest, taking him worldwide, visiting places connected with the British Empire. The United States too, from his first recollections of being in San Diego during the latter part of the Vietnam War, to a memorable shooting contest against the Arizona Police in 1970’s Tuscon, and countless hours spent on Greyhound buses travelling  the country from end to end.

His interest in the Civil War began in 1966 with the purchase of a Burnside Carbine from a Birmingham, Bath Street gunmaker. The company during the 1850's and 60's, was part of the original Birmingham Small Arms Trade which, under the control of J.D. Goodman, supplied arms to both Union and Confederate agents. His interest sparked, he soon discovered the real extent of Birmingham, and the nation's involvement, and thus started a lifetime's research and fascination with the subject.

Mike, now retired, still lives in Worcestershire,  and divides his time between writing, historical research, music, The Worcestershire Conservation Trust and his friends and family. 

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