While at a Napoleonic re-enactment at Fort Nelson, Portsmouth, in early 1997, I met some members of this society who were staging a display of Wargaming and research, and I was impressed by their presentation and range of interests and activities. Their objectives are:

1. To promote the public education and appreciation of the Peninsular War between the years 1807-1814.

2. To promote the public education and appreciation of the Waterloo campaign of 1815.

3. To encourage research on all matters pertaining to the campaigns and to assist in the publication and corroboration of such research.

4. To recreate the battlefields of these campaigns onto a Wargames tabletop scenario.

The society has been in existence for 15 years. They concentrate on researching a particular action of the war, followed by forming a battle breakdown scenario by consulting the necessary references and archives (the society holds an extensive library and offers an information service). When time and funds permit, an excursion to the actual battlefield is undertaken. With all the information at hand they then produce a thesis or study and invite members to participate in a tabletop recreation. This display is then demonstrated at shows around the south of England.

The society will be attending three shows in 1998 and will be producing a participation display from their previous years work in the Pyrenees. All the significant battles will be discussed with particular attention to Captain Daniel's exploits on the bridge at Vera, 1 September 1813. The displays will include photographic and video footage of their recent expedition to the many battle sites in the area.

To the Redoubt 98, 20/21 July. Held in the Martello Tower on Eastbourne seafront. Contact Trevor Body on 01323 735417.

Colours 98,12/13 September. The Hexagon, Reading. Contact Trevor Halsall on 01734 714473.

To date, the society has produced three publications for the discerning armchair wargamer/historian. Hougournont: A battle within a battle - this is a battle breakdown of the bloody field around the farmhouse of Hougoumont during the Battle of Waterloo; A Bridge Too Late? looks at the action over the River Coa on 25 July 1810; Garcia Hernandez is a collection of journals and memoirs specifically describing a rare phenomenon in military history. Other studies include the battles of Quatre Bras, Corunna, Albuhera, Busaco and Tarbes, plus the society is aiming to complete a detailed and comprehensive set of Peninsular Wargaming rules.

If you live in the south of England then this society is well- worth finding out more about. Their activities encompass research, Wargaming and publications, and the members I talked to at Fort Nelson were a friendly and knowledgeable group. For more details contact their Chairman, Colin Jones, 64 Merrivale Road, Hilsea, Portsmouth, Hants, PO2 0TL.

More Dusty Archive

Portsmouth Napoleonic Society
Association of Friends of the Waterloo Committee
Naval Dockyards Society
Journal of the War of 1812
Age of Napoleon Supports Napoleonic Web Site