"Donald Featherstone" Topic

Noting the TMP homepage banner today, does anyone wish to share anecdotes about Don Feathersone's rules and books? Did they start you off in the hobby, or inspire your gaming direction? I'll start, I still have hardcover copies of his "War Games, "Advanced War Games", "War game Campaigns", War Games Through the Ages" and "Skirmish Wargaming" on my bookshelf. I still take them out at intervals for ideas, and nostalgia.

I have copies of all his books as hardcovers and I reread them for inspiration. I used to take his books out of the library to read but never actually used his rules. By that stage I had moved on to Quarries Napoleonic Rules…

The library in Saffron Walden where I first lived didn't have many wargaming books and I only found Little Wars and then, later, Parctical Wargaming. it was only when we moved to Broadstairs when I was 14 that I found Featherstone's books.

Mike

My local library (then) in Hertfordshire had a little shelf full of Featherstone books and the like (all of which I subsequently read and reread) but it was Charge by Peter Young and James Lawford that really got me into wargaming.

Of the Featherstone legacy, the biggest influence was really the battle of Trimsos chapter featuring Tony Bath's rules that stayed with me. Who would have thought, all these years later, that I would have veterans from those Hyboria campaigns in my collection.

Phil

Like all of you, I have many of his books, have read them many times over, and still refer to them occasionally.
As it turns out, when he was liquidating his collections, I purchased a couple of books from him, we corresponded back and forth a few times, and I asked him if he would like to be the honorary Colonel of one of my 18th century regiments. Without hesitation he said yes, and now the redoubtable "Featherstone Light Infantry" (or FLI) take the field and carry on his legacy. A very nice gentleman.

Mr. Featherstone visited middle Tennessee back in the 1990's. My friend Bob Duncan took him to Shiloh where they toured the battlefield and then my friend took Mr. Featherstone to a farm just outside the southside of the National Battlefield Park. The farmer talked of the items he had tilled up out of the soil, went over to a shed and opened the door. Inside, shin deep where the remains of everything he had "dug" up. He rummaged around a bit and produced a round of solid shot cannon ball that he presented to Mr. Featherstone. Not really about rules or books, but it is an anecdote about his visit to Tennessee and our wargame convention.

When I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Featherstone at Historicon one year I dashed down to the Dealer's Room and purchased a copy of his "Campaigning with Wellington" and got his autograph thereon. This was despite the fact that I'd already acquired one the month before at home. Some opportunities must not be missed. He was a delightful, charming man and the incident was a highlight of my several attendances at the Lancaster Inn. The book was a lot of fun as well.

Was fortunate to be able to sit down at the pool bar at a Historicon with Mr. Featherstone. He liked my last name and told me a story about meeting a girl with the same last name (no relation) just at W.W. II was starting.

Wonderful gentleman, may the Earth rest easy on his grave.

For Christmas in 1962 I asked for a copy of Featherstone's newly-published book, "War Games". When the presents were handed out my mother apologized because the cover had been accidentally stained by a leaking bottle of cologne, a gift to my grandmother. The book continued to smell of lavender for many years. It no longer smells, but the stain is still there, bringing up fond memories of my dear "Oma" and my introduction to a life-long hobby.

I got his book Solo Wargaming. I always admired the many excellent photos and figure conversions he did.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Bought "Tank battles in miniature: A Wargamers' Guide to the Western Desert Campaign in 1940-1942" as a poor college student. Those and a couple of packs of CinC and GHQ tanks were my only war gaming miniatures beside my 20mm Scruby ones for years. Many memories, pleasant ones.

Again, a convention story, rather than a rules story. At Historicon, I was sitting on the back porch at the Host eating lunch, and Mr. Featherstone asked if he could share the table. I, of course, said yes. He was very amused by the fact that the first Featherstone publication I read was an article on wrapping and taping ankles when I was student manager for the basketball team in college.

Between his books and Wargamers Newsletter, Don was my primary source of inspiration when I was a young solitary wargamer on the Canadian prairies. I wrote him a number of times asking questions or seeking wargames advice and he always took time to respond. Newsletter always arrived on the 3rd Thursday of the month and I would run home from school at lunch hour to check out the latest issue. Great stuff. Every year I randomly grab a handful of issues for a stroll back in time.

At age 12 I found his book in a shop in Johannesburg. This revealed a hobby to me that I still love in my 60s!

Loved reading his books as kid and still have acquired some as an adult, but unfortunately never met – my loss by the sound of it.

A really caring human being. If only all of us in the hobby were more like him. Something to aspire to.

Literally just picked up at a used book store his Military Modelling book. Thought might find a tip or two.

I used his rules for ACW battles with Airfix into the mid-70s. I still have a hard copy, as well as his Naval Wargaming, whose rules I used for pre-dreadnougt battles using his adaption of Fletcher Pratt rules.

I never would have gotten into wargaming without him. I had a blast using those rules. I have since enjoyed the John Curry reprints, mostly just to read and enjoy his style. I use my own rules now, but they owe much to Featherstone and Neil Thomas. I bought a lot of complex horse and musket rules at one point. But I never had as much fun with them.

Interesting, I had the book as a youngster probably 12 or so. While I did make the odd casting from plaster of Paris we found it was basically rubbish, the rules were too random, did not really do justice to the Bellona specification or even more basic books and the games never played anything like the history books we read. Took nearly 40 years to get rid of the bad taste of dreadful rules.

I had Advances Wargames again rubbish stuff but the hex battlefield was an inspiration and I built a similar set 20 years ago having remembered it all those years.

Again our view of the Theater Historys were good history. same useless rules.

The to me they were ever a disappointment when it came to rules which to us was the most important part even as a youngster.

When Don first attended an Historicon, I managed to
buttonhole him for about 30 minutes. I was at the
time engaged in our city's youth sports program as
a coach and in aid of that was just finishing up
a series of sports medicine classes.

Rather than being put off by my questions, he was
his usual gracious self and I learned a great deal
from his experiences as he related them to me.

Not as much as I learned about mini-gaming from his
books though.

I do not know what the Bellona specification is, but I am curious, if you want to elaborate UshCha! Yes the Featherstone rules were simple and did not work for those looking for more historical content. I admire those who made this a goal and took gaming in a new direction. For myself, the balance between having an enjoyable game and representing history seemed kind of subjective and I compromised.

IMO there is no way scale is accurately represented in horse and musket wargames, troops clomp around on thick bases carrying their own scenery, often painted in parade uniforms, commanded by generals who know far too much. The table is mostly flat, unlike Earth, with terrain and buildings that are never quite to scale. Troops are killed with dice, and probably rarely move as they did in real life. Rivers might be tropical blue. The passage of time during a game is just a rough guess made into turns. Its all good!!

I cannot say say how much my outcomes are historical but they make a good story for me to enjoy. I love it all and always have. I probably took a bit from every set of rules I bought in making my own. All rather subjective, but not too far from creating a feel for the period and the adventure. I think Featherstone started me off in this direction.

I will disagree with UshCha, as a kid I would get the books of those early wargamers from the library as inspiration. I rarely looked at the rules. I still remember his flipping thru the pages of his books on tank battles of North Africa and the Peninsular War (which I own).

He, Bruce Quarrie and Paul Hague provided me inspiration to collect my own armies, paint them and game with them. For that, I thank them.

Featherstone's books are full of ideas (albeit sometimes half-baked) with which to experiment and inspiration to try different periods and styles of wargaming. I agree with Prince Alberts Revenge: I never used Don's actual rules either, but started playing with Brigadier Young's Charge!

"Skirmish Wargaming" was in regular use for a range of periods after I picked it up in the 70's..still on the shelf.

clearly those with unreserved positive memories were more about the figures and the terrain, not the rules. like Arthur1815 eludes. Half Baked does seem to sum up his approach to rules. I did forget, our terrain Forgive using a commercial website but is quick was inspired by Lional Tarr's pictures of Stalingrad, in the Book Wargames.

link

Uscha, what about the Bellona specification? I really wanted to know what this alluded to. We went down different roads on our wargaming journeys, but I am curious.

I never had a bad taste after Featherstone, just moved onto to Quarrie, Wesencraft, and a slew of others, none of which I really enjoyed, but I kept learning. Volley and Bayonet, Age of Eagles, ESR, Blucher, LaSalle, March Attack, Piquet, Carnage & Glory, Empire, Fire & Fury, Johnny Reb… I can't even think of them all. So I wrote my own, found my very own middle ground. Featherstone got the ball rolling, he was not the answer. Before Featherstone I just shot everyone with a little plastic cannon.

I had met him a number of times, as MagWeb carried Wargamers Newsletter. I took a look at what MagWeb had posted:

Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues:
10 (January 1963), 25, 28, 40-44, 95, 99, 101-102, 104-105, 112-115, 117, 119-122, 125-126, 131, 133, 141, 146, 152-156, 162, 163, 165, 167-168, 171, 173-176, 184-188, 191-192, 194-205, 207-214 (January 1980)

They were tough to come by here in the states, but I picked them up here and there. I even traded HO scale RR cars for a large binder of them and was scanning them in at the time of MagWeb's closure.

Issue 214 was the last one published as far as I know.

I believe John Curry Productions has the rights to his books and I know JCP has reproduced many of them. On Military Matters carries the reprints, or at least did. I imagine JCP has rights to the magazine as well.

Yes, John Curry has a treasure trove of early wargame books that are part of the history of the hobby. You can also get them as downloads on Amazon at reasonable rates.

Tortorella. Bellona produced a series of technical pamphlets for modellers with dimensions and armament details for various WWII vehicles.
They also produced vaccuum moulded terrain for 20mm scale mainly WWII wargaming.