Having almost completely recovered from my recent stomach problems, I felt well enough to visit to CAVALIER, the annual wargames show that is held in Tonbridge, Kent. As usual, it was organised by the
Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society, and the venue was the Angel Centre, which is very close to several car parks and only a stone's throw far from the town's main shopping street.
The show took place in several rooms in the venue. The main hall housed most of the traders and some of the games, ...
... whilst just along the corridor ...
... was a further smaller hall that was the venue for more games and the Bring-and-Buy ...
... and a small room that housed the
Society of Ancients' game.
The first game I visited was being run by Martin Goddard of
PETER PIG, and was his PIECES OF EIGHT pirate game.
Nearby was an interesting Renaissance game staged by the
Hailsham Wargames Club.
This featured several of Leonard da Vinci's creations, including an ornithology and circular armoured fighting vehicle.
Next to that was
Crawley Wargames Club's World War II TIGER,TIGER BURNING BRIGHT game ...
... and a large Colonial wargame.
One wargame that did impress me because of the range of warships and landing craft that were present, was THE 'REAL' GUNS OF NAVARONE, which was put on by Deal Wargames Association. It recreated Operation Brassard, the invasion of Elba, 16 to 20 June 1944.
In the Medway Hall, the Gamer's Guild chose put on an English Civil War cavalry encounter called SKIRMISH AT STAPLETHORPE.
Next to them the
Maidstone Wargames Society were re-fighting an air combat from the so-called 'Football War' between Honduras and El Salvador. Both sides were equipped with US Word War II-vintage fighter aircraft, the Vought
Corsair and North American
Mustang respectively.
Tonbridge Wargames Club ran a Boxer Rebellion battle ...
... and
Milton Hundred Wargames Club demonstrated the LION RAMPANT rules.
South East Essex Military Society's game was set in a dystopian version of the near-future ...
... and
Emotionally14's STAR WARS battle attracted a few interested onlookers.
In the small room at the end of the corridor, Professor Phil Sabin was running THE BATTLE OF ZAMA on behalf of the
Society of Ancients.
I met a few well-known wargame bloggers whilst at Cavalier, including
David Crook,
Ray Rousell, and
Big Lee ... and almost uniquely for me, I bought something on the Bring-and-Buy. The box of German World War I Stormtroopers will probably take their place amongst the growing number of 20mm figures I am currently renovating, varnishing, and re-basing, and may well turn up on the Eastern Front as second-line German garrison or security troops if they do not become the core of of a small interwar imagi-nation army. (Ironically, after buying them, I discovered that they had been painted by Neil Fox, who I have known for many years as a result of our join participation in Eric Knowles's Madasahatta Campaign. It's a small world, isn't it!)
During my time at CAVALIER I managed to have a long chat with
David Crook about the book he is planning to write, and he kindly gave me a number of books about the Battle of Waterloo:
- WATERLOO by Commandant Henry Lachouque
- WATERLOO: THE HUNDRED DAYS by David Chandler
- WATERLOO: THE HISTORY OF FOUR DAYS, THREE ARMIES AND THREE BATTLES by Bernard Cornwall
- WATERLOO NEW PERSPECTIVE: THE GREAT BATTLE REAPPRAISED by David Hamilton-Williams
This gift was very much appreciated, and reading them will give me many hours of enjoyment.
