The Timeless Traveller: This week’s update

As matters move towards a conclusion, events became more confused, violent, and just a little surreal!

Rather than immediately follow the two Hooded Men towards the toilets – as advised by the tea drinkers Callistra (the Hunter) had spoken to – the group decided to protect the twins, Elandra, and Thinkertop’s assistant – Aya – by placing them on the gallery surrounding the main hall. Mankare (the Shadowmancer) and Vale (the Shepherd) accompanied them whilst Ragnar (the Berserker) waited at the bottom of the stairs to prevent anyone from climbing up to the gallery.

Once this had been done, Mankare plucked one of his spirits from a nearby shadow and sent it down into the main hall, where it joined Callistra and Munch (the Songweaver). They then made their way towards the corridor leading to the toilets, whilst Bumble (the Stormshifter) and Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat) remained in the main hall.

As they entered the corridor, Callistra and Munch saw a figure making some sort of ritual gestures with his hands whilst muttering to himself. They did not recognise him, and assuming that he might be one of the High Priestess’s acolytes, they approached him and tried to restrain him. In reply, he shouted out, ‘You don’t understand; Let me go!’

Whilst Callistra attempted to question the man, Munch showed him the book that he had acquired. This startled the man, and when Callistra and Munch asked him searching questions, his replies were confused and very unclear. Munch put the book away and then threatened to set the man’s face on fire if he didn’t say who he had been praying to. In reply, the man shouts, ‘You will burn when the Titan rises!’

At this point, Callistra become aware of a metal object on the man’s chest … which is one of the amulets embedded into the bodies of the Hooded Men. Before she can react, the amulet exploded in a mass of flame, killing the man and burning Callistra slightly. Munch searched the man’s body and found a sword, and looked for fragments of the amulet, but these seem to have embedded themselves in the corridor’s walls.

Watched by Munch, Callistra pulled the amulet from the chest of the Hooded Man, causing him to explode,.

The explosion caused Bumble to turn into a bear and move towards the centre of the main hall whilst Ragnar rushed towards the scene. Realising that the situation has become dangerous, Vale cast a protective spell on the twins.

Vale cast a protective spell over the twins whilst Ragnar rushed down the stairs from the gallery and into the main hall,.

As this came into effect, Callistra entered the main hall by the hole blown in the wall by the explosion … and then all hell seemed to break out! Hooded Men seemed to appear at every entrance to the main hall as well as in the corridor. Two approached Callistra and Munch and another fired an arrow at the twins, An innocent person who was in the main hall was killed by a stray arrow and Callistra and Munch found themselves under attack. Both were wounded – in Munch’s case, seriously as he lost a leg – and whilst Mankare summoned up to two spirits to attack some of the Hooded Men and Ragnar successfully threw his axe at one of the Hooded Men attacking Callistra, Munch attempted to use his magical powers to regrow his leg … but something went wrong, and as the new leg grew, Munch and his attacker became a single entity, with much attached to his side!

There was then an explosion under the gallery, and the innocent bystanders who had not had time to react to the unfolding events in the main hall, suddenly started to run as fast as they could. During the ensuing mayhem, Johnny-Baptiste used their special knife-throwing skill to wound two of the Hooded Men, and Vale’s spirit dog ruched towards Callistra to heal her of her wounds. He also used a spell on one of the Hooded Men and wounded him.

Callistra was able to use her ‘Hunters Mark’ against the Hooded Man who was attacking her just as Ragnar – who had retrieved his axe – hit the same man. At the same time, another Hooded Man was attacked by two of Mankare’s shadow spirits

In attempting to separate himself from the Hooded Man he was now attached to, Munch tried to cut himself free … and only succeeded in hurting himself as well! He did – however – unsuccessfully try to influence the Hooded Man to kill one of the other Hooded Men.

Bumble remained in his bear from and lumbered to the far end of the main hall where he fought with a Hooded Man, with the result that both ended up wounded. Whilst this fight was taking place, two Hooded Men appeared underneath the gallery, and immediately one of them jumped onto a table and tried – unsuccessfully – to climb up to stab one of the twins. Mankare reacted at once, and shot the man in the face.

Johnny-Baptiste ended up being attacked and wounded by two Hooded Men and one of Mankare’s spirits was destroyed by a Hooded Man. Ragnar continued to fight with the Hooded Man who had attacked Callistra … and went berserk! He wielded his axe above his head and brought it down onto the head of the Hooded Man he was fighting with … cut him in half!

Side by side, Ragnar and Callistra fought the Hooded Men.

At this point, the conjoined Hooded Man/Munch smashed its way through the wall of the corridor and into the main hall … and a pair of huge butterfly wings began to grow out of its back!

Elsewhere, Bumble ripped the head off the Hooded Man he had been fighting ...

Bumble – in the guise of a bear – fought and killed one of the Hooded Men.

... and Johnny-Baptiste ran into cover and tried to use their special knife-throwing skill to hit the two Hooded Man who had attacked them. Unfortunately, he missed, but the knife returned to him undamaged. Callistra fired two arrows at one of the Hooded Men. The first wounded him and the second pinned him to the wall of the main hall.

Still attached to the Hooded Man, Munch used a lightning spell to attack to of the Hooded Men and killed one and wounded the other. However, this exhausted him, and the conjoined Hooded Man/Munch collapsed to the ground … and almost immediately they became a huge cocoon!

The cocoon!.

Fighting continued across the main hall. Vale used a spell on two of the Hooded Men and killed one of them, and Mankare used one of his shadow spirits to attack the Hooded Man he had shot in the face … and the spirit ripped the man in two!

Ragnar attempted to cut the cocoon open … and then he saw Munch’s face looking at him. The cocoon them split open, and the conjoined Hooded Man/Munch stood up. The conjoined figure was over three metres tall, still had its wings, and the Hooded Man’s body was now heavily muscled.

The conjoined Hooded Man and Munch rose out of the cocoon, propelled by their butterfly wings.

Johnny-Baptiste ran forward from cover and fought one of the Hooded Men. Initially, he wounded the Hooded Man, but his second blow killed him. Bumble changed back into his normal form and immediately began to give aid to a seriously wounded bystander.

The twins turned to Mankare and asked him if this was when they were going to be killed, but he reassured them that it was not going to happen. Alandra then had the idea to summon a servant and ask them to summon Nordian.

Munch attempted to teleport to a nearby flame … but his conjoined Hooded Man resisted this and attempted to break free.

The group now discussed what to do to help Munch. They managed to get a rope around the conjoined figure, and Ragnar – who was the strongest of the group – took hold of the free end. At the same time, Munch attempted to touch the Hooded Man’s amulet … but failed. This led to a struggle between Munch and the conjoined Hooded Man for ascendancy, and during this Bumble – who was by far and away the most dexterous member of the group, cut the amulet out of the Hooded Man’s chest … just as Nordian and two guards arrived in the main hall.

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It looks as this adventure is likely to end at our next session ... but it is impossible to predict what might happen.

Some more Triang Minic 1:1200th-scale ships

I have made another foray onto eBay and have added four more Triang Minic 1:1200th-scale ships to my collection.

My four new Triang Minic Ton-class minesweepers.

They are four Ton-class minesweepers, HMS Carlton, HMS Dufton, HMS Repton, and HMS Upton ... and are splendid additions to my collection!

I sometimes think that my Belle Époque project might be hexed!

Whilst trying to find a way to draw the hex-gridded maps for my Belle Époque project, I have – at times – felt cursed ... which isn't that surprising when one considers the meaning of the word hex.

According to an online dictionary, the various meanings of the word hex are as follows:

1. Noun: A hex refers to an evil spell or curse that brings bad luck and trouble.
2. Verb: To hex someone or something means to put an evil spell on them to bring bad luck and trouble.
3. Adjective: Hex can be short for hexagonal, which means having a shape with six straight sides.
4. Jargon: In computing, hex is short for hexadecimal, which is a system of counting based on the number 16 rather than the number 10.

In the past, I have drawn my own hex grids and individual tiles using MS Paint ... but for a project this large, I wanted to find a terrain-drawing program that I could use. So far I have tried the following:

HexPad

HexAtlas

Hexer

Hextml

HexDraw

Hexographer

Having looked at each of the above, I concluded that HexDraw should be my first choice ... and then I discovered that it is currently unavailable as a new version is due to be launched sometime soon.

I therefore downloaded my second choice (Hexographer) and I began experimenting with it, but it has one major drawback as far as I am concerned ... the program is designed for use with a much larger screen tan the one on my laptop!

I am therefore left with three options:

1. Carry on using Hexographer ... and working as lest I can with the screen size problem.
2. Wait until HexDraw2 become available.
3. Draw my own hex grids and individual tiles using MS Paint and accept the inevitable delay that this will cause.

I'm not sure which of these options I will choose ... but I must choose one if I want to use hex gridded maps for this project.

The Herring War: The Royal Norwegian Navy’s orders

Last year I was asked by Tim Gow to write the orders for the Royal Norwegian Navy forces taking part in his Herring War wargame. (A blog post about the game by Martin Rapier can be seen here.)

The orders I wrote can be seen below.

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From:

Admiral Commanding His Majesty’s Royal Norwegian Navy

To:

Admiral Commanding the Fleet

Situation Appraisal:

I am commanded by the King and his government to instruct you to take the fleet to sea and reinforce our nation’s rights to fish in the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea unhindered by the ships of another nations, to wit, the Navy of the Kingdom of Denmark.

The ships available to you are:

The battleship Mestag Berg

The light cruisers Torp Norum, Bo Morkid

The monitor Heltberg Rygh

The torpedo boat leader Vold

The torpedo boats TB1, TB2, TB4

In addition, the navy’s airship has been placed under your command.

(For Your Eyes Only: We have a spy stationed in Skagen who will report to the Admiralty and whose intelligence will be passed on to you.)

Orders:

Your force is to be organised as follows:

Main Force: Mestag Berg, Torp Norum, and Bo Morkid (the latter will be transporting the two landing companies, the two landing guns, the cyclist machine gun company, and the naval brigade’s staff)

Scouting Force: Vold, TB1, and TB2

Coastal Defence Force: Heltberg Rygh and TB4

The Scouting Force is to set sail an hour before the Main Force and is to sail in an arrow formation, with the TB Leader at the arrow point. If the weather is clear, the ships are to be 20,000 yards (10 miles) apart so that they can easily signal by flag/semaphore or signal lamps to each other. If the weather is bad, the distance to be reduced to 10,000 yards (5 miles) so that they can signal to each other using signal lamps.

The Main Force is to sail in line ahead with two cables (400 yards) between ships. It is to be led by your flagship, followed by the two light cruisers. The Force is to sail 20,000 yards (10 miles) astern of the Scouting Force so that any signals can read easily.

The Coastal Defence Force will patrol the coast off Kristiansand from I16 to M12 to deter any attacks on our main naval base. The airship is to operate from Larvik (Q4) and to patrol the area R9 to R16 to N19 to N14 to R9.

The Scouting Force shall sail from Kristiansand (I13) on a course towards Klitmøller (L24). Once it has reached L23, it will turn east towards Skagen (T16) to cover the operations of the Main Force. If no enemy ships have been discovered and attacked by the time the Scouting Force has reached T16, it will sail to Larvik (Q4). Any Danish fishing vessels found in the area are to be sunk and their crews taken aboard and treated with the utmost courtesy and care due to any fellow seafarer.

The Main Force will follow a similar course, but on reaching L23, the light cruiser will move into L24 and land the naval brigade it is carrying. The rest of the Main Force will cover this landing and engage and enemy resistance, be it from coastal defences or enemy ships.

Once Danish naval base at Klitmøller has been razed to the ground, its facilities destroyed, and any enemy naval vessel therein sunk by demolition or gunfire, the troops will be withdrawn, and the Main Force will return to Larvik. Any enemy ships that are intercepted whilst the Main Force sail towards Larvik are to be attacked and sunk (Q4). Any Danish fishing vessels found in the area are to be sunk and their crews taken aboard and treated with the utmost courtesy and care due to any fellow seafarer.

These orders are subject to alteration should the circumstances change. For example, if the airship discovers any major Danish naval units operating in the area bounded by Larvik (Q5), Skagen (T16) and Kristiansand (I13), its signals will be passed on to you, and you will have the discretion to change your priorities to sink those enemy ships.

I wish you to remember the words of the Royal Navy’s foremost admiral: “No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy.”

Godspeed and wishing you great success,

Olaf Bjornsson (Admiral)

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The tactical map of the area of operations.

The tactical map of the area of operations showing the courses and patrol areas laid down by the Admiral Commanding His Majesty's Royal Norwegian Navy. The orange line shows the course to be taken by the Scouting Force; the red line shows the course to be taken by the Main Force; the green line shows the Coastal Defence Force's patrol line; and the purple line shows the course and patrol area to be covered by the Norwegian airship.

American Civil War campaign: The Battle of Triangle!

This is a report of the first battle of the American Civil War campaign that Professor Gary Sheffield and I are fighting.

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Report to the Confederate C-in-C from the commander of the 8th Cavalry Brigade, Triangle.

Sir, I beg to report an engagement with enemy forces at Triangle.

My brigade advanced to the settlement as ordered, and prepared field defences. An enemy force of cavalry, of greater strength than I had at my disposal, advanced south along the road from Unitedville.

Deploying a mix of dismounted and mounted troops, we succeeded in holding off the enemy for an entire day.

The enemy attempted to turn my right flank, thus cutting my line of retreat to Akragas City. Outnumbered, and with dusk approaching, I pulled back from Triangle village and cut my way out.

During this movement, we destroyed three Yankee mounted units. Such was the damage we inflicted on the enemy that they did not attempt to pursue us.

My force is falling back on Akragas City in good order

My losses are fairly light with all my units remaining intact.

I await your orders.

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The situation after the Battle of Triangle.

So, the Confederate cavalry has been forced to withdraw, but they seem to have given the Union cavalry a bloody nose!

The post-war Daring-class destroyers

By the end of the Second World War, the Royal Navy was already looking to the future with regard to its warship designs. The lessons of the war were fresh in the minds of the Admiralty and the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, and there was a desire to incorporate them in the next warships that were to be designed and introduced into service.

The Daring-class destroyers – along with the smaller Weapon-class destroyers – were the result. Whereas the latter were an intermediate-sized design that emphasised anti-aircraft capabilities and were intended to be built by shipyards whose building ways were too small to be used to build Battle-class destroyers, the Darings were large, fleet destroyers. Interestingly, the Weapons and the Darings both had their propulsion machinery arranged on the unit principle, with their boiler and engine rooms arranged alternately. This was intended to improve survivability in the event of battle damage. As a result, both classes had two funnels, the foremost being inside their lattice foremast.

A side view of the Daring-class destroyers as originally designed and built.

When the Darings were being designed, the Admiralty was beginning to explore the possibility of producing a new class of warships that combined the roles previously performed separately by light cruisers and destroyers. As such, the Daring-class can been seen as a step towards the fulfilment of that concept, and the following class of destroyers to be built - the County-class - were certainly classified by some commentators as light cruisers.

It was originally intended that a total of twenty Daring-class destroyers would be built, sixteen (enough for two flotillas) for the Royal Navy and four for the Royal Australian Navy. However, only eight were completed for the Royal Navy and three for the Royal Australian Navy, with the fourth Australian ship being cancelled after work had begun on her. Her remains were scrapped in situ to clear the slipway.

The completed Royal Navy ships were HMS Daring, HMS Dainty, HMS Defender, and HMS Delight (all of which were fitted with older DC [direct current] electrical systems), HMS Decoy, HMS Diamond, HMS Diana, and HMS Duchess (all of which were fitted with more modern AC [alternate current] electrical systems). The ships underwent some minor modernisation during the 1960s that saw the STAAG (Stabilised Tachymetric Anti-Aircraft Gun) mountings replaced by single 40mm mountings and the removal of first one and then both sets of torpedo tubes.

HMS Daring-class as built.

In 1969, HMS Diana and HMS Decoy were sold to the Peruvian Navy and renamed BAP Palacios and BAP Ferré. They were extensively modernised and remained in service until 1993 and 2007 respectively.

The completed Royal Australian Navy ships were HMAS Voyager, HMAS Vendetta, and HMAS Vampire. HMAS Voyager was sunk in February 1964 after a collision with the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne. HMS Duchess was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy for four years to replace HMAS Voyager, and at the conclusion of the loan period, she was sold to the Royal Australian Navy.

The class's characteristics when built were:

• Displacement: 3,820 tons (full load)
• Dimensions:
• Length: 390ft (120 m)
• Beam: 43ft (13m)
• Draught: 12.75ft (3.89m)
• Propulsion: 2 x Foster Wheeler boilers providing steam to 2 x Parsons steam turbines (Royal Navy ships) or 2 x English Electric steam turbines (Royal Australian Navy ships) powering two propellors
• Speed: 30 knots
• Range: 4,400 nautical miles at 20 knots
• Complement: 297
• Sensors & processing systems: Type 293Q target indication radar; Type 291 air warning radar; Type 274 navigation radar; Type 275 fire control radar on director Mk.6; Type 262 fire control radars on director CRBF and STAAG Mk.2; Type 903 fire control radar on system MRS-3
• Armament: 3 × twin 4.5-inch/45 (114mm) Mk.5 guns in UD Mk.6 mountings; 2 × twin 40 mm/60 Bofors anti-aircraft guns in STAAG Mk.2 mountings; 1 × twin 40 mm/60 Bofors anti-aircraft guns in Mk.5 mounting; 2 × quintuple 21-inch (533mm) torpedo tubes; 1 × Squid anti-submarine mortar

The much-modernised BAP Palacios. She was equipped with two twin 4.5-inch/45 (114mm) Mk.5 guns in UD Mk.6 mountings, eight Exocet MM-38 surface-to-surface guided missiles, two twin OTO Melara 40mm/L70 DARDO compact guns, and an AB-212 anti-submarine helicopter.

The Timeless Traveller: This week’s update

The adventure is fast approaching a climax, and this week saw the following things happen:

It is 3.00pm, and the group has decided to go to the vault to replace the original dagger with the substitute they have created. It was placed inside a chest that would attract little attention. Disguised as Hooded Men, Vale (the Shepherd), Mankare (the Shadowmancer), Callistra (the Hunter), Bumble (the Stormshifter), Johnny-Baptiste (the Cheat), and Munch (the Songweaver) made their way there. At the entrance, they were joined by Ragnar (the Berserker) and Nordian (the guard commander). The latter ordered the guards to open the door, but the were very reluctant to do so.

The group meet up with Ragnar and Nordian outside the ship's vault.

Ragnar spoke to them. His polite menace proved to be very persuasive, and the door was opened ... with his assistance. Ragnar remained outside to ensure that no one could interfere with what was about to happen and the rest of the group entered the vault.

Inside the vault, the group could see two guards next to the statue in the centre of the room. The two guards from outside also entered the vault, and the four guards directed - and escorted - the group to a place just past the statue where they could leave the chest they were carrying. Whilst the guards were somewhat distracted, Johnny-Baptiste attempted to hid behind a pillar but was seen and told to re-join the group

Vale's spirit familiar - a large dog - was sent outside the vault to join Ragnar, and Bumble attempted - unsuccessfully - to hid by leaning against the wall of the vault. At this point, Johnny-Baptiste drew a chalk circle around the chest, and the rest of the group began to chant. This confused the guards, who asked Nordian if this were permitted. He nodded to them, and they stood back somewhat bemused.

Vale pulled a rat from inside his coat, and Callistra drew her dagger to disembowel it as a sacrifice. This caused consternation amongst the guards, and during the hiatus, Bumble tried to substitute the fake dagger for the real one. This proved difficult as the hands of the statue holding the dagger had pressure-sensitive buttons. Seeing this, Munch used a spell to amplify Callistra's chanting so that the guards remained distracted. By a magnificent sleight-of-hand, Bumble made the substitution ...

Bumble replaces the real dagger with the fake one.

...and this triggered the voice of Herne - Callistra's god - to be heard by her. The voice implied that he was about to appear and 'hunt' everyone in the vault, but Callistra was able to placate him by promising to find better prey for him.

Herne appears inside the vault.

Events had caused complete confusion amongst the guards, and Johnny-Baptiste and Munch used the opportunity to try to steal objects from the vault as the group went to leave. Munch unsuccessfully attempted to take some gold that was near the base of the statue, but did manage to pick up an snow globe that contained snow made from diamonds. He was spotted by a guard, who moved to stop him. Johnny-Baptiste used this diversion to grab some jewellery and gold from a basket that was on the floor of the vault.

Everything became very confused, very quickly. Bumble whispered into the ear of one of the guards about the High Priestess, which caused the guard to begin to draw his sword. Nordian intervened and stopped him and then ordered Munch's arrest. To avoid this, Munch transported himself to a nearby flaming torch. Callistra rushed forward and seized hold of Munch, crying out as she did, that he was suffering from an illness of the mind. This claim was backed up by Vale, who used his power to enter other people's minds to calm the guards down.

Callistra defended Munch and threatened any guard that attempted to grab hold of him with her bow. At the same time, Mankare pulled forth a spirit from a nearby shadow, and this rushed around the vault causing further confusion, especially when Mankare shouted, 'It's going for the gold!' Vale began to move towards the door and Johnny-Baptiste joined Callistra in restraining Munch.

Nordian ordered the door to the vault to be closed, but Ragnar stopped the guards from doing this by quietly refusing to move whilst at the same time running his thumb along the blade of his axe as if testing its sharpness.

Ragnar 'persuades' the guards not to shut the door of the vault..

Whilst this was taking place, Callistra wrestled the snow glob from Munch's grasp and he teleported himself away, crying out, 'I only wanted to hold it!' Mankare them produced two more shadow spirits, which joined the first in rushing around the vault ... and during all this confusion, Bumble managed to 'acquire' a bejewelled egg just before he left by the door.

One of the guards now attempted to shut the vault door again, but Vale interceded by planting fear in the guard's mind. Nordian called upon everyone to calm down, and the situation began to de-escalate, especially after Nordian had picked Munch up and said, 'We are done here,' as he left the vault.

Nordian carries Munch out of the vault.

Before leaving, Callistra returned the snow glob to its rightful place, and then joined the rest of the group as they used the portal to go to the barracks and prison cells. Once there, Munch admits that he is a kleptomaniac and Nordian placed him in one of the cells. Once this is done, the rest of the group returned to Johnny-Baptiste's room.

As soon as they are in the room, Callistra and Mankare examined the dagger. It exuded a feeling of evil and a small of hot iron, and when Mankare spoke to it in Abyssal, he heard a voice in his head that told him that there was an evil spirit trapped in the dagger's blade.

Munch had been left in a prison cell, and out of curiosity, he tried the cell's door. As he did so, he heard an explosion and the guard began screaming. The door to the barracks and prison had been blown open ... and two Hooded Men appeared in front of Munch's cell saying, 'We were looking for you!' Munch used a spell that was intended to confuse the two men ... but as soon as he did, four more Hooded Men appeared.

To get away from them, Munch teleported himself through the drain cover in the centre of the cell block ... and fell four metres into a sewer! As he ran along it to get away from his pursuers, he realised that toilets were connected to the sewer. Using his water vision to look through one of the toilets, he saw a flame that he could teleport to. However, before he could, he was surrounded by the Hooded Men, and they demanded to know where the book was. They threatened to kill him if he didn't tell them where it was ... and he used a break in their threats to teleport to the flame that he had seen earlier.

Munch confronts two Hooded Men in the sewer.

Munch found himself in a toilet, and from there he made his way outside ... only to be confronted by two Hooded Men, one of whom shouted, 'The bastard's here!' whilst the other attacked him. Munch attempted to avoid injury by repeating the fact that the book was in the chest that was in the vault. His attackers grabbed him, manacled his hands together, and began to drag him along the corridor. Seeing a portal ahead of him, Munch broke free and asked to take him to Johnny-Baptiste's room.

Pursued by the two Hooded Men, Munch reached the door to Johnny-Baptiste's room ... and cast a spell that laid a sheet of ice behind him! Munch threw the room door open and began to tell everyone what had happened. Despite slipping on the ice, the two Hooded Men grabbed Munch and pulled him towards the portal. The rest of the group set off in pursuit ... and found themselves in the ship's main hall! Using her tracking skills, Callistra followed the route followed by the Hooded Men through the room. Along the way, she asked two people who are sitting close to the route if they had seen anyone answering the description of the Hooded Man ... and they replied that they had headed in the direction of the toilets.

As the group contemplated what to do next, the ship's clock chimed 4.30pm.

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There was lots of action this week ... and next week looks as if it is going to be even more exciting!

The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich: Seven YouTube videos

Over the past few weeks, I have been uploading a series of short videos about the Spanish Civil War and Woolwich. They are based on a lecture that I delivered to a group that has an interest in local history.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 1: The rise, fall, and rise again of the Spanish Empire: This is the first of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video gives a background history of Spain from 1492 until 1936. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 2: Some Spanish Civil War Myths: This is the second of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at five of the common myths surrounding the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 3: So why did the Spanish Civil War start?: This is the third of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at the immediate causes of the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 4: The leaders of the coup: This is the fourth of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at the main leaders of the military coup and how Franco got from Tenerife in the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 5: The course of the Spanish Civil War: This is the fifth of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at the course of the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 6: Woolwich in 1936: This is the sixth of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at how and why the people of Woolwich supported the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

• The Spanish Civil War and Woolwich - Part 7: The people of Woolwich and the Spanish Civil War: This is the last of seven videos that examines the role played by Woolwich in the Spanish Civil War. This video looks at some of the people associated with Woolwich and the surrounding area who took part in the Spanish Civil War. It can be seen here.

The Type 11, Type 41, and Type 61 Frigates

Towards the end of the Second World War, the Royal Navy identified the need for three types of frigate (an anti-submarine frigate [Type 11], an anti-aircraft frigate [Type 41], and an aircraft direction frigate [Type 61]) that could act as convoy and amphibious group escorts.

They were to share a common hull design and be powered by Admiralty Standard Range ASR1 diesels. They would therefore have long range and a maximum speed of 24 knots which would mean that they were not expected to operate with the navy's aircraft carrier groups. In the end, it was decided not to build the Type 11 (the Type 12 Whitby-class anti-submarine frigates were built in their place) but the other two designs were built … but in smaller numbers than originally planned.

HMS Jaguar, a typical Type 41 anti-aircraft frigate.

HMS Chichester, a typical Type 61 aircraft direction frigate.

It is interesting to note that all these frigates were designed to carry the same main and anti-aircraft armament, namely the twin 4.5-inch (114mm) guns Mark 6 (as fitted to the Daring-class and Australian Battle-class destroyers and later the Type 12 frigates) and twin 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun STAAG (Stabilized Tachymetric Anti-Aircraft Gun) Mark 2.

The ship’s characteristics were as follows:

• Displacement: 2,520 tons (full load)
• Dimensions:
• Length: 340ft (100m)
• Beam: 40ft (12m)
• Draught: 16ft (4.9m)
• Propulsion:  8 x Admiralty Standard Range ASR1 diesels driving 2 propellors
• Speed: 24 knots
• Range: 7,500 nautical miles at 16 knots
• Complement: 235
• Sensors & processing systems (Both classes): Type 960 air search radar (later Type 965 AKE-1 or AKE-2 air search radar); Type 293Q target indication radar (later Type 993 target indication radar); Type 277Q height finding radar (later replace in the Type 61 by Type 278 height finding radar); Type 974 navigation radar (later replaced in the Type 61 by Type 978 navigation radar); Type 275 fire control radar on director Mark 6M; Type 262 fire control radars on director CRBF and STAAG mount; Type 110 Cossor Mark 10 IFF; Type 174 search sonar
• Sensors & processing systems (Type 41): Type 164 attack sonar
• Sensors & processing systems (Type 61): Type 982 aircraft direction radar (later Type 986 aircraft direction radar); Type 170 attack sonar
• Armament (Type 41): 2 x twin 4.5-inch (114mm) guns Mark VI; 1 x twin 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun STAAG Mark II (later 1 × single 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun Mark 9); 1 x Squid anti-submarine mortar
• Armament (Type 61): 1 x twin 4.5-inch (114mm) guns Mark VI; 1 x twin 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun STAAG Mark II (later 1 × twin 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun Mark 5 or 1 x Sea Cat GWS-20 surface-to-air missile launcher); 1 x Squid anti-submarine mortar

Type 41 or Leopard-class anti-aircraft frigates

A total of seven ships were built: HMS Leopard, HMS Lynx, HMS Puma, and HMS Jaguar for the Royal Navy and INS Brahmaputra, INS Beas, and INS Betwa for the Indian Navy. HMS Lynx and HMS Jaguar were sold to the Bangladeshi Navy and became BNS Abu Bakr and BNS Ali Haider respectively.

A fifth member of the class (HMS Panther) was ordered for the Royal Navy, but the order was later cancelled.

Type 61 or Salisbury-class aircraft direction frigates

A total of four ships were built: HMS Salisbury, HMS Chichester, HMS Llandaff, and HMS Lincoln. HMS Llandaff was sold to the Bangladeshi Navy and became BNS Umar Farooq.

Three additional ships of the class were planned: HMS Exeter, HMS Gloucester, and HMS Coventry. The order for the first two was cancelled whilst the third was re-ordered as a Leander-class frigate (HMS Penelope).

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Type 11 anti-submarine frigate: A 'what if ...'

The Type 11 anti-submarine frigate was never designed. but one can conjecture that its characteristics would have been something like the following:

• Displacement: 2,520 tons (full load)
• Dimensions:
• Length: 340ft (100m)
• Beam: 40ft (12m)
• Draught: 16ft (4.9m)
• Propulsion:  8 x Admiralty Standard Range ASR1 diesels driving 2 propellors
• Speed: 24 knots
• Range: 7,500 nautical miles at 16 knots
• Complement: 235
• Sensors & processing systems: Type 293Q target indication radar (later Type 993 target indication radar); Type 277Q height finding radar (later Type 278 height finding radar); Type 974 navigation radar (later Type 978 navigation radar); Type 275 fire control radar on director Mark 6M; Type 262 fire control radar on STAAG mount; Type 110 Cossor Mark 10 IFF; Type 174 search sonar; Type 162 target classification sonar; Type 170 attack sonar
• Armament: 1 x twin 4.5-inch (114mm) guns Mark VI; 1 x twin 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun STAAG Mark II (later 1 x Sea Cat GWS-20 surface-to-air missile launcher); 2 x Squid or Limbo anti-submarine mortars; 8 x 21-inch (533mm) anti-submarine torpedo tubes

The above is based on the armament and sensors carried by the Type 12 Whitby-class frigates. Had the Type 11 been built, it might well have received an midlife upgrade that would have seen the removal of the anti-submarine torpedo tubes (if they had ever been fitted) and one or both of the Squid or Limbo anti-submarine mortars and a hanger and landing pad installed in their place so that the ship could carry a Westland Wasp HAS.1 anti-submarine helicopter.

As for possible names ... who knows? ... but I would like to have thought that the Royal Navy could have re-used the names of dog breeds that had previously been used for destroyers (e.g. HMS Afghan, HMS Beagle, HMS Basset, HMS Bulldog, and HMS Greyhound).

My Belle Époque project is currently stalled ... but there might be a way forward

As I have not mentioned my Belle Époque project for some time, I imagine that it will come as little or no surprise to my regular blog readers to discover that this project is currently stalled.

Now, I could come up with all sorts of valid reasons why this has happened, but to be truthful, the project has reached a point where it really should be coming together and a conclusion should be in sight, but I just could not seem to get the enthusiasm together to push things forward ... and in particular, to create the maps that I need. I had hoped that taking a break would help, but it hasn't.

So, what could I do to overcome this impasse?

What I chose to do was to begin by looking back at one of the things that inspired me to begin this project, namely, John Ruddle's garden wargames. One paragraph stood out:

'John's garden was laid out to represent six countries: Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, and Turkey, and areas that include Flanders, Africa, Arabia, and Northern Italy are regularly fought over. The actual layout was in no way geographically accurate, with the lawn acting as the 'sea', the paths as 'rivers', and the various flowerbeds and rockeries as the countries.'

My Belle Époque imagi-nations almost coincide with John's even though I have called them by different names:

• Austria = No Belle Époque project equivalent ... as yet
• France = The Republic of Burgundy
• Germany = The Kingdom of Schwarzenberg
• Great Britain = The Commonwealth of Britannia
• Turkey = Sultanate of Khakistan
• India = The Principality of Hyderapore & Emirate of Khyberistan
• North Africa = The Khedivate of Zubia & the Sultanate of Sahel
• South Africa = The Kingdom of the Obele & the Kingdom of Ashona
• Arabia = The Sultanate of Harabia
• Northern Italy = The Principality of Stalbania

Although my project is not going to be a garden wargaming one, I decided to look at the layout of our garden to see if I could get any inspiration for an imagi-world map.

A (very) rough sketch map of our garden. The house and patio are to the left.

Although the layout of our garden is not suitable for 'conversion' into a Belle Époque imagi-world map, it certainly made me think that a U-shaped layout – similar to that seen on some model railway layouts – had distinct possibilities.

A map of the famous final version of P D Hancock's Craig & Mertonford model railway layout. It took up a room that was approximately 14' 6" x 10' 6"  (4.4m x 3.20m) (© P D Hancock)

After a brief period of time – during which I entertained the idea of building a permanent or semi-permanent model railway-like terrain for the entire Belle Époque imagi-nation project – I decided that it would take up far more room than I would ever have access to, even if we moved house to a much bigger home. (It was, however, something that I would have loved to have done; in other words, to replicate a quarter-sized, indoor version of John Ruddle's garden wargames.)

So, I decided to start with a U-shaped layout for my imagi-world map and add to it.

A simple working diagram that shows the relative positions of the various imagi-nations to one another.

The result wasn't quite U-shaped, neither was it like our garden ... but the relative positions of the various countries seemed to work.

I now had a starting point for my imagi-world map ... and I began thinking of adopting a style of map for each country that is similar in style to the one that I used when I produced a version of the PORTABLE WARGAME rules that I could use to fight SHAMBATTLE-style mini-campaigns.

The map I drew for the play-test of the version of the Portable Wargame rules that I developed to fight Shambattle-style mini-campaigns.

The terrain as seen from the Blue City end of the tabletop battlefield.

The terrain as seen from the Blueburg/Red City side of the tabletop battlefield.

The terrain as seen from the Redton end of the tabletop battlefield.

I think that each imagi-nation's map could comprise a number of these 8 x 6 hex grids. For example, by using six of the hex grids it is possible to create a map that is 16 hexes x 18 hexes:

I now have a starting point from which I can now move forward with regard to the maps I need for this project ... and more importantly, my enthusiasm to do so seems to be returning.