| Fat Wally | 10 Nov 2013 3:05 a.m. PST |
Hi all, Chatting with a non-wargaming friend this week about our strange hobby, I was asked which was the oldest club still in existence. I didn't have a clue. Thinking a bit however, the club I attend, Wessex Wargames Society, must be in the mix as it was formed in Southampton by Donald Featherstone. I asked our treasurer, and only original member yesterday and it seems that he reckons we were formed in October 1967. Can anyone beat that? The club is still thriving. Cheers, Kev |
| Zargon | 10 Nov 2013 3:41 a.m. PST |
Yes. the German high command, Franco Prussian war or even King Tut and his pals ;-) |
| Tin hat | 10 Nov 2013 3:52 a.m. PST |
Hardly 'thriving' though… |
| Rudi the german | 10 Nov 2013 3:55 a.m. PST |
zinnfiguren-klio.de No problem, The Klio e.V. Is founded nationwide under german club law from 1924 but is actually even older.
The regional clubs of the Klio are older and i would guess from around 1870. Give ot take 20 years. But i had to look this up….
The first surviving tinsoldier used in wargames/ kriegspiel is in 10mm and is totay part of the collection of the Armymuseum in Ingoldsradt/ Bavaria and is from around 1520 AD.
link
Greetings |
Ed Mohrmann  | 10 Nov 2013 4:06 a.m. PST |
Our group was formed in about 1968, but it's always been
informal. |
| Marcus Maximus | 10 Nov 2013 4:14 a.m. PST |
Actually Peter Great formed a unit of young russian nobles the Poteshnyi housed in a purpose built barracks to enable him to carry out wargames, so he probably had the first "wargames club". |
 x42brown | 10 Nov 2013 4:19 a.m. PST |
When I came out of the army (1962) there was a Dunfermline Wargames Club. At present a Dunfermline Wargames Club exists but I don't think this is a continuation of the same club. I also remember attending a show called "Claymore" in Edinburgh run by (I think) "Edinburgh Model Soldiers Society". I have no idea if this developed into "South East Scotland Wargames Club" who now run "Claymore". I have moved several times and think people moving about, and changes of club name may distort whether clubs have a continuous existence or whether a new club takes the name of one that disappeared in the past. x42 |
| Florida Tory | 10 Nov 2013 5:14 a.m. PST |
I joined the local group right after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. That would have been in late August or early September of 1968 at the start of the school year. Rick |
| Cerdic | 10 Nov 2013 7:28 a.m. PST |
Rudi… There are club LAWS in Germany? Or is it some translation issue? |
| Hacksaw | 10 Nov 2013 9:04 a.m. PST |
Our group was formed in about 1968, but it's always been
informal. At least during my years as a member I have always used the descriptor of "anarcho-syndicalist gaming commune". But "informal" works too. 
|
| Dark Knights And Bloody Dawns | 10 Nov 2013 9:47 a.m. PST |
The NLWG has been running since 1968 with the original members still gaming. |
 Doctor X | 10 Nov 2013 11:05 a.m. PST |
Our local informal group also came together in 1968.
Was it something with that year that so many groups started then? |
| Rudi the german | 11 Nov 2013 4:18 a.m. PST |
link link No… I mean club law! Captain Samurai can better comment on this one, as he is a expert on tinsoldier club laws. I can only recomment him, as he might be the best in germany for tinsoldier law questions. Greetings |
| religon | 11 Nov 2013 5:29 p.m. PST |
At least during my years as a member I have always used the descriptor of "anarcho-syndicalist gaming commune". But "informal" works too. Perhaps part of the longevity of the club is that there is an ever so slight chance that dueling pistols will be needed to resolve issues of succession and changes to what beers are on tap. |
| 138SquadronRAF | 13 Nov 2013 12:46 p.m. PST |
The UK's Naval Wargames Society dates from the mid-1960's. They still exist. |
| 47Ronin | 13 Nov 2013 1:46 p.m. PST |
My understanding is that the New York Wargamers Association (NYWA) has been around since the 1970's, and that its roots go back further than that. They recently had a reunion "Game Day" at the Maplewood Hobby store in New Jersey. Great time. |
| Dust Warrior | 22 Nov 2013 4:33 a.m. PST |
Group North Historical Wargaming Society in Adelaide, Australia has been running for 41 years. I imagine back in 1962 they played a lot more hex wargames than the miniature ones we do today. |
| Hobilar1 | 23 Jan 2014 1:38 p.m. PST |
I think I joined the North London wargames Group in 1967? That year Tottenham beat Chelsea 2-1 in the Cup Final, i found the club via Don Featherstone's Wargames Newsletter. They met at the Bald Faced Stag in Finchley. A few miles away from my home in Wood Green but I'd just bought my first car… Come to think about it 1967 was a year of firsts… |
| Henry Martini | 23 Jan 2014 2:43 p.m. PST |
That's 1972, Dust. I think GN has been using miniatures from the beginning; mainly Airfix in those days though, I suppose. |
| ridgeback123 | 24 Jan 2014 5:03 p.m. PST |
I joined a club in Harlow, Essex, U/K in 1967 that was well established & was told at the time it was the oldest "recognised" club in the u/k Some years later a magazine ( Military Modelling ????? ) Published a small insert book as a war games club directory also saying the same thing.
Ian ( Shell Hole & 20mmZone ) |
| John Thomas8 | 25 Jan 2014 11:23 p.m. PST |
I believe the Triangle Simulation Society in the Raleigh, NC area dates back to the mid-1960s….not sure of the specifics. |
| cavalry47 | 30 Jan 2014 3:01 p.m. PST |
So it looks like no one can beat Rudi's club. |
| capncarp | 22 Feb 2014 2:26 p.m. PST |
ough…
Rudi the german 10 Nov 2013 2:55 a.m. PST: <SNIP> "The first surviving tinsoldier used in wargames/ kriegspiel is in 10mm and is totay part of the collection of the Armymuseum in Ingoldsradt/ Bavaria and is from around 1520 AD." From 10mm to 28mm in almost 500 years? That's what I call "Scale Creep"! |
| grambo | 20 Mar 2014 9:47 a.m. PST |
Kev, I joined SELWG back in 1973 when I was 15 and still at school! They had obviously been well established for some time before that, anyone know? Chris Hurren was the Chairman and I used to watch his ancient games played on a covered snooker table :-) Not as old as some maybe, but certainly one of the oldest? Cheers |
