The event took place in Leicester in September 1972 and was won by the East Midlands team, with Stephen Reed (of Worthing) the overall individual Champion. East Midlands have the right to run next year's championship and intend doing so, again in Leicester. They claim that preparations are already at an advanced stage, the work being carried out by a very experienced committee." This is not entirely in accord with the views of others, such as Pete Stantan in the December Newsletter while, in the same issue, Phil Barker revealed plans for a "rival" affair to be run by Birmingham at about the same time. This has aroused some feeling as expressed in the following letters. "I would like to correct a few of Phil Barkker's more glaring inaccuracies regardirg the 1973 National Convention. It is not beinc organized by the "Junior Leicester Team". We haven't even got a Junior team. It is not being held at the same venue. In 1973 it will be at the Magnum Hotel, a brand new building in the centre of Licester, in which we have booked a 10,000 sq. foot hall. I do not know where he picked up that rumour that the Convention might be passed on. From one of the "Junior team" perhaps! A better title for the article might have been "The Sour Grapes of Wrath". To pass on to other things I think Pete Stanton's doubts about contender selection are obviously justified. However, he seems to have confused the Convention with the Birmingham competition. The 1973 Convention will be run, as usual, on an allcomers knock-out basis. I must agree with John Nichols' comments. The accommodation anf facilities at the Motel were not satisfactory. So this time we have taken a purpose-built 10,000 sq. ft. exhibition hall. There are always arguments at Conventions, aggravated by weak umpiring. There is only one sure cure, a Strong Umpire! Unfortunately, these are in short supply. (Volunteers please!)." --Jerry Groombridge for the Committee "I was particularly interested in Phil Barker's letter on Birmingham's idea of a new Convention. I think it contains the basis of a good competition, but I would prefer to see the major wargaming event of the year open to, say, four 'big names, and four others, possibly regional champions, in each period. For a knock-out competition, 'Giant Killers' are a must! With Leicester juniors hoping to orSanise what must be a rival event, life in the Wargaming World is becoming a little confusing, and it is all heading for a major row and an eventual split up which will not do any of us good. Possibly, the only thing that will save the matter is tbe new National Association of Wargamers. Without doubt a truly representative and fair governing body is desperately needed to run such things as Conventions if they are to be accepted by all, well nearly all, wargamers. I hope all Clubs will join, support and participate in the running of the Association before we get every major Club in the country setting up their own 'National' Conventions." --C.B. Tofalos (Winner: American Civil War Section, Leicester 1972) "It's a little worrying to read about the fragmenting over the Convention next year. I agree with Phil Barker that the Leicester do was in a totally unsuitable venue and not very well run despite the efforts of a few, and I don't see the Junior Team greatly improving this, but I am also a bit dubious about running a similar meeting in a similar area the same month which seems to be an attempt to doom Leicester's efforts: interest in the Convention here the last year or so has reached rather a low ebb (partly because of confusion caused by National Wargames Association proposals last year) and this sort of thing could possibly finish it. In addition, I did not feel that the Birmingham Convention was outstandingly well run either and the Motel though better than the Post House used by Leicester did not provide ideal accommodation for the business of the Convention - not enough space, too many rooms and so on." --George Gush of Tunbridge Wells Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 131 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1973 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