CAMPAIGN MEDALS OF THE BRITISH ARMY 1815-1972 - "A reference guide for collectors" by Robert W. Gould. 8 3/-4" x 5 1/2"; 72 pages; 101 illustrations. Arms and Armour Press - £ 1.50). The cover attracts attention and invites examination of the contents. The introduction gives a brief timeline of the origins of naval and military medals and defines the terms used. It also has paragraphs on the buying, displaying and classification of medals, research facilities, museums. medal societies and a short bibliography. As the title suggests the first medal dealt with is that for Waterloo and the last ones are the Campaign Service Medal with the latest "Northern Ireland" bar and the Vietnam Medal. Included are those medals issued by outside bodies but authorised by the monarch such as those issued by the Honourable East India Company or those by the Khedive for the Sudan. Each medal is dealt with separately with two photographs showing the adverse and the reverse except when medals share a common obverse and this is pointed out in the text. On the same page as the photographs is the information about the medal. This usually gives the authority for its issue, a short description of the campaign and a clearly set out list of bars and the actions for which they were issued. Where the medal had more than one issue the variations are described. The quality of the photographs vary, the details in some cases being difficult to identify but this is common in all medal books. Some errors have crept in, in the printing, one locating the R.M. Barracks at Eastney in Sussex and another quoting a bar for "North West Frontier 1903-31". However, despite the adverse points, this book undoubtedly fills a gap in the medal collectors reference material, it can be easily carried, the layout is clear and bold, it is well bound, a medal can be quickly located, touches of humour enliven the text and finally the price is right. "The basic flaw in the idea of a standard national set of rules is that no two people - let alone groups - interpret any one set of rules in the same way. Therefore, when two individuals or groups meet (agreeing to use a nationally recognised set of rules) they will in fact find there is no true common set of rules. Worse than this, since both sides feel they can interpret the rules with equal authority, the ensuing dissension will be embittered and protracted. Whereas had one side provided the rules, the other side would have neither the opportunity to develop their own interpretation of the rules nor the self confidence to push any disagreement to the extreme. There is also a more positive reason for people using each others rules then the mere desire to avoid time consuming and petty arguments. If we dare assume that the normal wargamers mind is not hermetically sealed against all novel ideas, perhaps exposure to a different set of rules could lead to an enriched outlook on the period and even to some useful modifications of one's own rules." Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 125 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1972 by Donald Featherstone. 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