Is it really thirty years?

A few weeks ago I received an email from Stuart Asquith asking me if I would be interested in acquiring his collection of Del Prado pre-painted 25/28mm-scale RELIVE WATERLOO Napoleonic figures. I was interested – very interested – and yesterday I drove from London to Stuart's lovely home in Gloucestershire to pick them up.

The journey took me three hours, and I arrived a few minutes after midday. Stuart was on the doorstep to greet me as I got out of my car, and we began chatting as went inside for a drink. During our conversation Stuart pointed out that we hadn't actually spoken to each other for over thirty years(!), a fact that I found difficult to believe even though it was true. We had first met back in 1980 at the inaugural Conference of Wargamers at Moor Park, and he had attended the next couple. After that we had met on and off over the years – usually at wargame shows – but when Stuart moved to Gloucestershire, we lost touch.

During my visit Stuart showed me his extensive collection of 54mm-scale figures, his beautifully painted 40mm-scale Front Rank American War of Independence figures, and his 15mm-scale Colonial figures. (Stuart blames me for his acquisition of the 15mm-scale collection of Colonial figures – and a recently purchased gridded battle mat – after he bought a copy of my WHEN EMPIRES CLASH! rules.)

Unfortunately I could only stay for a couple of hours before I had to drive back to London, but during my visit Stuart and his family made me very welcome, and I hope to return to see them again at some time in the future.

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Besides the Del Prado figures Stuart passed on to me (and there are enough of them to increase my existing collection by a considerable number of units), he very kindly gave me a copy of his recently published book entitled STUART ASQUITH'S WARGAMING 18th CENTURY BATTLES INCLUDING RULES FOR MARLBURIAN WARFARE 1702-1714.

The book has been edited by John Curry and was published in 2016 by the 'History of Wargaming' Project (ISBN 978 1 326 48193 3). The book covers the follow:

• The 18th Century as a Wargaming Period
• The Battle of Schellenberg (1704)
• The Battle of Ramillies (1706)
• The Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715)
• The Battle of Mollwitz (1741)
• The Battle of Soor (1745)
• The Battle of Falkirk (1746)
• The Battle of Plassey (1757)
• The Battle of Minden (1759)
• The Battle of Warburg (1760)
• Wargaming Rules for Malburian Warfare 1702-1714 (first published in 1986 by Athena)

The most interesting section of the book is – in my opinion – Stuart's reflections on a lifetime of wargaming, which I hope that everyone will read and reflect upon.

Years ago I owned a small 20mm-scale Malburian wargames army made up of wonderful Les Higgins figures, and having looked through Stuart's book, I wish that I had kept them and not sold them when I did.