Books from the Caribbean

During my recent cruise around the Caribbean I managed to buy several interesting books, including:

FORTS by Desmond V Nicholson (Published by the Museum of Antigua & Barbuda in 1994), ...


ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ENGLISH HARBOUR: THE FIRST 2,000 YEARS by Desmond V Nicholson (Published by the Museum of Antigua & Barbuda in 2002), and ...


A CONCISE & ILLUSTRATED MILITARY HISTORY OF BARBADOS 1627 – 2007 by Major Michael Hartland (published by Miller Publishing Company in 2010 [ISBN 978 976 8215 20 8]).


FORTS is a monograph about the numerous fortifications built to defend Antigua and Barbuda, and ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ENGLISH HARBOUR: THE FIRST 2,000 YEARS is a collection of chronological items that describe the development of English Harbour from times pre-Columbian times until the present day. A CONCISE & ILLUSTRATED MILITARY HISTORY OF BARBADOS 1627 – 2007 is exactly as its title describes, and provides a unique military history of Barbados and its inhabitants. It contains some wonderful photographs, and is written in an very engaging and entertaining style that ensures that what might have been a rather 'dry' subject certainly is not.

War! Age of Imperialism

Over the past few years I had seen several references to a game entitled WAR! AGE OF IMPERIALISM (which was sold by Eagle Games from 2001 onwards), and recently I decided that it sounded like the sort of board game I would enjoy using ... especially as it seemed to come with lots of 'bits' that might have other uses!

As a result I have been looking for a second-hand copy to buy, and after a couple of fruitless attempts, I finally managed to acquire a copy via eBay ... and very please I am too!


The box is much larger than many of the other board games that I own ... and once it is opened it is easy to see why; it is packed full of stuff. Besides three large game boards that cover a map of Europe and the East (North and South American are covered in one of the game's supplements) and a book of rules (there are three sets, ranging from simple to complex), there are a large number of playing pieces in a variety of different colours.


Each colour's playing pieces include:

• 40 Infantry
• 12 Cavalry
• 8 Explorer
• 8 Engineers
• 10 Mounted Officers
• 10 Cannons
• 12 Ships

The other playing pieces are all light grey, and include:

• Forts
• Cities
• Factories
• Ports
• Schools
• Locomotives
• Zulus (to represent Natives)
• 'Arab' Riders (who look more like Boer Commandos than Arabs, and who also represent Natives)

The playing pieces alone were worth the £9.99 that I paid for the game, and I can already see wargaming uses for them!

An A to Z of Ruritania

I have read Anthony Hope’s PRISONER OF ZENDA and RUPERT OF HENZAU several times, and as a result I have built-up an A to Z of the places and characters mentioned in the books.

I thought that these might be of interest to some of my regular blog readers, so here they are.

Places

• Elphberg, Royal House of: Ruling family of Ruritania
• Hentzau: Estate and title held by Rupert, Count of Hentzau
• Strelsau: Capital city of Ruritania
• Tarlenheim, Chateau of: Five miles from Zenda
• Zenda, Castle of: Fifty miles from Strelsau and ten miles from the border.
• Zenda, Forest of
• Zenda, Hunting Lodge

People

• Bauer: Swiss supporter of Rupert, Count of Hentzau
• Bersonin: Mercenary in the service of Duke Michael of Zenda
• De Gautet: Mercenary in the service of Duke Michael of Zenda
• Detchard: Mercenary in the service of Duke Michael of Zenda
• Elphberg, Flavia, Princess (later Queen) of Ruritania
• Elphberg, Rudolf, King of Ruritania
• Helsing, Baron: Chancellor of Ruritania
• Helsing, Baroness: Wife of Baron Helsing
• Helsing, Miss: Daughter of Baron Helsing
• Hentzau, Rupert, Count of
• Herbert: Huntsman and brother of Simon
• Holf, Johan: Duke Michael of Zenda’s gamekeeper
• Holf, Max: Supporter of Duke Michael of Zenda
• Holf, Mistress: Mother of Johan Holf and housekeeper at Duke Michael of Zenda's hunting-lodge in Zenda. Three years after the death of Duke Michael of Zenda, she was running a food shop and lodging house at 19 Königstraße, Strelsau.
• Holf, Rosa: Sister of Johan Holf
• James: Servant of Rudolf Rassendyll
• Joseph: Servant at the Zenda Hunting Lodge
• Krafstein: Supporter of Duke Michael of Zenda
• Lauengram: Supporter of Duke Michael of Zenda
• Luzau-Rischenheim, Count of: Cousin of Rupert of Henzau
• Rassendyll, Rudolf: Distant cousin of Rudolf (Elphberg), King of Ruritania
• Sapt, Colonel: Later Constable of Zenda
• Simon: King’s Huntsman and brother of Herbert
• Strakencz, Marshal: Commander of the Ruritanian Army
• Strelsau, Cardinal/Archbishop of: Archbishop of Strelsau and the senior Roman Catholic prelate in Ruritania
• Strelsau, Michael, Duke of: (Black Michael)
• Von Bernenstein: Guards officer
• Von Strofzin, Anton: Cousin of Helga, Countess von Tarlenheim
• Von Tarlenheim, Fritz, Count of
• Von Tarlenheim, Helga, Countess of
• Von Tarlenheim, Stanislas, Count of: Owner of Chateau of Tarlenheim

I have been to … the National Armoury Museum, Barbados.

The National Armoury Museum is situated in the former Powder Store underneath St Anne’s Fort in the Historic Garrison Area of Barbados.


The Museum is reputed to have the largest collection of English iron cannon in the world … and some of them are featured below.

18pdr Carronade, cast in 1788 by the Carron Iron Company, Falkirk, Scotland


8-inch howitzer, designed by General Millar and cast by Sturgis in 1827


12pdr cannon or Demi-culverin, cast in 1660


32pdr cannon or Demi-cannon, cast in 1693 by Thomas Western
It is almost unique in having a Tudor Rose and Crown Cypher




3pdr cannon or Minion, cast in the late seventeenth century


32pdr Carronade, cast by the Carron Iron Company, Falkirk, Scotland


3pdr cannon or Minion, cast in the late seventeenth century


18pdr Bloomfield-type cannon, cast in 1805 by Walker and Company
It has a George III Royal Cypher


18pdr cannon or Culverin, cast in Finspong, Sweden during the late seventeenth century


4dr cannon cast in 1775 by George Matthews
It has a George III Royal Cypher

Nugget 261

I collected the latest edition of THE NUGGET (N261) from the printer this afternoon and it should be posted out to members of Wargame Developments by Thursday.


I have also uploaded the PDF versions of THE NUGGET and THE NUGGET COLOUR SUPPLEMENT to the Wargame Developments website, and they are now available for members of Wargame Developments to read online or to download and print.

I have been to … the Historic Garrison, Barbados

The Historic Garrison Area of Barbados is a unique site that was recognised as such by UNESCO in 2011, when it was added to the World Heritage List. The site encompasses the existing headquarters of the Barbados Defence Force, the world-famous Savannah Race Course, and part of the coastline of Carlisle Bay.

During our visit we went to:

• Bush Hill House – This is the house where George Washington stayed when he visited Barbados with his brother in 1751.
• Charles Fort – The first permanent fortification built on Barbados.
• St Anne’s Fort – This now forms part of the Officer’s Mess for the Barbados Defence Force.
• The Drill Hall – This was originally a soldiers’ barracks that housed gunners of the Royal Artillery. It was built abutting St Anne’s Fort.
• The Power Store – This was built underneath St Anne’s Fort, and now houses the National Armoury Museum.

Bush Hill House
Bush Hill House was a private residence that George and Lawrence Washington rented during their six-week long stay in Barbados in 1751. It was then only one storey high, but it was extended after it had been bought by the British Army and used first as the ‘Resident Engineer’s Quarters’ (1789) and later as the ‘Bush Hill Commanding Officers Quarters’.

The building was restored to its 1805 appearance after it was incorporated into the Historic Garrison Area heritage attraction in 2007. At that time it was renamed ‘George Washington House’.


George Washington’s bedroom




Lawrence Washington’s bedroom


The dining room


One of the original ceiling beams


Some of the furniture








The kitchen


Charles Fort
Charles Fort was built in 1650, and was originally constructed from wood and earth. It was designed to be low lying, and it had a commanding position on Carlisle Bay. It helped to defeat the Dutch invasion in 1655, when Admiral De Ruyter attempted to land troops on Barbados. In the early eighteenth century the original wooden fort was replaced by one built from the local coral stone, and it remained a military post until 1950, when all the fortifications on Barbados were declared obsolete. The fort’s guns were all dumped in the sea, and some of them remain there.


The fort now forms part of the Hilton Hotel complex, and some years ago it was ‘remodelled’ so that guests at the hotel could use it. As a result almost none of its original features – other than its shape – remain. It does, however, provide and excellent viewpoint from which to see Carlisle Bay.


St Anne’s Fort
St Anne’s Fort was built from local coral stone 1707, and it is hexagonal in shape. In its centre is a watchtower …


… and its walls are lined with artillery.






The Drill Hall
The Drill Hall was built from local coral stone in 1790, and was originally used as a barracks for soldiers. It was build abutting one of the exterior walls of St Anne’s Fort, and was remodelled in the 1820s when it became the Armoury and then the Garrison Headquarters (1881). Since 1979 the building has housed the Officers’ and Sergeants’ Messes of the Barbados Defence Force as well as being the location of numerous state functions.

The imposing entrance has two staircases that lead up to the main door …


... and between the staircases a Rifled Muzzle Loading cannon has been mounted.


One room in the Drill Hall commemorates the West Indian and Barbados Regiments. Besides the colours of the former Barbados Regiment …




… there are numerous pictures that tell the story of the two regiments.


















There is also a case containing 54mm-scale figures that represent the Band of the West India Regiment in their famous Zouave uniforms.


The Powder Store
The Power Store or Magazine was constructed underneath St Anne’s Fort from 1801 onwards. It now serves as the location for the National Armoury Museum, which is reputed to have the largest collection of English iron cannon in the world.

The Store is entered via a pair of doors in the wall of St Anne’s Fort …


… and once inside one sees the extent of the Museum’s collection. I hope to write a more detailed blog entry about the collection in the very near future.