Officers and Gentlemen

Graeme (Chair)

In common with a lot of people I came to gaming at an early age, via Airfix and plastic. This went into remission for a number of years (more than I care to think) and I then found some fellow lunatics who thought the same way.

The way back was paved with contacts with local gamers here in Norwich, coupled with an insatiable interest in history in most of its forms. The thought of painting the number of figures needed for some rule sets was very daunting to say the least, but the chance to have your own “ armies” appeals to megalomania!

I feel lucky in one respect; though our gaming club is small it contains the essential elements for enjoying gaming, members are enthusiastic about the periods they like and play for the enjoyment of the game.

This applies to both games where skirmish rules are used with few figures and larger games where the armies meet.

What am I interested in? The periods I find quite fascinating are most of 19th century, anything not western front in WW1, American Civil War and WW2. To this you can also add a love of science fiction, which can lead to a bloody but very interesting game!

Dave (Treasurer)

When I started wargaming Airfix made only the British Infantry and (WW2) German Infantry sets. I was so uneducated that I didn't realise that the British Infantry had post WW2 Helmets.

Following many years of wargaming, in my native Sheffield and then in London. I moved to Norwich and gave up Wargaming for a short while, before meeting up with a bunch of people who gamed at the labour club.

On the demise of the Norwich Warriors Graeme and I wandered for a while before we found the Belvedere Centre and formed the Rearguard with a number of now former members.

The clubs motto of "They're only representational markers" is attributable to Jim Wallman, a member of the Whitehall Warlords.

I live in hope that one day I will find (or write!) the perfect set of wargame rules.Meanwhile I just propose most of theHouse rules that the other members humour me by using.

I probably wargame because my disablity stopped me joining the armed forces, and I didn't relise that I could have made a career in Military History.
I did, however spend some years with John Bright's Regiment of Foote in the Yorkshire Brigade of the Roundhead Association. I would recommend mebership of a (warfare) reenactment society to any wargamer.
If nothing else it gives you an appreciation of how chaotic warfare is.

In addition to holding the post of club treasurer, I am also responsible for running this website (so I guess any problems should come to me).

Kevin

I was introduced to wargaming by a school friend in 1970, shortly before my 13th birthday. Our armies of Airfix figures fought across the dining table, using rules discovered in books by Donald Featherstone, Charles Grant, Terence Wise and Brigadier Peter Young that we had found in our local library.

Initially we fought World War 2 battles, but the American Civil War and Ancients soon followed. Once Airfix starting making Napoleonic figures we tried that as well. Until then most of the figures we used were made in an appropriately coloured plastic, so painting had been minimal (or non-existent!). However, as the Napoleonic figures were cream they needed painting, which (partly due to my poor sight) I was not very good at. While my painting has improved over the last 30 years, I still regard it as a necessary evil.

Once we left school and went to University I lost touch with my former opponents. Although there was a club at University I never got around to joining, and eventually my armies were consigned to the loft, or to jumble sales.

In the 1980s I started playing Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games, and it was this that led to my eventual return to wargaming. As fantasy figures are significantly more expensive than historical miniatures, in 1996 I began looking at the ads in Wargames Illustrated to see if I could find any decent historical figures that would meet my needs. I was soon buying WI every month and ordering ancient and medieval figures from Foundry and Gripping Beast, and GZG figures for use with Traveller. In 1998 I joined the Society of Ancients and in 1999 the owner of the local games shop told me that he was going to run an American Civil War Naval campaign at the local club and asked if I was interested. I said yes, and within a month or two I was going along almost every week, not just for the campaign.

My favourite periods are still the American Civil War and Late Republican/Early Imperial Rome. I have also recently got the Darkest Africa bug (thanks to Mark Copplestone’s figures, which I’m also using for Space 1889), and am running a science fiction campaign using GZG’s Stargrunt and Full Thrust rules.

THe latest interest I have taken on, with Graeme and Gary is Wargods of Aegyptus.

Richard

I play all periods, barring certain exceptions which will be eventually overcome. My personal favourite (not other people's) is World War 2, particularly North West Europe '44-'45. Ask around, you'll get the idea from the others (the word obsessed might come up). But I also play ancients, horse & musket, sci-fi … almost anything.

I used to be a member of the Norwich Warriors back in the mid '90s, which is how I got into the hobby.

Why do I love it? Because it's fun, the guys are nice and it gives me a chance to obsess over something harmless, and research.