VBCW on the IOW or Better Red than Red

Huzzah, I finally managed to get some wargaming in. Several friends descended on my house last weekend, to play some Very British Civil War (VBCW). We managed to get two games in (yes two) One of which is written up here, I will add a second report for game two on another occasion.
The first game was played between Grant and myself, against Jon and Edward.

Grant and I, played the role of the IOWSPR (The Isle Of White Socialist People's Republic) Jon & Edward were the PSRIOW (The People's Socialist Republic of the Isle Of Wight) Fortunately the People's Popular Front didn't turn up:0)

We were to attack the PSR in their stronghold of the Lion Brewery in Newport to try and force them out of it. Our force consisted of three rifle sections made up from, mostly, milkmen and bus drivers. Plus command units, and then some special stuff. A steamboat chugged up the Medina to lay down fire on our enemy with its 40mm PomPom. A sniper was holed up in the attic of a three storey house and we also had a rocket launcher and a box of fireworks.

We were faced with a similar enemy 3 sections of rifles, command and a pompom mounted in a truck. 
This was a pretty straight forward game played across my urban terrain. 

The only pic I took of the whole table. The brewery is on the far left.

We used rules written by one of the guys from Edward's gaming group in deepest Norfolk. They work pretty well. They certainly allow for a fast paced game, but I am not sure if that is due to the games rules or the amiable way four experienced gamers set about playing. The rules use cards to identify which unit is active (something I like) and dice rolls to generate how much a unit can move each turn (something I am not so keen on).

Movement initially was fairly cautious, units had no line of sight. Except the odd LMG team deployed on a roof or in our case a sniper holed up in an attic. We did also have the odd advantage, namely a riverboat with the bow mounted Pom Pom. This was the first weapon to cause major damage as it chugged up the Medina it turned its gun and shot into a unit of PSR rifles who were making their way down the alley behind the Police Station. The shot landed in the middle of the squad killing several men, the rest fled.

PSR LMG team on the roof of a dockside Warehouse

This was the only shot the Pom Pom got off however as in the following turn it was destroyed by  another Pom Pom mounted on the back of a Brewery Truck. LMG teams exchanged fire across the rooftops. The sniper caused several casualties.

The central units made slow progress towards each other. Most progress was made on the attacker's right flank. It was all very confusing as they approached Arkwright's General Store. The section leader ordered his men through the store so they could burst on to the Brewery left flank. Unfortunately for him, a section of PSR riflemen had already occupied the shop and the two units opened up on each other over the shop counter. I would like to say that our unit gave as good as they got and then fell back in good order. But that would be a lie: they got shot to pieces and the sorry remains ran for it!

PSR riflemen in the shop SPR rifles on the street. It's going to get messy!

After this clash the battle continued for a while. Notable casualties after this, inlcuded the SPR sniper eventually being picked off by a rifleman. The sniper had inflicted several wounds on enemy troops even those skulking in doorways and windows.

The most spectacular death goes to the crew of the PSR Pom Pom who both bought it when their driver decided to park his truck under an arch, as it 'Looked Good'.

Nicely parked!

At this point we drew the game to a close. There were still some units on both sides. The SPR had a rifle section occupying the Post Office, but they didn't look like making it any further towards the brewery, so they withdrew, leaving the PSR stil in control of the beer.

After the game the usual debriefing/tosh talk took place while we cleared down the table and set up another scenario. Two games in a day, yeah I know. More on the second game next time.

Hands On History

Well the reenactment season is well and truly over, and preparations are well underway for 2013. We hope to have some pretty cool gigs next year. Until then we have a load of preparation to do. Kit to make, gigs to plan etc etc. Plus I have lots of gaming projects underway, especially now my son (Nathan 10) has decided that he wants to learn to play 40k. He has started to collect Dark Angels and is making a pretty good go of painting his new marines.

Anyway to keep you going til my next post here is another short film I made towards the end of the season. We spend a great deal of time at events clouting each other with a variety of weapons, but there is so much more to Living History. This footage for this film was shot at Kentwell Hall (where else?) I started off bu just filming LH activities but started to focus on hands. It was Sue Kirkby, who gave me the title for this film and then a focus for all the rest of the footage. It worked out really well, as the focus on hands means we get away from people and just look at what goes during the day. This is just a sample of the things we do, but it gives a nice flavour of Living History and freflects the day to day life we try to portray. 

Enjoy
Tim

Guns and fings wot go bang!

We have guns, Mwhahahaha. Some of them have been a long time coming this season, but they finally got here and before the end of the season we managed to get a couple of shots off:0) He is a brief video of our guns going BANG!

 

Enjoy, we did:0)

Pirate Pics (because I can)

Something that resembles normal service will resume here soon. I am back in the painting models mode, I am writing stuff and my son Nathan has started down the dark path of WH40K, so more toys to paint. IN the meantime here are a couple of photos of my wife, Heidi, and me taken at the Toll House museum in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Where we spent the day pirating. Great fun and an awesome photographer came too.

 

Busy Busy Busy...

Well it's been a bonkers summer so far. I haven't posted here recently as I am now writing another blog Knights'Tourney Blog  that just deals with the Knights' Tournament of Foote series of events we have been doing for English Heritage. Check it out to find out how genuinely busy my summer has been.

This photo was taken at the event that never was; Kelmarsh the Festival of History. This year sadly, the event was wrecked by a freak storm that dropped a month's load of rain in about 3 hours. This caused several culverts to completely overflow, forming an 8 foot wide foot deep river to snake its way across the best draining event field in the UK.

Our camp was just high enough to avoid being flooded out unlike some of our friends in other groups who has loads of kit damaged by flood water. The Suffolks' Elizabethan Trained Band stuck it out during the day. We got our guns off!

 In the evening went to the beer tent in our kit anyway. Yes it was that muddy BTW. This 'Hardcore' attitude was noticed by several EH folk and may well have secured us some EH Tudor action for 2013. Watch this space...

On the gaming front, not much has happened, not a lot, sod all in fact. However that will change very soon. Two reasons I visited the home of a friend of mine recently, Edward Jackson, the artist who produces all the art work for Alternative Armies' Flintloque game.

We have played some VBCW together before and just being in his workshop/studio/hobbyroom was enough to get me picking up paintbrushes again.

And secondly I just noticed that in the next edition of Wargames Illustrated is the first of my F&IW articles. One of two. The second I have not yet written, so best I get on with it...

So no tarrying here, I'll be back soon.

Tim

A Battle? At Kentwell? No?

Well in a few days the three week, four weekend event that is the Grand Recreation Of Tudor Life at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk will be over for another year. (1556 to be precise). These days I only manage to play at Kentwell on the weekends, and in my usual way I don't seem to be able to take the easy way.

This year on the third weekend of the event we had a Tudor pageant to celebrate the betrothal of some posh person to another. That bit really was an excuse for us military types to do our thing. Which in this case was to get shot at close range by a whole bunch of longbow men & women.

It was a Tudor interpretation of the Battle of Agincourt. NOT a battle reenactment! Well not one that other battle  reenactors would recognise. It is a play within a play. 21st century Lving Historians, playing 16th century folk, playing 15th century soldiers. And as it's Kentwell it all happens in a slightly different way to pretty much anywhere else I think. This year I was the Constable of France and Yes I did have an outrageous accent.

The battle started with the charge of the French cavalry, which is driven off by concentrated arrow volleys. Or 9 & 10 year old kids on hobby horses with wooden swords attacking the English lines whilst receiving handfuls of willow wands that are 'loosed' skywards. Total mayhem. The best bit is when their commander has to stride up the battlefield to sound the recall. More tricky than herding cats.

Then the grown ups get to play. This mostly consists of myself, my wife (Heidi/Bess) plus, Ant, Lord Francis and El Hoggo all in full harness taking repeated volleys of blunt arrows from some jolly good archers. You see quite a few arrows miss you. The ones that don't you rarely see, especially the ones that hit your helmet.

Arrows are then collected and hand to hand combat ensues. It is hard work making only a few fellows look many but somehow we manage. We did this a number of times. Eventually the English Men At Arms slay the French.

 

My death was great fun as I was killed by Sir Thomas Erpingham who was mounted on 'Berry' a large and feisty Suffolk Punch who is a novice at this combat thing. Even in the middle of all this silliness I manage to get a 'real' Living History experience. Cavalry must have been bloody terrifying! I felt safe the entire time fighting Will who played Erpingham, an excellent rider who exudes confidence, but even so the rational bit of your brain is doing the maths, which adds up to a very squashed me. So thanks must go to Will and Berry for not squishing me and I look forward to doing it again.

 

Next weekend is the last weekend at KW for a while, I will be practising my musket drill. The rest of the summer beckons. Five Knights' Tourneys, Armada Soldiers at the Festival Of History, Pirating in YAARmouth and the battle of Bosworth to come. Hopefully I will get time to write. Hell I would even like to play the odd game too, who knows?

See you in the fifteenth or sixteenth century:0)

Why we do it. Kentwell Wool Weekend 2012

I was recently involved in a chat with some folk  from the MSS (Medieval Siege Society) about what the purpose of reenactment is. The question had been posed that it was primarily about educating the public. Various members came back with a resounding feeling that they do it for themselves first, and eductaing the public is a bonus.

Now the problem with being with a group like the MSS is that its size is usually prohibitive when it comes to doing small discreet events. There are many members (which is a good thing when you want battles) and a wide range of standards and approaches to the hobby. The advantage that we have in the Suffolks household is that we are not only members of the MSS, but an independent group in our own right, which means we can go and play in places not available to the whole MSS.

Our household is mostly made up from folk who met at Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. ( I have written a number of times about Kentwell and will do so in the future I am sure) For many of us Kentwell is our spiritual home and has many unique attractions. Last year we were lucky enough to be able to play at Kentwell for Wool Weekend 2011 and this year we were delighted to be invited back. Usually to play at Kentwell a reenactor must go through a lengthy application process, however for this event SFC members are allowed to come even if they are not Kentwellies. Which means we can invite along members from the Suffolks family who have never been to Kentwell before.

So for the second time we were able to occupy the Cott and Barnsward for the weekend. Kentwell is a special place. There are few places like it. I have yet visit somewhere that helps you get into the period as much as Kentwell. The weekend in question is a quiet event with only a small number of MOPs (Members Of the Public) expected, so we can pretty much do as we please. The emphasis is domestic life. Not much military kit is required, beyond that which a household might have - bow, bill and jack perhaps.

I took the time to get on with shaping plates to go in my brig. 180 plates 1400 rivets ouch.

Bess (Heidi) my good wife took the opportunity to show our friend Jen what Felting is all about, Pete tailored, Lorna made baskets, Jon got on with his cruck frame, Francis cooked, Epi spun, Jamie carved spoons, Badger collected wood and wielded the splitting axe. Tom and Sue were with just on Saturday, Tom sewed Sue helped cook (I think) We were joined by Peg & Myal who entertained with pipe and drum.

On Sunday we were joined by Ant, who spent time playing board games. The men all carried out their obligation and practised with Longbows. Both days the kids; Ned, Beanie, Eden & Ella played and helped with one thing or another. Sunday also saw the arrival of Bendy, who took all the photos in this article.



The weather was stunning, the best weather of the year, so far, which meant that both days we ate lunch at one board in the shade of the trees. And in the evening we sat around the fire in the Cott and chatted the evening away.

   

Frankly it doesn't get much better than this. We were presently surprised by the numbers of MOPs who we were able to spend a good deal of time talking to. We actually had time to work on projects and get a decent amount of work done. Yet we were able to relax and just soak up the atmosphere of the whole place.

We hatched plans and ideas and are now planning a return for another SFC Kentwell weekend in September, with more friends and more space available to us, we are aiming to create a  village feel with more dwellings/households and shops and workshops.

Home fixtures should always provide an advantage to the home team and this one certainly did. If you have never been to Kentwell then do try to visit during the Grand Recreation of Tudor Life in June and July. Or watch out for when the SFC return fro another home gig.

We have an extremely varied calender this year, but other events are going to have to go some to beat this one. Ahh well we will see:0)