Thanks to a short note by Martin Goddard (the owner of Peter Pig) on TMP (THE MINIATURES PAGE), I heard about the unexpected death of Duncan Macfarlane.
Duncan and I were members of the same generation of wargamers, and I first met him when he started publishing and editing MINIATURE WARGAMES in 1983. He was looking for people to write for his new magazine ... and I was one of the earliest to do so. So, without Duncan, I probably would never have moved on to write this blog and my numerous books.
He was a very nice chap, although he was not the quickest of payers. He once owed me over a hundred pounds for nearly two years, and I only got my money by cornering him at one of the Kensington Town Hall SALUTEs and demanding payment! He paid up on the spot ... and business over, we then had a coffee and a chat ... and I seem to remember paying for the coffee!
Duncan later sold MINIATURE WARGAMES to another publisher ... and then, in 1987, he set up WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED in competition with his original magazine. As a result, Duncan can be said to have been the father of two of the UK’s (and possibly the world's) most successful mainstream wargame magazines, and the person who encouraged so many people who became major influences in wargaming to begin to write about their hobby.
Due to the recent disruption of the annual round of wargame shows because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I had not seen Duncan for some years. The last time we spoke, he was manning his stall at the SELWG show and asked me to get him a coffee, which I gladly did. We were then able to have a short chat, and he said that he was pleased to see that I had begun publishing my own books.
He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him.
Duncan Macfarlane
1948-2021
Requiesce in pace
A rather grainy and out-of-focus 'captured' image of Duncan taking part in the Tyne Tees Television series BATTLEGROUND. The battle featured was a refight of the Battle of Edgehill, and his opponent was John Tilson. A recording of the programme is available on YouTube. For a man who was an excellent photographer, there are surprisingly few photographs of him in the public domain, and this is probably due due to him being more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it.
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Bob,
ReplyDeleteWell written words and thoughts from you Bob- a friend of Duncan.
Wargames Illustrated is one of the few magazines I ever took out a full subscription- glad I did from Issue #1 onwards- well done Duncan- it was a great magazine with great Articles. Regards. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteWhen you have known someone for such a long time, their sudden death can rather take the wind out of ones sails. All I hope is that my comments did our friendship justice.
All the best,
Bob
I remember him coming to Gamers in Exile in King's Cross to deliver Wargames Illustrated in person. He will be sadly missed.
ReplyDeleteTake Care,
Tony.
Unknown (Tony),
DeleteI think that in the early days, Duncan did a lot of the distribution himself. He once told me that this was one way in which he got to know his customers as well as helping his cash flow as it encouraged shops to pay upfront for the copies he delivered.
All the best,
Bob
He told me he hated having his photo taken! Impression he gave me was that he still retained a half share in Miniature Wargames even after he started Wargames Illustrated - at one time there were rumours that the two magazines were feuding and he basically said 'people don't realise I still own half of it and I'm not about to feuyd with myself¬'
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteDuncan certainly seems to have been rather camera shy!
I had never heard about Duncan owning a share of Miniature Wargames whilst he was running Wargames Illustrated. It sounds odd … but it certainly is quite believable.
All the best,
Bob.
I remember Duncan as a man with fingers in many pies and he certainly was camera shy. I do have a couple of pictures of him taken when he wasn't looking.
ReplyDeleteI remember him mostly for his visits to Claymore (the Edinburgh wargames show) which he advertised free of charge for us and of course we gave him a free trader table in return.
He was often in my car as we shuttled too and forth to the evenings restaurant and then a bar after our show. We also often met in the bar during and after Crisis in Antwerp (another great show).
He was a great man for giving tips as to the next trend in the hobby (and he was often right).
Duncan will be greatly missed anywhere wargamers meet.
Jim
Jim Duncan (Jim),
DeleteYou seem to have known him even better than I did, and to have spent a lot of quality time with him over the years.
You are right about him being a very good predictor of trends, I suspect because he knew so many movers and shakers in wargaming.
All the best,
Bob
I have a photo of Duncan dated November 2018 so must have been a NE England show, maybe Middlesbrough. I can forward it to anyone who would like to see it.
ReplyDeleteJim Duncan (Jim),
DeleteI think that the publishers of MW and WI might be interested as I understand that they are preparing articles about Duncan’s role in the development of the hobby.
All the best,
Bob
A sad passing, my thoughts are with his family
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exile FoG,
DeleteI suspect that it will only be in retrospect that Duncan's true role in the development of wargaming as a hobby in the UK will be recognised.
All the best,
Bob
A sad loss, my condolences to the family.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteHe will by missed by many, many people.
All the best,
Bob
I remember Duncan fondly, and yes, he was legendary for not paying promptly, in common with many editor/owners. On my one visit to his home, he showed me his professional camera - the secret to the excellent photos that he took, and I remember the top of his television, crowded with resin buildings. Happy days! He will be missed.
ReplyDeleteRegards, Chris.
Chris Kemp (Chris),
DeleteI think that Duncan used a Hasselblad camera, which I understand is one of the best cameras you can get. He certainly took some excellent photographs, and set the bar for all subsequent wargame photographers.
All the best,
Bob
I've watched a little of the video so far and I love the fact that only the BBC could televise the course of a wargame. What drives me nuts, however, is that they never mention what set of rules they're using. All the die rolls seem arbitrary.
ReplyDeleteBut the game does seem to play pretty fast and loose, my kind of game.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteSorry to correct you, but the TV programme (BATTLEGROUND) was made by a regional TV franchise, Tyne Tees Television. No idea what rules were used for the Edgehill wargame, but the refight of Gettysburg used Peter Gilder’s rules.
All the best,
Bob
No problem, I didn't realize viewing options in the UK in the 1980s(?) offered more than BBC 1 through X. Though I do remember watching the Simpsons on Sky1 when I was in Germany in the 90s.
DeleteI love how so many of the older rule sets used things like the range sticks with deflection, cannonball bounce and skip cards, that combat calculator wheel from Tabletop Games 1975 Rules for the Napoleonic Period.
But here I am going on and on about the show. I'm sorry to hear you lost a friend and colleague. I do remember the photographs in Wargames Illustrated being beautiful. It is nice to learn about the people behind the hobby. Thanks.
Mr. Pavone,
DeleteWhen commercial TV was introduced into the UK in the late 1950s, franchises were given to regional companies that fell under the ITV (Independent Television) banner.
From 1968 until 2002, the London area was covered by Thames TV and London Weekend TV, with Thames TV transmitting on weekdays and London Weekend TV covering the weekends. They produced programmes in-house as well as commissioning them from independent producers.
The advent of cable and satellite TV threw this arrangement up into the air, and now there are so many variables it is impossible to explain who does what anymore! After having cable for many years, my wife and I now use Freeview, which is a terrestrial service that offers 85 TV channels, 26 digital radio channels, 10 HD channels, six text services, 11 streamed channels, and one interactive channel ... and we still have trouble finding something worthwhile to watch!
The days of 'bounce sticks' and 'canister triangles' seem a long time ago, and nowadays I wonder why they were so popular ... but they were! Some 'old school' wargamers still use them, and tell me that they get lots of fun from doing so, although the wargames can last a long time!
Like all of us, Duncan had his faults, but his merits far outweighed them. He will be missed by those who knew him, and his influence will live on after him.
All the best,
Bob
Just rewatched the Edgehill episode and realized he was a children's librarian - like me! I wonder what or if he played with kids...
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
DeleteI knew that he had been a librarian, but not that he had been a children’s one.
All the best,
Bob