Another thing to remember with the brits - and any nation really - don't forget your magnets or meat shields, the cavalry. New players might want to spam the riflemen from the start but if you're planning on adding to this thread with advice on later ages l would suggest including heavy cavalry or tanks as a compliment to the army.
They're great at distracting heavy fire from your flesh & bone troops and, while a good player can easily 5star by spamming archers, it's always good, imho, to have something extra up your sleeve just in case.
To replace a tank in global costs 7400 food & 5mins - to replace a lvl4 sabotage costs 19000 & 45mins .....
Ps: credit shmedit - we're all in this together, right??!