Ian Allan Publishing: Filling a gap

Whilst writing my recent blog entry about Ian Allan Publishing, I realised that one book was missing from my collection ... ITALIAN WARSHIPS OR WORLD WAR I. It was published in 1970, and for some reason I never managed to buy a copy ... until now! Thanks to the Internet and Amazon UK I managed to track down a reasonable second-hand copy, and it was delivered today.

Reading through it I began to remember the diversity of warships that the Italians employed during the First World War, ranging as they did from ironclad turret ships built in the 1870s to Grillo-class assault craft that were designed to climb over enemy net defences! My particular odd-ball favourites are the Alfredo Cappellini (a former floating crane that was converted into a monitor armed with two 15-inch guns in a single turret) ...

... and the Faa di Bruno (which was also armed with two 15-inch guns and that had a concrete hull; it survived to serve as a floating battery during World War II!).

An unusual local landmark

My wife and I do most of our regular shopping in Welling, Kent. For as long as I can remember the centre of the town has had an unusual landmark ... a mid-nineteenth century caronnade mounted on a plinth on one corner of the main junction. For years I have thought to myself 'I must photograph that one day' ... and yesterday I finally got around to it!

As the plaque points out, the caronnade is on loan from 'Firepower' the Royal Artillery Museum and acts as a memorial to the hutments that were built to house workers in the Royal Arsenal Woolwich and the other local munitions factories (including Vickers at Erith and Crayford) that operated during the First World War.

Dr Who ... fifty years on

I watched the fiftieth Anniversary 'special' last night ... and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I must admit that the pre-broadcast hype had worried me ... but for once the actuality was better than what was 'promised'. I felt that whilst it drew a line under the previous fifty years, the story left lots of potential plot lines for the future ... and past!

I thought that John Hurt was exactly right for the role of the new/old Doctor. His portrayal of the Doctor who has to confront the most difficult challenge of his life – whether or not to destroy his own people in order to end the Time War – was finely balanced ... and in some ways harked back to William Hartnell's portrayal whilst giving just a glimpse of someone who could turn into the later Doctors. It was interesting to see Billie Piper as the physical manifestation of the conscience of the ultimate weapon. She looked like Rose Tyler … but wasn’t her … or was she?

I particularly enjoyed the intriguing cameo performance by Tom Baker towards the end of the show – which posed as many questions as it answered! – as well as the composite image at the very end that showed all the Doctors together.

Roll on the next fifty years! I will certainly continue watch … and I am looking forward to seeing Peter Capaldi as the ‘new’ Doctor.

New books from the History of Wargaming Project

Today's post included a thick-ish padded envelope containing two books from John Curry of the 'History of Wargaming' Project. Both were eagerly awaited by me ... and a quick glance through them indicates that I will not be disappointed when I get around to reading them.

The first book is THE BRITISH KRIEGSSPIEL (1872): INCLUDING RUSI'S POLEMOS (1888) EARLY WARGAMES VOLUME 2 (ISBN 978 1 291 53126 8) and it was edited by John Curry.

This book is 170 pages long and is split into the following chapters:

• Foreword by Doctor Peter Perla
• Introduction by John Curry
• Map Manoeuvres: An Introduction to Kriegsspiel (1839)
• The Rules for Kriegsspiel by Captain Baring (1872)
• The German Game of War (1878)
• Aids to Kriegsspiel (1897)
• The Dangers of Kriegsspiel and Political Officers (1899)
• War-Game Maps (1888)
• Bellum, an English Kriegsspiel Variant (1909)
• Kriegsspiel and the Teaching of Military History (1890)
• The Game of Polemos (1888)
• Lieutenant Henry Chamberlain's RN New Game of Invasion (1888)
• Appendix 1: The Kriegsspiel Charts for Captain Baring’s 1872 Game
• Appendix 2: The New Game of Aldershot, a War Game Mystery
• Appendix 3: The Game of War (1858)
• Kriegsspiel Bibliography

I had a role in producing this book as I contributed much of the material for the chapter about POLEMOS, including word-processing and checking the text for the rules.

The second book is PHIL DUNN'S FURY AT SEA: RAPID NAVAL WARGAMING INCLUDING PADDY GRIFFITH'S ONE-EYED NAPOLEONIC NAVAL RULES (ISBN 978 1 291 51026 3) and is also edited by John Curry.

This book is 107 pages long and is split into the following chapters:

• Foreword by John Curry
• Wargaming Memories
• Phil Dunn’s World War Game
• Over Open Sights
• The Battle of Yellow Sea Scenario
• Tabletop Jutland 1915
• An American ‘Jutland’
• The Battles of Leyte Gulf
• Sandhurst’s One-Eyed Napoleonic Naval Rules
• Conclusion: Dodgy Dice and Shooting
• Appendix Review of Phil Dunn’s Sea Battle Games: Naval Wargaming 1650 – 1945 Revised Edition
• Bibliography of Naval Wargaming Books

I am looking forward to reading both these books over the next few weeks ... and I am sure that they will prove to be popular with all those wargamers who have an interest in either or both the history of wargaming and naval wargaming.

Doctor Who ... fifty years on

Is it really fifty years?

In 1963 I was a teenager (I had been since February) and I remember watching the first episode of 'Doctor Who' on the black and white TV in the sitting room of our family house in Corbets Tey, Upminster, Essex. It came at the end of a momentous week. Kennedy had been shot and killed on Friday 22nd November ... and everyone seemed to be walking around in a stunned state of disbelief. I has no idea what to expect when I sat down to watch this new TV series on that Saturday night ... but thirty minutes later I was hooked ... and I have been a fan ever since.

So why is it still so popular today? I suspect that the reason lies in the stories it has told. Whether set in the past, present, or future, on Earth or in some distant galaxy, the stories have always seemed relevant to the world we were living in ... and remain so today.

And who was my favourite Doctor and companion(s)?

To tell the truth, I have liked them all. Each actor brought a unique 'something' to their role and the writers always seemed to make sure that their stories played to the strengths - and weaknesses - of the individual characters.

Roll on the next fifty years! I shall certainly be watching 'Doctor Who' for as long as I can.

I've got a name ... and all I need now is a set of rules!

Thanks to some research by arthur1815 it appears that I CAN use TOMMY AND JERRY as the name for my new mid-twentieth century wargames rules.

Apparently the combination of names was first used by the British author Pierce Egan in his book LIFE IN LONDON, OR THE DAY AND NIGHT SCENES OF JERRY HAWTHORN ESQ. AND HIS ELEGANT FRIEND CORINTHIAN TOM. This book was published in 1821 and later gave rise to a stage play entitled TOM AND JERRY, OR LIFE IN LONDON.

To help publicise his book and play Pierce Egan created a fortified version of eggnog to which he added ½ fl oz of brandy. He called the drink TOM AND JERRY ... and the book, the play, and the drink all proved very popular.

The drink remained popular in the US until the early 1920s and it is mentioned in DANCING DAN'S CHRISTMAS by Damon Runyan:

This hot Tom and Jerry is an old time drink that is once used by one and all in this country to celebrate Christmas with, and in fact it is once so popular that many people think Christmas is invented only to furnish an excuse for hot Tom and Jerry, although of course this is by no means true.

So now that I have a name, all I need to do is to write the rules to go with it!

Miniature Wargames with Battlegames Issue 368

The latest issue of MINIATURE WARGAMES WITH BATTLEGAMES magazine arrived in the post this afternoon.

The articles included in this issue are:

• Briefing (i.e. the editorial) by Henry Hyde
• Forward observer by Neil Shuck
• Make yer wagon!: The continuing tales of a wargames widow by Diane Sutherland
• Fantasy Facts: New miniatures and scenery for genre fans by John Treadaway
• Diamonds are forever: Imagi-nations fight for a glittering prize by Paul Bright, Mark Phillips, Tim Hall, and Andy McMaster
• Mission: Baston House School: We go in at dawn! by John Treadaway
• Command challenge: A river crossing mini-campaign by Andrew Rolph
• Why are many rulesets so complex? : The curse of confusing wargames rules by Martin Stephenson
• Send three and fourpence by Conrad Kinch
• Salamanca's siren call: Part 4: Napoleonic command and control by Henry Hyde
• Battle of the Kura River: The longest reconnaissance in the world part 1 by Mick Sayce
• Canaanites for Christmas: Become a biblical warlord on a budget by Jim Webster
• Canaletto or canal grande?: Making waterways for wargames by Malcolm Johnson and Dave Tuck
• Recce
• The Featherstone Annual Tribute
• The Secret Eye Candy Pages: Crisis 2013 by Henry Hyde
• The Battlegames Combat Stress Appeal report by Henry Hyde

Henry Hyde has put together yet another great issue with lots to interest most wargamers.

Ian Allan Publishing

I have long had an interest in naval history. When I was young the local bookshop near where I lived used to sell small card-covered data books – published by Ian Allan – about all forms of transport (locomotives, buses, and ships) and I collected the entire WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR I series … which cost me three shillings and six pence each (the equivalent of 17.5 pence in modern decimal currency!).

Every since then I have been a devotee of this company’s books, and looking along my bookshelves I can see numerous examples including:

• WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR I
• GERMAN WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR I
• U.S. WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR I
• FRENCH WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR I
• AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR I
• WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR II
• GERMAN WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR II
• U.S. WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR II
• FRENCH WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR II
• ITALIAN WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR II
• JAPANESE WARSHIPS OF WORLD WAR II
• BRITISH WARSHIPS 1914 – 1919
• DIRECTORY OF THE WORLD’S CAPITAL SHIPS
• PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE ROYAL NAVY Volume Two: 1880 – 1914
• AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR I
• AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II
• WARPLANES OF THE WORLD 1918 – 1939
• MILITARY AIRCRAFT OF THE WORLD (1979)
• A POCKET HISTORY OF ARTILLERY: LIGHT FIELD GUNS
• ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES OF THE WORLD (1971, 1974, 1977 & 1982)
• ARTILLERY OF THE WORLD (1974, 1976 & 1981)
• MILITARY VEHICLES OF THE WORLD (1976 &1978)
• INFANTRY WEAPONS OF THE WORLD (1977 & 1979)
• U.S. ARMY HANDBOOK 1939 – 1945
• JAPANESE ARMY HANDBOOK 1939 – 1945
• LUFTWAFFE HANDBOOK 1939 – 1945

Not bad for a company that was started in 1942 by the teenager Ian Allan, who was then working in the public relations department of the Southern Railway, based at Waterloo Station in London.

The company is still a specialist publisher of transport books and has retail shops in London (literally just around the corner from Waterloo Station and less than half a mile from where I was born!), Birmingham, Cardiff, and Manchester.

PS. Since 1973 Ian Allan Group has also been the owner of Lewis Masonic, the largest and oldest Masonic publisher in the World as well as being a manufacturer and supplier of Masonic, Police, military, corporate and club regalia … so they have been meeting the needs of two of my very different hobbies – military history/wargaming and Freemasonry – for quite a long time!

Another itch that needs scratching

A week ago arthur1815 made the following comment in response to my blog entry about the latest developments to my Itchy and Scratchy rules:

For a WWII version, you could rename the rules Tommy & Jerry!

I do wish that he had not written that as I cannot get the idea out of my head! Even whilst I was feeling unwell, ideas for possible changes to the original Itchy and Scratchy rules kept drifting into my thoughts ... and now that I am feeling better I keep thinking about what I would have to do to the existing rules to make them suitable for fighting battles set in the mid-twentieth century.

The funny thing is that I don’t think that the changes would be very difficult to implement … but I really MUST play-test the existing rules a bit more before I get diverted, otherwise they will become yet another ‘not-quite-finished’ project … and I already have enough of those to my credit to last me a lifetime!

Feeling much better … and raring to go!

Both my wife and I are finally getting over the vestiges of the colds we have had for the last fortnight … although the current cold weather has not encouraged us to go too far today! (The wind-chill factor has ensured that the air temperature has barely risen much above 2°C all day, and we had a very violent hailstorm – with accompanying lightning – just after midday.)

I have just about managed to keep up with my emails and reading other people’s blogs even though I have not managed to get much done on my own account. The comments that I received in response to my blog entry about recent Matrix Game developments have been very thought-provoking … and have left me with one or two ideas that I may wish to explore at a later date.

With luck I will be firing on all cylinders by the weekend … and if I am, I intend to fight a play-test battle using the latest version of my Itchy and Scratchy rules.