1st December, Pudsey

Our last show of 2018 meant an early morning trip up to Leeds.  It was remarkably clear and simple given the time of year.  Weather and manning have been issues for us before, but this year it all fell into place nicely.  And it was Northampton 1460's first outing in Yorkshire.

(Northampton Battlefields Society's display at Recon)

Time was, of course, when Yorkshire was the bedrock of the Shows North patch ... Triples in Sheffield, Vapnartak ... at least 2 shows in Leeds plus an event at the Armouries (indeed, 2 years, the Society held its much missed AGM at the Armouries) ... Palm Sunday at Towton ... and some Northern Doubles League games at Halifax (have to slip that in as the round Chris and I won was at Halifax!) ...  Much has changed - even, so it seems, the weather.

(Northampton 1460 at Recon 2018)

After a slow start, we actually got in quite a few games of Northampton 1460, opene a few eyes and even sold some copies (all the proceeds go to the interpretation and protection of Northamptonshire's historic fields of conflict so do purchase a copy when you see one - it's a great game and a good cause).

(Battle of Northampton heraldic wall charts)

If you were looking for something notionally new then we have found some plastic tubing for our heraldic wall charts, so these are now ready-rolled and a bit better protected.  There's a Lancastrian one and a Yorkist ... and a pound off if you take both.   They are a great source of heraldic information (we have worked with the same team that do the Bosworth ones that are popular souvenirs in the Visitor Centre) and great wall art for your games room.

Elsewhere at the show, our friends from the Lance and Longbow Society (Gentlemen Pensioners indeed) had a version  of the battle of Lewes that you could join in ...

(The Lance and Longbow Society at Recon 2019)

(Lewes 1264 from the Lance and Longbow Society)

Trade-wise, West Wind/Forged in Battle were there with their now extensive range of highly regarded 15mm ancients ... they had a Christmas show discount on which very nearly seduced me.  It would have been a lovely idea but ultimately sense prevailed when I mapped out mentally when I'd be able to paint it and how long it would take.  I'll still get one - but it doesn't need to be quite now as it'll be a long time before it's slot comes up.

... they also had an ancients demo table close by the stand which was a nice counter-balance to the 28mm WW2 stuff that sloshes around the shows at the moment.

Other than that, there really wasn't much for the 15mm scale enthusiast.   And not much below that either.  I got a couple of items from the bring and buy but most of my Christmas money went home with me and was spent online.   My 2018 was much like that ... in the real world as well as shows.  Retailers complain about poor sales but I can't really help them: they don't sell what I want to buy so although I would prefer to shop the traditional way, I have to go online.

Grumpy old g*t?  No - not a bit of it - just look at these lovely Dark Age helmets the reenactors brought ...

Great stuff.   Quick trip home too in ideal driving conditions - so a painless end to the 2018 season and off to Winter Quarters, refurbishing soldiers, catching up blogging and writing reports.  And tallying up what we did and where we went last year.  Which hopefully will be my next post and follow shortly.   January follows shortly.  And a belated Happy New Year!

(close up of the action at Northampton 1460 - Fauconberg gets stuck in)

7th December, Pudsey, Leeds

Recon 2013

So, that was the 2013 shows season ... a blink and it rattled past.   

The reception by the wargame audience has been great, the shows have been well organised and the weather has been pretty favourable all through (so relatively free of dramas getting there and getting back) ...

(Recon ... upstairs-downstairs: downstairs, behind the baubles and tinsel is the trade and societies; upstairs there are more games plus the Bring & Buy ... something for everyone)

I put on Bosworth for what is its last scheduled show outing - it may well reappear in a DBA context, and the Battlefields Trust have asked me to do it at the Bosworth Festival next year - but from a Society perspective it has now had its year in the limelight.

(Bosworth - I'm very pleased with how these 54mm soldiers have shaped up in 2013)

We were fortunate to be adjacent to our friends at the Lance & Longbow Society and made some good new contacts too.

Anyway, let's have a look round ...

(Deepdale from the Lance & Longbow Society)

Steve, Will, David and Bob were back at Deepdale (1315) in a revised and very good looking version.   I recommend Will's and David's accounts of the action (and some excellent photo sets): a feast for the medievalist, as you would expect ...

Bosworth and Deepdale were the main interest within the SoA remit, but we also liked ...

(Clockwise from top left: Stingray; LRDG sub Adhoc game; Napoleonic smalls; Bolt Action 'somewhere')

I liked the Stingray toys, but the game itself looked very wooden (note I didn't say 'fishy' - it's Christmas, after all) ...

(DBN Battle of Albuhera ... nicely explained and supported by leaflets)

(More 15mm DBN detail)

(more non-historical fun stuff ... don't say I'm not in festive mood)

Yes - that was Star Wars and Stingray in the same blog ... but it gives you a flavour of the variety of participation games you can try at Recon ...

(Wings of Glory carrier game)

... and finally, this WoG Pacific game: I'm no fan of Wings of Whatever, but the ocean did look splendidly wet and the little ships drew my attention.

So a good selection of nicely turned out games I thought - and some that had not been seen before (by me, at least)

*******

It was a little quieter for us in the afternoon, so having spoken negatively about Glen Foard's ambivalent interpretation of the deployments at Bosworth (he's great at the at the archaeology but neither clear nor convincing when it comes to reconstructing the lines of battle) ... I decided to try out a Foard interpretation ...

(Foard's Bosworth: the 'North of the Road' array)

Foard has two possible arrays on the correctly identified field ... both of which differ from Ingram's 'line astern'   ... one has the King's army in line, roughly perpendicular to the road, and straddling it.  The other has the army as in my photo, broadly North of the Roman road.

Both assume Henry approaches from the West and swings North of Fenn Hole to make his attack - avoiding the marsh and leaving it to his flank.

The guns are spread out in the line, not concentrated as Mike Ingram argues.

(Foard's Bosworth: Richard's army arrayed line abreast North of the Roman road)

Line abreast does not embrace Norfolk's battle engaging first, which is how the sources appear to have it, and requires Northumberland to be where he will be unlikely to be engaged (he isn't simply 'at the back' as he is in Ingram's interpretation) - I got that bit wrong, and putting Northumberland in the natural position, got him unavoidably engaged in the early phases (which is historically inaccurate)* ...

(Foard's Bosworth: Oxford attacks Norfolk)

The marsh does skew the attack, however, leaving Henry and his kin dropped behind, and plausibly opposite Richard's cavalry (so that bit works well enough) ...

With both armies arrayed in line, the natural first contact was not Oxford vs Norfolk but the Mercenary French and Scots against Northumberland ... an unequal fight in which the continental pikes quickly did for Percy's mix of retinue and levies.

(Foard's Bosworth: Oxford attacks in the centre and suffers some losses)

In the centre Oxford lacks the firepower at Norfolk's disposal (this part follows the orthodox narrative) ... but the King's line is overwhelmed without need of either commander or the Stanleys ...

(Foard's Bosworth: detail)

(Foard's Bosworth: end game)

I was surprised that this array actually performed worse than the Ingram array - I also need to resolve some of the inherent problems before being convinced it is likely.

The scenario notes will follow in a separate post.

Farewell 2013 ...

*assuming Norfolk's Vanguard takes the middle of the line, Richard therefore the left wing with the main battle (stationing him on the same wing as the marsh where his final melee occurs) and Northumberland the right.   Foard must have the Van on the right wing, Richard in the centre, and Northumberland on the left, hidden and behind the marsh (so not in a position to engage) ... But that would then not put Norfolk in front of Oxford's attack - so remains problematic.

1st December, Pudsey

Recon 2012

Back on the road again and an early start for Leeds (Pudsey) ... and mercifully, a very mild daybreak with not too much ice to clear from the car (this was the last scheduled shows weekend, and the first weekend of December has proved assault course in the last couple of years).

Indeed, from past experience, I had left a little extra time for de-icing and related winter hazards ... and so the soft start meant a remarkably relaxed cruise up through the Midlands in bright, clear, conditions.

This year, again, we did a Lance & Longbow/Society of Ancients combined zone - though sadly without the Towton Battlefield Society who had, last year, joined us to mark the anniversary of Wakefield.

We ended up running two participation games at either end of our shared turf ...

At one end Will McNally ran his 20mm Conquistadors 'DBA in the New World' game ...

(DBA in the New world with plentiful 20mm plastic Mesoamericans and the like)

While at the other end I had set up my 90mm 'Greyhounds in the Slips' which has not been on the road for a number of shows now ...  I had intended to roll out the new Bosworth game, but had to cut my cloth as time pressures took their toll - and GitS was all boxed up and ready to play ...

(Harry smites his way into the breach)

I think it worked very well ... soon after setting up, I had some players and pretty much ran the first 4 games back-to-back, and that took care of the morning.  I hope the other game was as busy ... either that or the chat was good as there seemed plenty of wargamers clustering around the stand (and judging by the quiet tally, they weren't signing up for the Society ...) ...

In the less busy afternoon period, as well as getting in another game, I had a walk around the show and tried out Will's DBA.

(upstairs games at Recon: a good range of well-presented games - Borodino to the top-left)

I thought the choice and standard of games at Recon very good - especially upstairs (where I had spent a lonely day trying to find people to play Gladiolus a few years back) ... Andy has done a good job of attracting content and now upstairs is thriving, even if, by the time the SoA/L&L stand was quiet enough to wander, the crowd was a little thin.

Great games though ... I particularly liked the Borodino ('battlefield in a box' look as I like to think - it reminded me of a pasting table!) DBN apparently.  Now last time I saw that at a show was back at Kelham Hall, presented by Tony Morley and his Lincoln associates.   Again, I saw some good things going on) ...

(more from upstairs: I loved the clean and simple look of this Participation coastal game set up)

There was an interesting looking Cockleshell Raid game that seemed to have a number of youngsters smiling and rolling dice  - it seemed to be something of a canoeing expedition with high explosives ... what could possibly go wrong?   However, shows being shows, I didn't have enough time to stick with it long enough to follow how it all hung together ...

(Detail from the long, strung out, raid game - with an inset giving you a better idea of the layout)

Finally, I conspired to lose a short game of New World DBA: they told me that Wargames Amateur David always and reliably comes up with a bundle of ones and twos - so looking for a quick win, I confidently set up one of those classic DBA 'kill or get killed' situations with my Conquistador Knight General (surely the 'boss' piece in any New World encounter ...?).  Well I'm sure you don't need a blow-by-blow description of how the game panned out ...

And then suddenly the sun had gone and it turned very cold.   Some of the exhibitors and traders started to pack up and that meant the doors were opened (and, December in Yorkshire, that means it's time to pack up get moving) ... By the time we had got our gear into the car I could barely feel the tips of my fingers: we headed South.

Well ... a relatively busy and congenial show, if a little quiet on the Society's recruitment side (as is often the way with these Northern Shows).  Really nice to get there and back again without too much exposure to the ice terror, and we were feeling good about the last show of the year ... Sunday and Wargamer in Birmingham ...

3rd December, Pudsey

RECON 2011
Shows North made its penultimate move of the season up to Yorkshire for Recon last Saturday.

This was with the President flying solo due to the usual lack of volunteers*, but thankfully as part of a 'multi agency' display, so help was occasionally on hand.

The focus at Recon was a reconstruction of the 1460 Battle of Wakefield - the winter campaign following Northampton ... celebrating a December battle in West Yorkshire (the 550th was 2010 but it took a year for the plan to come together) ...



We were ...
The Society of Ancients
The Lance & Longbow Society
The Towton Battlefield Society
Together with historian/author Helen Cox

In addition to the miniature reconstruction - which was based on Helen's alternative interpretation - the TBS's associated reenactors were on hand in period costume with a selection of 16th century weaponry and armour to support the theme.


Many thanks to Helen for explaining the story of the battle to me. I always struggle keeping up with the political convolutions of the wars of the Roses and the exact reasons why the campaigns sprung up when they did. Wakefield, being in December, seems oddly timed.

After capturing the King at the battle of Northampton, Richard Duke of York faced a winter in which the Lancastrians reorganised and rebuilt. Moving from London to counter a Northern build up, he reached the security of Sandal Castle at Wakefield after a rough encounter with the Lancastrian vanguard at Worksop.

York had probably underestimated the strength of the Lancastrian threat, and found himself outnumbered (probably at least 2:1) but easily able to hold his position within the castle.

Then, inexplicably, on 30th December, he emerged and gave battle on unfavourable and was undone. We have no definitive account of why, though a combination of treachery and miscalculation are at the likely heart.

(Towton Battlefield Society weapons display)

(the Lancastrians at Wakefield 1460)

(16th century Continental style Crossbow)

The show seemed lively and well attended (until the customary northern dissolution from 2pm onwards) and in all respects was a friendly and well supported event with a good mix of trade and things to do , games to play and stuff to look at.
(some impressive Late Roman infantry)

(Medieval Participation Game)

I didn't get to do much 'show going' as I was flying the stand solo, but spotted some good ancient and medieval games, and there is also a HOTT tournament at the event.

We will next be up in these parts for Vapnartak in the New Year. If you are local to these events you might like to volunteer to help out.

(the battle of Wakefield reaches a crescendo)

Don't forget to resubscribe to the Society of Ancients by the end of January
(online subscriptions)

* 'Volunteering' - quick definition ... doing something of benefit to others without expecting to get paid for it. It's probably worth appending that to the blog as although today's wargamer seems to understand 'getting something on the cheap because other people put the work in without asking you to pay for it', they don't seem to get the consequence that occasionally you should also do your bit. I've been a strong advocate over the years of not castigating the ordinary member for this (they also support who only pay their sub ...), but when the proportions fall so below 4% volunteer and more than 96% benefit there is obviously some head scratching to do.

Leeds, 4th December

Recon

Many apologies to the organisers - as advised, we were unable to travel to Recon due to uncertainties over the severe weather. As it happens, it seems it would have been fine (but how can you tell at 6.30am in freezing conditions?).

Steve Ayers got over from Salford ...

There were no particular problems and the local main roads and the motorways were clear (though there were a couple of snow ploughs on the other carriageway of the M62 over the Pennines clearing the margins of the road). The Pudsey Civic Centre car park was covered with snow and had not been gritted but was negotiable with care.

As promised on the web the previous evening, the show went on though (not surprisingly) in somewhat reduced form. Many traders and games had failed to make it and the show was confined to the main hall (nothing upstairs).

Even so there were several empty tables (rather ironic that originally there wasn't room for an L&LS game of Wakefield 1460). A Dark Ages game was using the free "Comitatus" rules. There were a few other small games, mainly fantasy but nothing particularly eye-catching.

Despite the weather difficulties about 250 wargamers (as well as me) made it through the doors, so well done to them and the organisers.

Steve


Here's a memory of us at Recon in 2008 (it was snowy then, too ...). We did Gladiolus with the big Gladiators.

This year we were hoping to do Greyhounds in the Slips ....

Maybe next year ...