Wargaming Books in Schools Project - a great initiative from Toofatlardies

Hi all, this is from the Toofatlardies blog by Richard Clarke

Readers of the latest copy of Miniature Wargamers may have noticed a small piece neatly secreted on page 44 where much of the following information can be found. Apologies if you think you’re seeing double!

My first contact with wargaming as a hobby came on my first week at senior school when I accidentally picked up a copy of Don Featherstone’s War Games Campaigns. I was absolutely amazed at what I had found and very fortunate that the school library had many of Don’s other wargaming books as well as those by other authors such as Terry Wise and Charles Grant. It was, of course, the start of a long and very happy relationship with the hobby: a hobby which is now both my chosen career and my primary leisure interest. It must therefore be said that I owe much to that chance encounter with a library book.

More recently, a couple of months ago in fact, I was having a conversation with a gentleman who works at a school in Wales who had been asked to form an historical wargaming club for the students. With the passage of time it is hardy surprising that the wargaming books of the 1960′s and 70′s have long since disappeared from school library shelves, and I was very conscious of the fact that any member of school staff undertaking such a worthy project would most likely be lacking much in the way of budget and support materials. Indeed there seem to be few books on wargaming which ever come to the attention of the general public in these days where the internet can mean that niche markets are often invisible to those who are not “in the know”.

However, one recently published book does seem to me to fit the bill in that it is a fantastic guide for a newcomer to the hobby, but also a great resource for the more established wargamer. This book is, of course, The Wargaming Compendium by Henry Hyde. I donated a copy of Henry’s book to the school in Wales as I felt that it was a venture well worth supporting. And that got me thinking.

There must be similar schools across the UK where such projects are being run or are being considered. It seems to me that with all of the hard work being put in by volunteers it would be an excellent opportunity for those of us who feel a debt of gratitude to our school wargames clubs and libraries to repay that by donating a copy of the Wargaming Compendium to schools who are in need. I have decided that to launch the project I am happy to donate a dozen copies to schools who get in contact with me to let me know about their historical wargames club. After that it is my hope that by acting as a link I can continue to be contacted by schools and donors in order to get more wargaming books into more schools.

So, how will it work? Well, this piece and that in Miniature Wargames (and we hope other hobby magazines in the near future) is the first step. If you are a teacher or a member of school staff who is running such a club then you need to get in contact with me. All you need to do is tell us a bit about the historical wargaming that is going on at your school. We can then wok with you to make sure that your school library is happy to receive such a donation and then we can get the book to your school librarian and onto the shelves.

If you are a willing donor who would like to do something to help historical wargaming in schools then please do get in contact with me. At this stage we don’t want anything other than an indication that you are willing to donate when we find you a school in need. At that point we will contact you again and ask you to make a donation. We will then arrange for the book to be delivered and deal with all ancillary issues such as postage and packaging. It’s a very simple process.

What is worth noting at this point is that we have no idea what level of uptake we’ll get from schools or from donors. It will, we hope, allow us to get an appreciation of what is happening around schools and then respond to that in an appropriate way. We certainly hope that seeing historical wargaming alive and well in the education sector will encourage new clubs to form in the future.

Thus far I have been asked a few questions which I feel are pertinent and worth addressing here.

What does it cost to get a book to a school?: Pen & Sword have very kindly undertaken to provide us with the book for £21. That’s it. No hidden costs.

How do I contact you?: Well, presumably you have access to email as you are reading this. If so please email me at toofatlardies@yahoo.co.uk

Are TooFatLardies making a profit from this?: No, quite the reverse. This is about assisting the growth and development of historical wargaming through a charitable act. No profit to be seen.

Does this involve Commercial Sponsorship?: No. This is not about TooFatLardies or any other business. The book will be pristine and unblemished by advertising inserts or similar.

Is this project international?: We would very much like to see that as a goal. At present the pilot scheme is limited to the United Kingdom. We’ve got to start somewhere! As time progresses we hope that we can recruit volunteers from around the world to undertake a similar role in their home country or continent.

What sort of schools can apply?: Ones where there are students doing historical wargaming.

What constitutes historical wargaming – in other words does this exclude clubs covering fantasy gaming?: Historical wargaming is where the periods being gamed are based on real warfare which actually happened in the history of the world. Whether that is Ancients, Napoleonics or Modern doesn’t matter. Your club can have a fantasy gaming element, but we would want to know that historical wargaming makes up a significant part of your activities.

That’s it in a nutshell. If you’d like more information or have any further questions then do get in touch. We can add to the list of FAQs here if we get anything pertinent that needs adding.

As a final issue, I should mention that I am hoping to get this project named in honour of a late friend of mine, Dr Paddy Griffith, who spent his life using wargaming for educational purposes. I believe it would be a fitting tribute to a great educator and wargamer. But more on that later.

Taking Le Pissoir - Toofatlardies at Salute

Second Chain of Command Outing

The scene is set for a Patrol game last Monday at Glenbrook HQ. What was a hive of painting activity becomes a peaceful patch of Normandy countryside.

In the foreground is a factory complex. At the far end is the bombed out Chateau Lafitte, now overgrown with foliage.

Close up of the factory which was the target of the bombing mission.

Chateau Lafitte. Which took the brunt of the bombs instead.

The chateau became the focus of the patrol phase as Brits and Germans entered the game at that end of the battlefield. The Brits getting the advantage of being able to get there first, quickly get two sections into the Chateau's overgrown grounds. The first section goes into the building while the second waits outside to see what develops.

The third section takes up a flanking position covering the lanes to the right of the chateau.

On the opposite side of the chateau, a first German squad reaches the wall and peering into the gloomy interior sees the British coming through the building. The German NCO gives frantic hand signals.

No1 Section's corporal motions for his men to stop as he hears a thudding, rolling sound coming down the staircase in front of him. "Grenade!" he yells and pushing a couple of men to one side he takes the full brunt of the blast. The rest of the men dive for cover.

In their next phase, having rolled two 6s so secure in the knowledge that the next phase is also theirs, Nos 1 and 2 sections get their revenge. No1 sections storms out of the building while No2 section led by the Platoon Sergeant charges around the outside. overwhelmed, the Germans are cut down, but the Junior and Senior Leaders escape, only to rout off table. The British Platoon Sgt succumbs to his wounds.

The battered remnants of No2 section head upstairs, the wounded NCO waves away the attentions of the medic. The remaining leaderless men of No1 section hunker down outside to await instructions

They don't have to wait long as the Lieutenant appears and after making a mental note to get the battered jalopy shipped home, instructs the few men of No1 section to take out the two nearest and vacant jump-off points. 

The Germans exchange effective range fire with the men upstairs in the chateau. The beleaguered Brits are unable to prevent the Germans moving up on their position, their mortar providing little assistance.

With so few figures and the morale effects of losing NCOs biting, No2 section comes out of the line of fire and moves back down stairs.

With a sneaky end of turn generated by the CoC dice, the Brits hit back at German morale by over running two jump off point.

The Germans continue to creep forward wary of the remaining British section.

A German team gets to a position across the lane from the chateau.

A senior leader takes a German rifle team the long way round, but with some good activation and movement rolls soon threatens the position of No3 section.

Who, sensing the danger, leg it for the hedgeline.

Fortunately just getting over the hedge before the Germans can catch them in the open.

Without their MG the Germans prove no match for a full British section and they are gradually pinned and then wiped out. With a senior leader at their mercy the gallant British NCO stops his men from firing at him (Ok I forgot to shoot him!).

By this time both sides morale was shot. The Brits eventually went down to 0 first but the game concluded with a "dishonourable draw". A cracking game once again with many ups and downs and toing and froing.

First Chain of Command outing at the Gloucester club

Myself (Brits) and von Bob (Germans) faced off against each other in a basic patrol scenario so we could concentrate on getting the rules right.

Overall view of the terrain after the initial patrol phase and my first two phases. An errant smoke round can be seen poking out from the other side of the building, but seeing no Germans I deploy a mortar team and all three of my sections. One is by the fence this side of the house, another is in the centre right of the picture and under cover of their Overwatching Bren team the third sections rifle team is making a dash for the farmhouse door. I am feeling pretty pleased with myself at this point...

The second section sets up overwatch by the hedge and the third makes its way across the road to the farmhouse having separated their bren team (left).

The first section detects some movement on the other side of the hillock. The Germans are here after all.

Bobs first section finally arrives and gains cover from the bank in front of them.

My No1 Section, assured that they are about to get devastating support fire from the farmhouse, go Tactical and hoping to survive the incoming fire with the Germans.

The platoon sgt arrives in the British centre and is happy with the developing smoke screen put down by the mortar. No2 section watches the British right flank for signs of a German counter. No3 section is in the farmhouse but it is full of abandoned copies of IABSM v1 which slows their progress to the upper floor. The Platoon Sgt then leads No3 sections bren team to the farmhouse to rejoin it's rifle team

No3 section's rifle team takes up a fantastic position at the upstairs windows to pour flanking fire into the Germans in the open below them. Hmm a pathetic efforts results in one kill only. Von Bob has by now another section on table and two sections pour 16 dice of lead into the farmhouse. The British realise too late that the building is held together by cobwebs as an amazing four kills and four shock are inflicted.

No1 sections Corporal hears the cries from the farmhouse and realises that his supporting fire has deserted him. A few exchanges of fire later he orders a desperate charge towards the German position. The results are so unpleasant that I cannot show the photos!

Best laid plans and all that eh? British morale tumbled with the complete loss of No1 Section and the wounding of Junior Leaders and I decided to bugger off before it got any worse.

Great game which initially looked all good for the Brits who tried to seize the initiative and the only elevated and hard (allegedly!) cover position on the field. The downside of course was that von Bob knew early on exactly where all my sections were and was able to react and deploy accordingly. I also left No3 section's bren team on overwatch for too long. They were desperately needed to support their rifle team in the building.

All in all a cracking game and a great sense of realism. I'm thinking about naming my platoon members but that may get far too upsetting.

Neither of us got a full CoC dice, nor did we have a Turn end. The whole game took two and a quarter hours roughly, but including a lot of referrals to the rulebook/iPad. One thing I really noticed was how simple the combat and movement mechansims are. I think we'll have most of the basics  when we play next time. This simplicity allows you to concentrate fully on leading your men to triumph or disaster.

Dux in Action - Border Tower Raid at the Gloucester Club

I have used my British/Welsh Kingdoms Gripping Beast figures for my British army so far (they are on the square bases). The first replacements are from Artizan on the round bases. I've started with the levy. Each group has a shield colour scheme. Red levy in the foreground above.

The first Artizan noble to join the ranks - Marcus the Bastard

The green levy including farm implements from the spares box. I knew they'd come in handy one day!

Mattimus the Damned (left) and his as yet un-named champion. Pointing figures have become the norm for our champions so far.

Antonius the flatulent. Curiously he is a short, 34 year old athelte - the mind boggles! this figure was going to represent my champion but after rolling up this character he had to become Antonius.

Game wise - I got far too involved to take more photos. The game ended with a second defeat for the Saxon raiders a 7 point margin giving me some newly recruited skirmisher.

Romano-British Dux starter army commission

Gripping Beast Arthurian figures available as starter armies from Toofatlardies for the forthcoming Dux rules. This army painted for Tony.

The Battle of St Weonards - A Mud and Blood scenario for the Very British Civil War

This game was played out at the Gloucester club last night. The scenario takes inspiration from the superb Solway Crafts 1938 VBCW source books. The rules used were Through the Mud and Blood by the Toofatlardies.


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The Battle of St Weonards

The Reverend Henry Meredith (or the “Bishop of Ross on Wye” as he has become known by the locals) is attracting attention. His firebrand preaching against the King and his government has drawn disaffected Anglican League members from the diocese of the unfortunate Bishop of Hereford whose frequent defeats have made his position untenable. Meredith has also been speaking out against Welsh Nationalist incursions into the Severn Valley.

Despite protests from his followers, Meredith insists on going out into rural parishes to give sermons with a minimal guard. Today, he has gone to give a sermon at the Church at St Weonards which lies within striking distance of the Welsh border which is no longer as fixed as it was before.

Government Forces (Blue deck)

British Union of Fascists

Patriot Captain Archibald Bell Level 3 Big Man 1

Patriot Sgt Bob Saunders Level 2 Big Man 2

Patriot Cpl Jim “Fix It” Saville Level 1 Big Man 3

30 BUF troopers rifles/1 Lewis gun (Regulars with Reasonable but Brittle Morale)

Worcester Local Defence Volunteers

Captain Rupert Fforde-Brinkle Level 3 Big Man 4

Sgt Charles “Charlie” Charles Level 2 Big Man 5

Cpl William Squires Level 1 Big Man 6

30 LDV rifles/1 Lewis Gun (Regulars with Reasonable but Brittle Morale)

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Welsh Nationalists (Red deck)

Y Fenni Company

Captain JJ Williams Level 3 Big Man 1

Sgt Mervyn Davies Level 1 Big Man 2

Cpl Clifford Morgan Level 3 Big Man 3

30 men rifles/1Lewis Gun (Regulars with Reasonable but Brittle Morale)

Maesteg Company

Captain Gareth Edwards Level 3 Big Man 4

Sgt Bleddyn Williams Level 2 Big Man 5

Cpl Barry John Level 1 Big Man 6

30 men rifles/1Lewis Gun (Regulars with Reasonable but Brittle Morale)

Objectives for Government and Welsh Nationalist Forces

1 Capture Rev Meredith

2 Defeat any opposition

3 Capture any opposing Big Men for interrogation.


Most of the Blinds have been removed to reveal the bulk of the Government forces making their way across the grave yard towards St Weonards church. The Maesteg company of the Welsh Nationalists crosses the square.

The government forces start to take fire as they close towards the churchyard from lead Welsh elements who have already made their way in. At the wall are the BUF under Patriot Captain Archibald Bell and the WDF under Sgt Charles "Charlie" Charles (in the plus fours). They are supported by WDF sections under Cpl Bill Squires top left and Captain Rupert Ffforde-Brinkle bottom left.

The Maesteg Company of the Welsh Nationalists under the command of Captain Gareth Edwards (nearest the church gate) Corporal Barry John and in the foreground Sgt Bleddyn Williams.

On the Welsh right, The Y Fenni Company under Capt JJ Williams and Cpl Morgan deploys two sections behind soft cover trying to outflank the Government forces.

Fire from the third Y Fenni section under Sgt Mervyn Davies starts to take a toll on Bell's BUF section, causing a number of losses.

Capt Edwards risks a dash into the church, taking fire from Charles' WDF.

The rest of the BUF finally get themselves sorted out. The Blue Jackets are led by Patriot Cpl Jim "Fixit Saville and the other section by Patriot Sgt Bob Saunders.

Not liking the amount of casualties, Capt Bell makes a tactical withdrawal to rejoin the other BUF units on the Government right flank. The WDF move up to take their place.

Charles loses his patience with the constantly jamming Lewis Gun and leads his men in a successful if bloody assault on the Welsh in the church, Sgt Saunders heads for the churchyard but fails to get into cover and takes heavy fire from Welsh Nationalists who have taken cover in the buildings overlooking the square.

Sgt Charles' assault drives Sgt Edwards out of the church. Edwards' section puts heavy fire into that of Charles, but they remain in enough numbers to secure the Rev Meredith.

The section under Sgt Williams takes heavy fire from the BUF (and their uncannily non-jamming machine gun) and is driven back, narrowly avoiding capture.

The combined fire of three Welsh squads takes it's toll on Corporal Squires' section. Bill Squires is badly wounded and is left by his men as they break and run with a massive 11 shock points.

The game came to an end with the Government forces in possession of Rev Meredith, no other Big Men were captured.