What, another wargaming magazine??! Doubtless the question many of you are asking, and after the demise of so many other publications, not an unreasonable one. In this, the first issue of EMPIRES, EAGLES, & LIONS, we hope that you, the reader, will see that a "militaria" publication need not be slavishly tied to any particular theme or subject, a problem, which has bedevilled an otherwise fine efforts. The purpose of this "section" is to present to you the news and views from this side of the Atlantic, and indeed from the other side of the Channel! Although what we traditionally think of as wargaming and its various antecedents have been, until fairly recently, primarily a phenomenon of the English speaking world, this pattern is now changing and the hobby is now thriving in Continental Europe, particularly in Italy and Scandinavia. It will be my intention to give you, as best I can, an insight into what is happening "here", and perhaps show what effect this may have on the militaria scene in the States. I will hope to show, in various ways, how the attitudes to all manners of subjects may differ or interrelate, and hopefully to promote more international cooperation in our field. If there is anything which you would like to know about, or find out more about, this section is at your service. Letters to the Editor will certainly be passed on, and I will then do my best to dig out the problem. Of late, in Britain, the difficulties of the National Wargames Convention has come to a head. The fact of a National Convention, at least if its present form, is being questioned, and the Convention itself seems to be losing prominence. I shall examine this subject in more detail in our next issue. For our War of 1812 enthusiasts, you may be interested to hear that I have discovered that the building from which I work, this being the Custom House in London, was used to house French and American prisoners of war up until 1815. As yet, I have been unable to find many details on this, though I have unmercifully badgered our historical section on the subject! Thus far, I have pinned down that the prisoners were mainly army. However, if there is any particular significance to this, I am not yet sure. The majority of American naval prisoners were kept at Dartmoor Prison, in Devon, but here too there is evidence of soldiers being confined, and French troops were also there. My fervent hope is that I may come across some detailed records, which would be most helpful, to say the least. Indeed, there may even be some romantic tale of escape waiting to be told. More than a few French prisoners escaped from captivity in Britain to return to the Emperor's service, so we shall see. Suffice to say that our intention is to give you what you want. To this end, lets here from you. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 18 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1977 by Emperor's Headquarters This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com