Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contribution they made to the bicentennial celebrations in Portugal in 2014 of the Peninsular War 1809–14; and what further contributions they plan to make to the care and maintenance of the memorials and interpretation centres in Portugal and Spain.

The Government has not received any requests to contribute to the bicentennial celebrations of the Peninsula War in Portugal. There are no plans to provide any public funding for the care and maintenance of memorials and interpretation centres either in Portugal or Spain.

Many Regiments do however conduct Regimental pilgrimages to those battlefields to keep their history alive, to remember their forebears and to foster good relations with the local communities who are the custodians of the many battlefield memorials.