After enduring the agonies and torments of the 180th Anniversary 'celebrations' of the battle of Waterloo, I have now decided it is time to set up an international and non-sectarian society for forgetting about Waterloo.

Of course the idea of remembering Waterloo has always been perverse to Bonapartists, since the man lost both his army and his throne even more definitively than had been true in 1814. Indeed the total evaporation of the French army in the evening of Waterloo was a catastrophic defeat by any standards, and one would imagine that remembering almost any of Napoleon's other battles would be better for his fame and reputation. Even at Leipzig he had the excuse of fighting against superior numbers, which was not the case for most of the day at Waterloo. One can always try to rescue his reputation by identifying 'traitors' in his entourage - from Grouchy through d'Erlon and Soult - but ultimately it reflects badly on an Emperor if he betrayed by the men he trusts, especially if they all turn against him at once. Julius Caesar's most famous moment may well be his final fatal stabbing in the Senate - but scarcely reflects well on his political acumen.

Personally, I am not a Bonapartist but a Wellingtonian, and so in theory I might be expected to celebrate Waterloo as the Iron Duke's finest hour. Even so, I cannot help feeling that Wellington's very many other achievements, over twenty years of campaigning, are often hideously eclipsed by just twelve hours outside Brussels. Waterloo was not an elegant battle, like an Assaye or a Salamanca, and it was also a battle in which Wellington lost more casualties than in any of his others.

In fact, Waterloo makes a depressing, unedifying, and boring spectacle, and it is hard to see just why so many people get so excited about it. Perhaps it is because Brussels is more accessible to the tourist than India or Spain, and so more people have visited the site. The battlefield today has certainly be ruined by more tasteless tourist shops than any other battlefield one can think of -- and of course the key terrain was disfigured very soon after the event by the quite unnecessary Lion Mound. Altogether, therefore, a visit to the field of Waterloo is not recommended.

Although my new society, the SFAW, seems to have a long way to go before it final achieve its objectives, there are in fact some encouraging signs. For instance, the contributions of the Dutch-Belgians and the Prussians to the Battle of Waterloo have already been comprehensively written out of the record, and offer an excellent examples of how the British and French contributions might also be forgotten in future. Certainly the recent attempts to rehabilitate the Dutch-Belgians and Prussians by such as David Hamilton-Williams must not only be deplored, as tending to raise the profile of the battle as a whole.

At a different level we should note that the impending privatisation of the main rail station in South London will make an excellent occasion for re-naming it after its new sponsor. Even if privatisation does not go ahead, it would seem more appropriate to re-name such a major junction after Quatre-Bras than after that unfortunate incident on 18th June 1815.

There is no charge for life membership of SFAW, but equally it would be contrary to the aims of the society to issue a newsletter, since the name of 'that' battle would inevitably be given prominence within it. However, if you wish to join the society, I will be happy to read your opinions and qualifications for membership. Please send them to me at SFAW's World Headquarters, 22 Callendar Close, Nuneaton, Warks, CV11 6LU England.

Note from the Editor: Paddy Griffith is a military historian, an experienced wargamer, and a writer of wargame rules. He is the author of several books, including Forward into Battle and Wargaming for Fun. He is a regular and frequent contributor to EE&L. He was for several years a senior lecturer in the Department of War Studies and International Affairs at the Royal Academy of Sandhurst. He is an expert on the Peninsula War.

Tell 'em EE&L and MagWeb sent you...--RL