Demo wargame of Battle of Lundy's Lane, Cardiff Castle

Last weekend my brother and myself attended the 'The Fight for Canada 1812-1815. Bicentenary Re-Enactment' held at Cardiff Castle (I hope to post my other photographs from the day as soon as possible). Part of the show included a demo game of the Battle of Lundy's Lane (July 1814) using the British Grenadier rules by Eclaireur put on by the Penarth & District Wargames Society. They were a very friendly, informative bunch who didn't mind answering numerous inane questions from my brother and myself. The participants actually gave an interesting demo unlike, I've increasingly noticed, a number of so called demonstration games (the clues are in the words) which I've witnessed at shows where the public seem to be viewed as somewhat of an annoyance.

 

 

The figures on the table were made up from an equal mixture of Front Rank, Perry and Victrix 28mm Napoleonic miniatures. The American Colours (flags) are by Flags of War and the terrain pieces from several different manufacturers.

 

 

The main event at the castle was the re-enactment (using 1:1 scale figures) of the Battle of Detroit which was entirely appropriate as the original 4th American Regiment of Infantry, captured at the battle, was on display literally around the corner from the game. 

 

 

 

 

The lighting in the Firing Line museum was subdued for obvious reasons but it did mean that it wasn't very suitable for playing/showing off a demo game. I mention this only as a weak excuse for my awful photographs (I sometimes wonder why I bother as they really are getting worse).

Shaftesbury, Dorset

Way back in May this year, when here in England we enjoyed our allotted annual one week of nice 'summer' weather, my brother and myself visited various areas including the small town of Shaftesbury.

Note my brother's cheery disposition as he recreates the famous delivery boy scene (honed after years of practice being a real delivery boy i.e. he's a postman)

British readers of a certain age might not recognise the place name but you will probably remember the Hovis bread advert (directed by Ridley 'Alien, Bladerunner, Gladiator, Prometheus' Scott) which featured a delivery boy pushing his bike up a steep cobbled path. The voice-over gave the impression that the scene was set somewhere 'up north'. The street, Gold Hill, however is actually located in Shaftesbury, in the southern coastal county of Dorset.

The town was home of Shaftsbury Abbey founded by Alfred and his daughter Ethelgiva in 888. The abbey became the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England. The relics of St. Edward the Martyr, who had been murdered nearby Corfe castle, were transferred there in 981 and the abbey became a major pilgrimage site. King Canute died here in 1035.

The abbey was the wealthiest Benedictine nunnery in England. At the time of the Dissolution it was said that "if the abbess of Shaftesbury and the abbot of Glastonbury Abbey had been able to wed, their son would have been richer than the King of England" due to lands and property which it had been bequeathed to the abbey.

As a result of this wealth the abbey was dismantled in 1539 by the order of Thomas Cromwell. The job was carried out to such an extent that you need a good imagination to picture the ruins as ever being an abbey at all.

The scant remains of the abbey. View towards the alter.

So dear reader, you may ask, "why is he rambling on about Shaftesbury Abbey?". Well the reason is that the small on-site abbey museum features stonework pieces excavated from the abbey's ruins, including Saxon carvings and medieval floor tiles.

Purbeck marble head of a knight and support cushion. The detail shows chain mail on the head, which is thought to be unique - late C13th AD.

These tiles (shown above) feature the coat of arms of several local benefactors. These caught my eye and I thought they would be idea references for my late Crusade/Cry Havoc figures. Several of these coat of arms will be appearing very shortly in future posts. Two of the shield designs in particular relate to a fascinating 'what-if' historical story that I will detail in another forthcoming post.

National & Regimental Colours, 4th American Regiment of Infantry, 1812

On a recent visit to the fine principality of Wales, we visited the Museum of the Welsh Soldier  located within Cardiff Castle. The museum covers the development and history of the modern 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards and The Royal Welsh Regiment.

Sharing a joint interest in the period my brother called my attention to the following display.

Quote from information panel:
"National Colours and (above it) a fragment from the Regimental Colour of the 4th American Regiment of Infantry. 

These are extremely rare. The Colours (flags) are the heart of an infantry regiment. The US Army has not lost many. These Colours were surrendered to our 41st Foot after the capture of Fort Detroit on 16 August 1812, during the War of 1812."

National Colour - Detail of Eagle

'The Forth Regiment' detail

Interestingly the US Army didn't use the famous 'Stars & Stripes' during this period.

You are not allowed to use flash photography in the museum and the lighting around the flags are deliberately keep subdued to protect the habit, hence the poor quality of the images (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

Due to the low lighting levels I couldn't tell if the Regimental flag was buff, white or yellow, the traditional colours used. Versions of this flag, suitable for 28mm figures, are available from Flags of War - 1812 US Regiment flags.

As far as I'm aware the only other US flags from this period still held in British hands are in the Shropshire Regimental Museum at Shrewbury Castle. These are the flags of the 68th , 85th and the 1st Harford Light Dragoons captured, oddly enough, by the British 85th Light Infantry.

IWMN - Royal Horse Artillery ‘E’ Battery 13-pounder field gun

This particular artillery piece fired the British Army’s first shell of the First World War on 22 August 1914 near Binche in Belgium during the retreat from Mons. On 15th September the gun received a direct hit which killed crew member Bombardier W. King and injured four others during the advance from the Marne to the Aisne. Note the metal plate repair used to cover the hole caused by the German shell. This gun remained in use throughout the war.

13-pounder field gun

Designed as a manoeuvrable and lightweight to support cavalry the 13 pounder had a range of nearly 5 miles (8 km) but it wasn’t really suited to trench warfare on the Western Front.

The Royal Horse Artillery still use 13 pounders to fire the salute on ceremonial and royal occasions.

IWMN - Leopard Mark IV security vehicle.

This futuristic looking vehicle is actually now quite old. This particular example was used by a police patrol unit in Salisbury, South Rhodesia (now called Harare in Zimbabwe) during the Civil War leading up to independence in 1980.

The vehicle was designed to protect the inhabitants from landmines and small arms fire. Note the ‘V’ shaped hull designed to deflect explosions from mines (a feature only recently adopted in vehicles used by the British army in Afghanistan). The wheels would also have been blown off rather than absorb the blast.

Leopard Mark IV

Spec:
Volkswagen 4 cylinder 1584cc petrol engine and suspension.
Weighs 1980 kg (2.2 tons) and could carry 5 passengers and a driver.

Imperial War Museum North, Manchester

Design by Daniel Libeskind and opened in 2002 this impressive looking museum is based on three elements, earth, air and water and mainly deals with Britain’s involvement in armed conflicts over the previous one hundred years. The seemingly random modern design is deliberately calculated to challenge your perceptions and although not immediately noticeable there are a number of subtle design features. It just is not the height of the viewing platform on the Air Shard that might make you feel uneasy. All the lines are slightly off the true vertical which, without being too obvious, leaves you feeling slightly disoriented. A similar theme continues inside the main exhibition hall where the floor reflects the curvature of the earth and slopes down at a considerable angle from the entrance to the cold war exhibits.

Imperial War Museum North

This was our second visit to the IWM North in Manchester and, quite rightly, I realise that few museums would dare to display rooms full of dusty cabinets crammed full of items (the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford being a fantastic exception). I clearly remember as a child getting ‘culture fatigue’ as my eyes would glaze over staring at Roman collections of fibulas and Samian pottery. However the IWM North seems to have gone too far in the opposite direction and tried to create ‘an experience’. You are initially greeted by a suspended Harrier Jump Jet but then by an awful lot of space in the main exhibition hall. For instance the museum catalogue lists the following seven items as the Large Objects on display in the main exhibition hall:

Harrier Jump Jet
Artillery Piece
Fire-fighting Trailer
Trabant Estate Car
Leopard Patrol Vehicle
T34 Russian Tank
Model Barrage Balloon.

Considering the floor space available these items don’t take up much room. The rotating displays seem more than a gimmick considering the amount of blank wall space there is.

I realise that I must sound like a proper grumpy old scrote but hopefully this somewhat negative review won’t put off anyone from visiting. A special exhibition about naval warfare seemed curiously lacking in any visitors although it wasn’t immediately obvious where the display hall was located but was definitely worth visiting. There were a few interactive displays to keep the kids happy but also plenty of information to study if you wanted to take your time.

Being a national museum entrance is free and there is also an excellent restaurant located in the Water Shard, the pork belly draft in particular was delicious.

T34-85

T34-85

The lighting in the museum is quite subdued hence the usual poor photos (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!). There are a few more equally bad images that I'll post soon.