If you live within reasonable distance of Southampton then you should be a member of the Wessex Military Society. The Saturday meetings (2:30 pm) include talks and wargames demonstrations; Thursday evening meetings (6:30 p.m.) are for wargaming. Future dates - Saturdays August 1st, September 5th and October 17th., Thursday August 20th, September 3rd and October 8th. All meetings are at the Temperance Institute, Carlton Crescent, Southampton. There is no subscriptions - you just come along! This lively Club now has regular attendances of between 40 and 50, probably because of the excellence of its Speakers. Recently Professor Temple-Paterson, the Naval Historian, has graciously attended and given a fascinating talk on General Sir John Burgoyne and on Admiral Lord Jellicoe. Talks have been given on Nedals, Bayonets, on the troops of the Nations at the beginning of World War I, Mike Lockyer has done conversion demonstrations, Stan Colby has similarly performed, our own members have given talks on various periods of military history and the wargames demonstrations that form the second half of the afternoon are always interesting and helpful. The Club are going on a three day expedition to the field of Waterloo on the 18th, 19th and 20th September next, going over by ferry from Dover to Zeebruge and then in a fleet of cars, based on Brussels, intend chasing around the battlefield and its environs.
The Cheltenham Wargames Club carries on as usual and its regular monthly bulletin have now reached the sixties which means that it has been going on for five years or so. This Group always fascinate me because of their wide range of wargaming periods and enthusiasm with which they attack them.
The Colchester Wargamers Association has been formed and wargamers in that area are strongly urged to contact Ronald G. Marshall, 1 Frensham Close, Stanway, Colchester, Essex. I have received numbers 1 and 2 of their Newsletter and hope their initial enthusiasm is maintained. They are running a Club in the English Civil War campaign and a Napoleonic campaign called "Hoffenstein". Their Newsletters contain the rules and conditions for these campaigns and are themselves of value to wargamers and Clubs contemplating similar ventures.
Yet another Club magazine has appeared - "CALEDONII" put out by John Johnston and Bernard Bradley of 8 Kippford Street, Glasgow E.2. The copy I have seen contains interesting items on the Royal Navy and the Revolution in the Napoleonic Wars; The Baker Rifle; The PZKW IV German tank; The Martin Baker aeroplane; and general information concerning wargames, wargames figures and books etc. Of unusual interest is something that might well be emulated by other 4argames Clubs "Exercise Zulu" which is a wargame that employs flesh and blood human-beings! In other words, the Club Members are taking part in a sort of military exercise which, if enthusiasm can be curbed so that no bloodshed results, should be of the greatest interest (particularly if it ends up near a pub during opening hours).
The Bristol Wargames Group tell me that they now have more readers of their Club magazine outside the Club than in it and are kind enough to say it is due to the publicity given to the magazine in Wargamer's Newsletter.
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© Copyright 1970 by Donald Featherstone.
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