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Monday 20 December 2021

An interest in all things naval

Although I have been a wargamer for many, many years, my games have always included ships whenever it was possible. This is because I have had a lifetime interest in all things naval.

I suspect that this is due to several factors. Firstly, as a toddler I spent many hours in the Imperial War Museum where I developed a fascination with the ship models that were on display. If my memory is correct, the entrance to the museum was dominated by a model of the damaged oil tanker, the San Demetrio, and inside were huge display cases containing models of every ship that took part in the Battle of Jutland. My favourite model was of HMS Vindictive ...

... as she was after the Zeebrugge Raid.

Secondly, one of my uncles (Uncle Peter, who was married to my mother's sister) had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and his stories about life at sea intrigued me. He had served aboard HMS Indefatigable ...

...when she was part of the British Pacific Fleet, and amongst his stories was one about her being hit by a kamikaze aircraft, and how the ship was back in action less than an hour afterwards, thanks to her armoured deck. He also used to regale us with the fact that aircraft from his ship took part in the last British air combat of the war and that she was attacked by a Japanese dive bomber after the war was supposed to have ended!

I became so enamoured with the idea of becoming a sailor that at the age of sixteen I looked at joining the Royal Navy, but when I discovered that my eyesight was too poor to become an officer, I gave up on the idea ... but never lost my interest in all things naval. In fact, over a third of the shelf space I have in my toy/wargames room is given over to books about warships and naval history. I really ought to catalogue them, and if I do, I will share the list with my regular blog readers.

8 comments:

  1. I realised that I have ships for several naval periods... WW2 (Coastal boats and 'proper' ships), Napoleonic and ACW. The WW2 1:3000 ships (or possibly 1:2400, I'm not sure which) and the ACW boats are on next years to do list as they've been languishing unfinished for a few years. I can blame my dad for the all things naval interest... he was a stereotypical Scottish ships engineer in the merchant navy... but there was no chance of me following in his footsteps: I get seasick on a pedalo!

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    1. Alastair,

      It sounds as if you have a few projects to complete in 2022! I’m sure that finishing them would qualify you as a naval wargamer.

      I’ve only been sick once whilst at sea … and that was due to food poisoning!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. I have a similar but less intense interest in naval wargaming. The models and sheer scale of what's possible are a serious draw. Additionally it's possible to re-enact an important battle with only a few ships but a LOT of floorspace.
    Then there's the idea of taking it all into space with three dimensions.
    So many possibilities!

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    Replies
    1. Mr. Pavone,

      You are right about the need to have lots of space to fight naval battles … as is apparent from the recent refight of Jutland that I took part in. However, the models don’t take up a lot of room compared to figures, which is a big plus!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. My father-in-law was a PO on the Indefat but I don't think he was onboard until after hostilities had ceased.

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    1. Jim Duncan,

      My uncle served as a steward and returned to the UK in 1946. He later became a milkman before working as a city messenger and part time butler.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  4. It is always interesting to hear about how fellow gamers passions started.

    I can recommend the App Libib for book cataloguing.

    Cheers,

    Pete.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pete.,

      I’m pleased that you enjoyed my little ‘how I started as a wargamer’ story.

      Thanks for the book cataloguing software suggestion. I was going to set up a spreadsheet, but a proper system would be better.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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