Edward Dicey: A Victorian and Edwardian writer and journalist

I have recently been reading Edward Dicey’s first-person narrative about the Schleswig-Holstein War of 1864 - which he observed a at close hand from both sides of the conflict - and as a result, I decided to find out more about him.

Edward Dicey was born on 15th May 1832 in Claybrook, Leicestershire. His father - Thomas Edward Dicey - was a senior wrangler in 1811, a railway pioneer in the Midlands, and owner of a Northampton newspaper, and his mother - Anne Mary - was the sister of Sir James Stephen - an abolitionist and the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1836 to 1847.

He was educated at home before attending King’s College London for two years and then Trinity College Cambridge, where he obtained a 3rd-class BA and been President of the Cambridge Union for a year.

After university he began writing and travelling as well as developing an interest in international politics. From 1861 until 1870 he crossed and re-crossed the world, and visited and wrote about the early stages of the reunification of Italy, the American Civil War, the Schleswig-Holstein War, and the Austro-Prussian War. In 1862 he became a member of the staff of THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, and in 1870 he was editor of THE DAILY NEWS for three months. He then moved over to THE OBSERVER, where he was editor from 1870 until 1889.

In 1865 he entered Gray’s Inn and ten years later he was called to the Bar although he never practiced. That said, in later life he made his Chambers his home, and he became a Bencher in 1896 and Treasurer from 1903 to 1904. He died in Chambers on 7th July 1911.

His books reflected his travels and interests and included:

• Rome in 1860 (1861
• Cavour: A Memoir (1861)
• Six Months in the Federal States (1863)
• The Schleswig-Holstein War (1864)
• The Battle-Fields of 1866 (1866)
• A Month in Russia during the Marriage of the Czarevitch (1867)
• The Morning Land, being Sketches of Turkey, the Holy Land, and Egypt (1870)
• England and Egypt (1881
• Victor Emmanuel (1882)
• Bulgaria, the Peasant State (1894)
•  The Story of the Khedivate (1902)
• The Egypt of the Future (1907)

My amended Burgundian Belle Époque army formations

I have now added two new units to my Burgundian army.

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The Republic of Burgundy

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Republican Guard
• Republican Guard Cavalry Squadron
• Republican Guard Supply Column
• Total bases = 2; Total SPs = 4 SPs
• 1st Division
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 11th Infantry Regiment
• 21st Infantry Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Engineer Battalion
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 10 bases; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• 2nd Division
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 12th Infantry Regiment
• 22nd Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Engineer Battalion
• 2nd Supply Column
• Total bases = 10 bases; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• 3rd Division
• 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 13th Infantry Regiment
• 23rd Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Engineer Battalion
• 3rd Supply Column 
• Total bases = 9 bases; Total SPs = 31 SPs
• Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Cavalry Regiment
• 2nd Cavalry Regiment
• 4th Supply Column 
• Total bases = 5 bases; Total SPs = 13 SPs
• Unattached troops
• 4th Infantry Regiment
• 5th Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 4 bases; Total SPs = 16 SPs

Total bases = 40; Total SPs = 130 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

Small additions to my Belle Époque project

Late last year, a trip to our storage unit yielded some interesting finds, including some figures that would be suitable for inclusion in my Belle Époque project. Whilst waiting for my recent eBay purchases to be delivered, I dipped into these figures and renovated, varnished, and based the following figures:

Burgundian Republican Guard Cavalry squadron ...

... and Republican Guard supply column.

The pre-painted cavalry figures were given away by a Spanish wargame magazine some years ago, and after a simple repaint of their jackets from green to blue, they made ideal figures for a Burgundian Guard cavalry unit. The vivandière figure came from the same source, and with the addition of an Essex Miniatures pack mule, made an ideal supply column for the Burgundian Guard.

Two mounted generals for the army of the Khedivate of Zubia, ...

... three generals for the army of the Sultanate of Sahel, ...

... and a general for the army of the Sultanate of Harabia.

The two Khedival generals are old Peter Laing figures whereas the other generals were all made by Essex Miniatures.

Erith Model Railway Society Exhibition 2026

Yesterday, Sue and I attended the first day of the two-day Erith Model Railway Society’s annual exhibition. It was held at the Harris Garrard Academy in Thamesmead, Bexley, and ran from 10.00am to 5.00pm.

The Erith Model Railway Society's logo. It depicts Invicta, the twentieth steam locomotive built by Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She was built in 1829 and hauled the first passenger-carrying train on the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway on 30th May 1830. She was withdrawn from service in 1839, and eventually placed in storage at the Ashford Works of the South Eastern Railway... and thus became the first preserved locomotive in the world. She was restored in 1892, and from 1906 until 1977 she was on display in Canterbury. Invicta was cosmetically restored for a second time in 1977 and now resides in a specially-built museum in Whitstable, Kent.

Compared to most local wargame shows, I felt that it was about the same size as – for example – Cavalier at The Angel Centre, Tonbridge but that the attendance was greater. The site used is a secondary school, and there was plenty of on-site parking. The various exhibits and trade stands were spread over the school’s central atrium area and the surrounding classrooms, and the school’s cafeteria was open and provide somewhere to buy refreshments and somewhere to sit.

There were eighty-nine exhibitors and traders, with most of the former being club layouts ranging in scale from O-gauge to OO9-gauge. Many of the traders were selling various ranges of new and second-hand model locomotives, rolling stock, and accessories, and I resisted the temptation to buy several cheap bits that I saw on sale and restricted my purchases to some laser-cut OO-scale garden shed kits (I got four for £6.00) and some precision glue dispensing bottles.

The entrance fee was £10.00 each and I felt that it was well worth it. I will certainly consider going next year if I can … and I picked up flyers for three future model railway exhibition that will be held in Kent later this year.

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Some of my regular blog readers might be asking themselves why I didn’t take any photographs at the exhibition. The answer is very simple: it was just too crowded to be able to do so. Some of the exhibits and trade stands had two or three ranks of people trying to see what was on offer, and an elderly man with mobility issues (me, in other words!) needs space to stand and – if possible – brace themselves so that they can use their camera. As it was, I was almost knocked over a couple of times by people who were not looking where they were going and had one of my walking sticks knocked out of my hand by an enthusiastic small child who was running from one exhibit to another.

The army of the Kingdom of the Obele is finished!

I finished basing the army of the Kingdom of the Obele, and it looks like this:

I hope to use this army in a battle with some troops from Sahel in the near future.

Acquiring more figures for my Belle Époque project

I have been trawling through eBay for more figures to add to my Belle Époque project and have made two purchases that I hope will enable me to expand the Army of the Commonwealth of Britannia.

If everything goes according to my plan, the army will acquire an additional cavalry regiment and an overseas service brigade that includes two infantry regiments and an artillery regiment. My working titles for this brigade are the 'Britannic Army of Chindia' or the 'Britannic Expeditionary Brigade'. I will decide which to use once the figures have been renovated, varnished, and rebased.

There might be several surplus figures and I will try to find a use for them, possibly for another small army or as additions to one of my existing Belle Époque armies.

A very convincing scam avoided

From April last year, hybrid petrol-electric cars registered between 1st March 2001 and 31st March 2017 became subject to vehicle tax of £20.00 per year. My car falls into this category and the vehicle tax on it is due for renewal by the end of this month. I received a renewal reminder by post just after Christmas and I put it to one side and put a note in my diary to renew my vehicle tax before it was due.

I was therefore somewhat surprised to receive a total of five daily email reminders from the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) to renew my vehicle tax, including a hotlink to the relevant webpage on the DVLA’s website.

Now, I’m a careful person and I am always wary about following hot links from unsolicited emails, even though they look official … and these did look very convincing. I therefore checked the email address that the emails had come from … and they were NOT from the DVLA!

If I had followed the hotlink, I would have been duped into giving my debit card details to fake website … and no doubt my bank account would have been cleared out before I realised it.

I was lucky … and decided to share this story with my regular blog readers to make sure that none of them fall for this very convincing scam.

A new Belle Époque army: The Kingdom of the Obele

I recently bought a small 15mm Zulu army via eBay and I have begun the process of renovating, varnishing, and basing it so that it can become part of my Belle Époque collection.

I decided to select a name for the army's country that I had previously used for a tribe in the colonial imagi-nations project that featured British Dammallia, German Mankanika, and the Sultanate of Marzibar ... and thus the Kingdom of the Obele was created.

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The Kingdom of the Obele

A history of the Obele

The Obele originated in what is now part of the Sultanate of Sahel but migrated south many centuries ago. Small groups spread out over the fertile grasslands, and these groups gradually developed individual tribal cultures. Fighting between these tribes was rare and was usually about the ownership of cattle or the use of grazing land.

A century ago, the chief of one of these tribes – Kasha – gradually began consolidating control over the other tribes and eventually became their paramount chief or king. He named his confederation of tribes the Obele … ‘the people of the grasslands’. The current king of the Obele is Mopande, the grandson of Kasha.

The economy of Obeleland

The economy of Obeleland is almost entirely agrarian. They grow millet, sorghum, maize, and vegetables as well as raising cattle. The latter are a measure of wealth – the more cattle a man owns, the wealthier he is – as well as being a vital source of protein and leather. In addition, the Obele supplement their diet by hunting and foraging.

The Obele also undertake a degree of trade with outsiders. They exchange precious stones and metal – particularly diamonds and gold – for cloth, iron goods, and firearms.

The armed forces of the Obele

The army of the Obele has the following units:

• Infantry
• 1/1st ‘Thunder Sticks’ Regiment
• 2/1st ‘Thunder Sticks’ Regiment
• 1/2nd ‘Lions’ Regiment
• 2/2nd ‘Lions’ Regiment
• 1/3rd ‘Leopard’ Regiment
• 2/3rd ‘Leopard’ Regiment
• 1/4th ‘Scorpions’ Regiment
• 2/4th ‘Scorpions’ Regiment
• 1/5th ‘Hunters’ Regiment
• 2/5th ‘Hunters’ Regiment

(NB. The 'Thunder Sticks' Regiment is armed with single-shot rifles and muskets.)

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Obele Tribal Army
• 1st ‘Thunder Sticks’ Regiment
• 2nd ‘Lions’ Regiment
• 3rd ‘Leopard’ Regiment
• 4th ‘Scorpions’ Regiment
• 5th ‘Hunters’ Regiment
• Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 40 SPs

The operation that didn't happen

If I seem to have been a bit distracted of late, the reason is easily explained: For some months I have been waiting for a minor operation on my prostate.

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer March 2023, and since then I have undertaken a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as a TURP (Transurethral Resection of the Prostate). Last year I came down with a serious UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) that showed that I was experiencing a very small amount of bleeding in my prostate. This was investigated by a very senior urologist, and after conducting a flexible cystoscopy, he discovered that my urethra had tiny protuberances. (He insisted that I look at the images on the screen, and it looked like a cave with stalagmites and stalactites.)

He suggested that these protuberances should be removed to stop any future bleeding and booked me into the Blackheath Hospital (a local private hospital that undertakes some NHS work) to have a rigid cystoscopy. The appointed day for this procedure to take place was Thursday 15th January, but before this, I had to go to the hospital three times (Thursday 7th January, Friday 8th January, and Monday 12th January) for various tests and an anaesthetic review. These indicated that I was fit enough for the operation to proceed, and at 4.00pm on Thursday 15th January I arrived at the hospital by minicab and was booked in.

I was taken up to my room, and after a short wait a nurse visited me to take my blood pressure and a urine sample. She also gave me a gown to change into as well as compression stockings and bed socks to put on.

After she had left, I was visited by a member of the catering staff who went through the dinner and breakfast menus with me and took my orders for both. The urologist then came to see me, went through in considerable detail what the procedure entailed, and after I had checked the details, I signed the consent form.

I was then left on my own for about twenty minutes, during which I got changed ready for my operation. I was then visited by the anaesthetist (not the one who had conducted my anaesthetic review) who was – somewhat to my surprise – still dressed in her street clothes, including her coat and gloves. She quizzed me for some time about my previous experiences of being anaesthesia ... and then announced that she thought that she had better read my file!

She returned twenty minutes later – still dressed in her street clothes – and asked me another lot of questions. She seemed rather distracted and unhappy with some of my answers, and after about five minutes she excused herself and left.

Another thirty minutes passed ... and then the urologist returned and informed me that the anaesthetist had some reservations about the lack of an onsite ICU (Intensive Care Unit) or HDU (High Dependency Unit) and was not willing to allow the procedure to go ahead. He apologised for this, and made it very clear that he wasn't very happy with the anaesthetist's decision. He then told me that he would try to reschedule the operation but at another larger, local hospital.

Once he had left, I changed back into my clothes, phoned Sue with the news that I my operation was not taking place and that I was coming home, but before I left, my dinner arrived! As I hadn't eaten since breakfast and was very hungry, I ate it with gusto. I then collected my discharge form from the nursing station, handed into the reception desk as I left, and by 7.00pm I had taken a minicab home.

For reasons that I will not go into, I dread having anaesthesia, and ever since the date for this operation was set, I have been feeling increasingly stressed. This got worse as the day approached, and I barely slept during the night before. However, by the time that I had signed the consent form and got changed, I was calm and ready for the procedure to take place ... and then it didn't happen! By the time I got home, I was feeling alternately annoyed and relieved in the full knowledge that I am going to have to go through this all again in the future.

A surprise parcel!

On Tuesday a courier delivered a parcel from my old friend and fellow blogger, David Crook ... who writes the A WARGAMING ODYSSEY blog.

It contained x unpainted resin buildings that will work very well with my existing collection of wargame buildings and especially my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project.

It also included two painted buildings from the range of pre-painted FLAMES OF WAR terrain items ...

... and a copy of Avalon Hill's THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN.

The latter will make a great campaign map for my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project.

This was a wonderful present ... and has given me lots of things to think about over the next few weeks. Thank you David!