All Guns Blazing — June 2011

1 All Guns Blazing! Newsletter of the Naval Wargames Society No. 206 –June 2011 EDITORIAL Gentlemen, Well it‘s something of a bumper issue this month, with contributions from a far larger slice of the membership than the usual extremely helpful little band of dedicated scribes! If I may be allowed a minor ‗plug‘ in this month‘s meanderings, it is to encourage more of the same! There must be a fair few naval games played up and down the country every month on a club table, the kitchen table or even the handily- sized marital bed! These games, once played, are easily forgotten. Now, if you bang off a quick action report to this esteemed journal, it will be forever in print and there to be enjoyed time and again when you have reached your ‗yellow admiral‘ days. Who knows, you may even get bitten by the writing bug! The monthly game at Jeff Crane‘s place in Basingstoke was a fascinating outing for Dave Sharp‘s age of sail rules. He tells me that it is quite a while since they were last used and that they concentrate on command and control (or the lack thereof); just the thing for a fleet action! The Mediterranean in 1795 provided the chance for those at Jeff‘s place to resolve more fully one of the many half-hearted actions that abound in naval history. As the game was played only last Sunday, I have held the ‗front page‘, as it were, till news of this stirring encounter reached me, and I‘m sure you will all agree, it has been well worth the wait. With more from our usual correspondent Rob Morgan, news of HMS Caroline‘s demise and some thoughts on the way damage is allocated in the popular Stations Manned and Ready rule-set, there is plenty to go at this month...so I may as well stop droning on and let you settle down to what a hope you‘ll find a good read. Yours Piping ‗Up Spirits‘ Richard Wimpenny wimpenny@talktalk.net Osprey Military History Quiz Book Reviewed by Rob Morgan I was given this new, and unusual for Osprey, publication as a birthday present; but for those intent on purchase it is £9.99 and 220 pages hardback, ISBN 978-1-84908-545-8 no author or editor given, as it‘s a ‗team production‘. This is far from being solely concerned with a single historical period of course, and meanders on land, sea and air for its extensive lists of questions, and there are 103 quizzes in all, most with ten questions. In naval terms, the questions are remarkably varied, and spread throughout in small numbers. While some questions are ‗geo-political‘ rather than purely military or naval, many are provided with multiple choices. This is a typical example…. ‘The Great White Fleet circumnavigated the globe between 1907 and 1909…..True or False? It‘s probably not necessary to point out the difference between the question-and-answer format in this new publication with the style of questions in the Navy League quiz almost sixty years ago, so I won‘t. Mind you I was interested by some of the quiz topics: ‗War in China‘ and ‗Dixie‘ among them, and I must admit I enjoyed pottering through the book, but I don‘t imagine I‘ll ever find myself in an NWS quiz team or that many of the questions will be much use down at the ‗Red Lion‘!

2 The Battle of Genoa (13th March 1795) By Dave Sharp The May 2011 meeting at Jeff Crane‘s place in Basingstoke was a game based on Hotham‘s action off Genoa. There were only two players so the two commanders in chief only were represented. The French wished to mount an expedition to recapture Corsica. The first step was to clear the British fleet from the area. The British fleet having quit the coast of Corsica and retired to Leghorn Contre-Amiral Pierre Martin put to sea on the 3rd. On the 7th he arrived off Corsica and discovered, chased and captured the Berwick (74), which was proceeding under jury rig. The prize was detached to make its own way and the French fleet commenced a sweep through the Ligurian Sea. On the 8th Vice Admiral William Hotham received news that the Toulon fleet was out and heading for Corsica. He left Leghorn on the morning of the 9th. Overnight on the 9th/10th he received news that the French fleet had captured the Berwick and adjusted course to cut off any French return to Toulon. The Ligurian Sea. Toulon is off the map to the west. The fleets sighted each other on the afternoon of the 11th, the Allies (British and Neapolitan) to the North of the French. The wind was light from the South. At which point the game commenced. The Allies turned up to wind and started to beat towards the French, who in turn ran down towards the Allies. In the light wind, however, the fleets were still some miles apart when night fell. Overnight the wind shifted to the SSW. At dawn the fleets were farther apart but still in sight. This day the French lay in line of battle and awaited the Allied approach. This was again frustrated by the light wind until the evening when a fresh Breeze sprang up from the SW, but it being late in the day the fleets did not engage. During the night the French continued under easy sail, riding out the squalls, while the Allied fleet sailed to the SE before wearing back towards the French position. At dawn, the Allies reached down towards the French before slowing to form line. The Allied fleet (foreground), led by the Captain (74), approaching the French van. 9am 13th March 1795. North is towards the far table edge. The wind is South-westerly force 5, gusting 6.

3 The Allies continued to approach the French line, the van turning to starboard and coming under fire from the leading French Ships. The Ça Ira (80) and Victoire (80) open fire on the Captain. The French also commenced a turn to starboard. The Captain and Bedford, coming under intense fire were forced to shoot ahead out of the line as the remainder of the van squadron turned to engage. The Captain and Bedford forced out of the line. The remainder of the Allied van are turning to engage the French van while the Allied centre and rear (foreground) are still heading for the centre of the French line. Nelson in the Agamemnon is coming under fire from the French flagship. The British van now led by the Tancredi (74, Neapolitan) followed by the Princess Royal (98) and Agamemnon (64) increased sail to move up the French van, coming under a withering fire from the leading French ships. They managed to hold their own, however and a lucky shot that parted the tiller ropes of the Censeur (74) caused a rupture in the French line and eased the pressure a little.

4 Meanwhile the Allied centre also put on more sail and closed the French centre. The Ça Ira, Victoire and Mercure (74) engaging the Allied van, while the Censeur turns up to the wind out of control and the Sans Culotte (120) passes behind her. The Illustrious (74) leads the Allied centre for the gap between the Alcide (74) and the Barra (74). The Allied van continued to move ahead of the French van, while the Censeur affected repairs and returned to the line. The Illustrious, under heavy fire from the French centre, broke through the line, but caught fire in the process and continued straight on desperately trying to get the fire under control and no longer interested in the battle. The Courageux (74) passed through, and turned to engage. The flagship Britannia (100) lost her mizzenmast and passed through the French line out of control. Meanwhile, the French centre, led by the Tonnant (80) turned to starboard to engage the Allied rear at range. The Allied centre breaks the line. Britannia is passing ahead of Courageux, Egmont (74) and Windsor Castle (98) which are engaging Alcide, Barra and Conquérant (74). Illustrious, on fire, is passing through the French frigates. The Allied rear, led by Diadem (64) is heading for the gap between Conquérant and Généreux (74). As more British ships broke through the line, the ships of the French centre suffered severely. The Tonnant, engaged with the Allied rear caught fire. Meanwhile the Allied van pulled clear of the French van and that part of the action ceased. At this point we ran out of time.

5 Of the Allied van, the Captain was badly damaged with many casualties, though still gamely repairing her rigging. The Bedford was by this stage capable of rejoining the action. The Tancredi and Princess Royal had their rigging badly cut up, while the Agamemnon had suffered in the hull. The Allied van (models looking suitably battered) pulls clear of the Ça Ira. The French van was relatively unscathed, except for the Duquesne. The Tonnant on fire, followed by the Alcide engaged with the Courageux. The Britannia, now dismasted, is in the background.

6 The Allied rear breaking through the line. Of the French centre, the Tonnant was on fire (though otherwise unhurt); the Conquérant had taken terrible punishment but was still able to fight back, but the Alcide was no longer able to put up much resistance. Of the British centre, the Illustrious was out the action, but brought her fire under control, while the Britannia had many casualties and was effectively dismasted. Note Historically the Toulon fleet at this time was barely worthy of the name. Its commander had been a Lieutenant two years before and knew little of handling a fleet in action; the captains were unruly and the men untrained, unpaid and mutinous. By the time the action started the Mercure had lost her main topmast and left and Ça Ira had lost both fore and main topmasts following a collision. To make a game of it I made the Allies generally average, but retaining their technical edge in rate of fire (evidenced by the damage wrought by the centre when it engaged ship to ship). The French I made generally Poor (rather than Abysmal) for Seamanship and average for moral strength. The heavier French batteries were therefore able to take effect (notably in the van). The French captains were granted ―Cautious‖ status which would give them a better chance to disengage. Minor adjustments based on historical performance were made to retain some flavour of the historical position.

7 HOLLIDAY SNAPS! By Rob Morgan Something crossed my mind recently: it's that we as naval enthusiasts are always around ships and related shore bits, from batteries to ordnance of one sort or another. And if like me you have to endure family holidays, then the holiday snaps will frequently include, as mine do, a few important photos not related to or featuring the wife, kids, grandma or dog. The ‗Seehund' is to be found in the Maritime Museum at Brest in Brittany, placed on the ramparts of the Citadel and actually overlooking the distant U-boat pens. It is in immaculate condition, and of course represents a boat based there, but I'm not sure about the red pennant number '5622'. The top view gives some modelling detail, and of course a 15mm scale 'Seehund' con is available from Mick Yarrow Miniatures. The 'Marder' is tucked into a deep recess, and I couldn't make out if it was damaged at all. The 'angry eyes' I assume are a post-war addition. It really must have been a tight fit, even for a 'suicide weapon'.

8 DAMAGE IN STATIONS MANNED AND READY By Dave Blair My naval period of interest is the Russo-Japanese War. Briefly, I require a set of rules that allows several ships per side and can give a result in a few hours of gaming (and also allows room to chop and change rules). Stations Manned and Ready, by ‗A&A Games‘, fits the bill perfectly for me. This article looks at and compares three different systems for calculating gunnery damage. Please note in all these test actions I did not use any crew modifiers for either side. Plus I use my own slightly altered critical hit chart (slight because too many changes or major changes would unbalance the game). The first damage system is provided in Stations Manned and Ready Part 1. The chance to hit has various modifiers including number of guns firing – the more guns the easier it is to hit. If a hit is scored then damage is calculated by rolling two D6 and cross referencing it with the guns I.P. (Impact Power). Any straight sixes rolled result in a critical hit. IP 3 or less 4 or 5 6 to 8 9 or 10 11 or more 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 3 4 5 4 2 3 4 5 6 5 3 4 5 6 8 So a Russian 6'' L/45 has an I.P. Of 3 if it rolls a 7 it does three points of damage. The Japanese 6'' L/40has an I.P of 2 the same roll of 7 would do two points of damage. The number of guns firing has no effect on the damage done. Now at close range this means a single Russian stern mounted 6'' gun often does more damage than a Japanese broadside of six 6'' guns! This seems a little odd to me. Surely at close range the six guns will be scoring more hits with each broadside (and therefore doing more damage) than a single gun. I questioned ‗A&A Games‘ about this and they very kindly sent me two alternate damage systems. The first alternate system also has hit modifiers based upon the number of guns firing but it changes the number of D6 rolled on the damage chart – fewer guns means fewer dice so our single Russian 6'' would only roll one D6 whereas the Japanese with six guns roll three D6 therefore more damage and more chances of getting critical hits. I used this system in my next battle and the Russians promptly tore the Japanese to shreds! Staying with our single Russian gun versus the Japanese broadside the maximum result the single gun can get is 6 resulting in 3 damage and a critical hit the maximum score the broadside can get is 18 resulting in 3 damage and 3 critical hits. Still only 3 damage the same as a single gun (three critical hits could be useful but in my experience most if not all of these will hit the targets heaviest armour and bounce off). The rolling of more dice resulted in more scores of '11 or more' this again favours the Russians. I found that

9 the slight advantage in terms of damage that the Russians had was increased. The Russian 6'' and 4.7'' guns with their I.P of 3 (compared to the Japanese 2) dealt out a lot more damage 5 to 3. However, to be fare though this system does maintain the same slight advantage Russian 12'' guns (I.P 4) have over their Japanese equivalent (I.P 3). I did not want to alter the damage done by Russian guns; it would mean having to alter all gun I.P.s, plus any alteration would need a lot of research if it was not to become just an arbitrary number pulled out of the air to make things 'fair'. The final system has no hit modifiers for the number of guns firing—it is the number D20 that are rolled to score a hit that has been altered. A single gun rolls a single D20 to hit. If a hit is scored damage is rolled for as normal with any sixes rolled scoring a critical hit (note this is how I resolve single hits—the actual rule has the hit doing damage equal to the I.P only—I wanted all guns to have some chance of causing critical damage). Two or Three guns firing roll two D20. If one scores a hit then damage is rolled for as above. If both rolls score a hit then the damage is rolled as normal for the first hit, the second hit scores a critical hit. Four to Eight guns firing roll three D20 again with the first hit rolling for damage and any extra hits causing criticals. In this case it is possible to score four critical hits if all three dice hit and the damage roll is double six. I used this system to refight the Battle of Ulsan (using the order of battle from David Manley‘s Fire When Ready, also by ‗A&A Games‘). I found the result more colourful than the other two systems. The extra critical hits did not speed up the game too much (it is amazing how many critical hits were on the most armoured parts of the target resulting in no effect). Many salvos now resulted in some critical damage (or a ‗heart in mouth‘ moment for captain and crew as a shell bounced off the armour). In previous battles ships could be reduced to a single hit point but still have all guns functioning as normal—in fact very few ships ever lost any of their guns in action. Using this new system three of the ships that had been hit lost secondary guns and quickfirers and all the others that had been hit had critical damage of some sort. The additional chance for critical hits makes combat a far riskier business and results less easy to predict, and becomes less of a mathematical exercise. Yes, Russian guns still do more damage than Japanese guns but if they have been reduced to scrap metal or blown overboard, they do no damage at all. At present, of the three systems, I prefer the last using multiple D20s. I aim to do a Yellow Sea refight using this system, this will either confirm its standing as first choice or throw up problems, contradictions or anomalies that I have not thought of, thus sending me straight back to square one. I would be interested to hear any thoughts or ideas regarding the combat system in SMR (or any other rule set for that matter. HMS CAROLINE: THE END OF THE ROAD? By Mike Dowd Opening the pages of The Times the other day, I was presented with a large photograph and accompanying article regarding the ‗laying up‘ of the colours of HMS Caroline in St Anne‘s Cathedral Belfast, as the vessel—the second oldest ship in the Royal Navy—was finally de commissioned on 31st March 2011. Caroline had been moored in Belfast since 1924 as the training ship for the RN Reserve Ulster Division, and went on to be the home base of the RN Belfast Harbour during WWII which amongst others provided a HQ for warships escorting Atlantic and Russian Convoys including those frigates of the 3rd Escort Group. Her WWI career for which she was built needs no description, being as she is, the last survivor afloat of the Battle of Jutland There had of course been various letters in ‘The Thunderer’ over the last year regarding the fate of the vessel when this final day of her service approached. Correspondence had been passionate and emotional with as much heat and fire generated as Caroline‘s own boilers once did (until removal in 1924 along with her armaments) from her still intact 40,000shp Parsons turbines. For there had been rumours—not exactly

10 emphatically denied by the RN—that she could end up being scrapped! The thought of such a fate for this historic vessel seems totally incredible in this day and age; however, with Belfast City Council looking to redevelop this area of the shipyards as the ‗investment‘ (i.e. ugly modular speculative building) and tourism friendly ‗Titanic Quarter‘, coupled with the current ambivalence by our modern elected leaders of all stripes to be seen connected to anything perceived as redolent of being Imperial, militaristic, and (gasp!) worst of all ‗old‘ added to the tenants of the parsimonious grey suited bean counters at the MOD, then it pays to be on guard for the worst case scenario. Most eloquent amongst the clarion calls to arms, is that of Dr Dominic Tweedle, Director General of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, who writing last year in ‘Military Times’ expressed his concerns of the situation, which with the indulgence of the AGB Editor [indulgence granted!] I feel is best reproduced in full here: Strange isn‘t it? If you want a good historical day out, you can see innumerable abbeys, castles, cathedrals, and charming medieval towns and villages. The country is littered with stately homes, and there are more museums and galleries than you can shake a stick at. Megaliths, barrows, hillforts, henges, and goodness knows what else lurk behind every hedgerow. But historic warships? Forget it. Unless, that is, you live within range of Dundee, Leith, Hartlepool, London, Chatham, or Portsmouth. Of all the thousands of warships that protected our shores, convoyed our wealth, projected our power, and imposed the Pax Britannica, almost nothing survives for the public to see and experience. A meagre total of 13 major ships represent five centuries of British sea-power. Moreover, no grand plan has gone into their choice: it is as if 13 buildings had been chosen randomly to represent all of the country‘s built heritage. How has this bizarre situation come about? Perhaps the lack of anything closely resembling a public policy for the heritage in Britain combined with a kind of snobbish elitism that unerringly values a Titian above a Dreadnought. How many ships does English Heritage care for? None. CADW? None. Historic Scotland? None. I could go on. They all equate heritage with buildings, collections, and archaeological sites. That anything survives at all is down to the enthusiasm, drive, energy, and, sometimes, sheer dottiness of dedicated individuals who have tried to save something from the wreck. And wreck it has been. We were still blowing up 18th century warships as late as 1947. These people have taken chances. Without them, only HMS Victory and HMY Britannia would have survived – there was even a plan to break up HMS Victory shortly after the celebration of the centenary of Trafalgar! Then, just when you think that the loss of a great historic warship could not happen again, you discover that it is about to.

11 HMS Caroline is a light cruiser, a greyhound of the seas. Built in 1914, she served throughout the First and Second World Wars. She is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland, and the last major ship to survive from the Grand Fleet. To stand on her bridge, with her tripod mast towering above you, is an unforgettable experience; and it is equally extraordinary to explore her galley, fitted out in 1914, or to sit in the doctor‘s surgery, or to walk into her steering flat. She has the only in situ First World War turbines in the world, indeed, 80 percent of HMS Caroline is original. Not only is she the most important warship still unprotected in Britain, she comes close to the top of the list of the world‘s ten warships that should be protected at all costs. So, a cosy retirement for HMS Caroline as a visitor attraction, then? Not so. In the run up to the to the commemoration of the centenary of the First World War, the Navy has decided to decommission HMS Caroline as of 31 March 2011—and turn her into razor blades. HMS Caroline is the last of her kind, all other venerable ships of her significance are long gone. Built like a tank and in good condition for a ship of her age, all that is needed is a stay of execution long enough to complete arrangements already in hand to find her a safe harbor—whether in Belfast, where she is currently berthed, or elsewhere around the British Isles. But time is running out, and fast. Certainly, historic ships are expensive to maintain. But we have so few. We must find a way to preserve our nautical heritage for future generations. So, let‘s save HMS Caroline from the scrap-heap, for this is our last chance to gaze upon the like of her. Warfare is a new, completely free online publication, launched in May 2011 by Wharncliffe Publishing. Published every other month, each issue contains articles on major historical events, anniversaries and areas of historical interest along with current news and events. Warfare is presented in a modern and readable style loaded with videos, animated content and interactive adverts. Our carbon neutral magazine is distributed worldwide and can be viewed online or downloaded (free of charge). Articles cover military, aviation, maritime, family and general history, and include new books, game and model releases and reviews as well as competitions, give-aways and reader offers. Our aim is to provide a free, information packed publication relevant to people with an interest in military, family and general history. (Many thanks to David Manley for flagging-up this new publication.)

12 THE NAVY LEGUE QUIZ PART TEN Well, here is the latest helping of the Navy League Quiz from Rob Morgan. As usual, we‘ll begin with Rob‘s answers to last month‘s questions before moving on: 1. The name of the last British warship to carry sails. HMS ‘Imperieuse’. 2. Before WWI, aircraft were flown from three battleships and a cruiser. Name them. HMS ‘London’, ‘Africa’, ‘Hibernia’ and the cruiser ‘Hermes’. 3. What was the first British warship to have tripod masts? The former Confederate HMS ‘Wyvern’. 4. Between 1878 and 1914 the Royal Navy took over a number of Turkish warships. How many? (Actually, the original question asks type, as well as the ships‘ name in both services, but not the year of acquisition.) Well, there were two rams, ‘Orion’ and ‘Belleislein’ 1878. The battleships ‘Superb’ (1878), ‘Agincourt’ and ‘Erin’ in 1914; the cruisers ‘Centaur’ and ‘Concord’ (1914) and four destroyers the same year: ‘Talisman’, ‘Termagent’, ‘Trident’ and ‘Turbulent’. 5. What remarkable misfortune (apparently the first recorded of its type) befell the monitor HMS Erebus off the Belgian coast in WWI? She was hit off the Belgian coast by a ‘distance-controlled boat’. If anyone knows any more about this early remote controlled attack on a warship, I for one would like to hear about it. Now, on to Part Ten itself: 1. With which naval action do you associate Sir Beachamp Seymour? 2. Which three RN armoured ships were brig-rigged? 3. Was the Santissima Trinidad a four-decker line-of-battle ship at Trafalgar? If not, why not? 4. To which navy does Shropshire belong? (this is 1952, remember!) 5. Name the six RN flag officers lost with their flagships between 1881 and 1941. Rob wishes you all good luck, and he‘ll be back next month with the answers and Part Eleven. (I think I’ve got number five, but I can’t seem to make my six flag officers stretch back to 1881. I must bumping off an admiral or two that doesn’t deserve it!) SIGNAL PAD! Oared Warships A comment arose from one of the members of 'Lance & Longbow' about the last use of an oared warship; his assumption was Lepanto and the Armada. Hm??? A trawl of resources comes up with the iron rowing galley built for action against Arab slavers on the Niger River by McGregor Laird (brother of John Laird-shipbuilder) in 1859. She carried 45-50 armed men, had 38 oars, and displaced 21 tons. She was also rigged as a topsail schooner, 3-masted and raked. Her gun is not described unfortunately, but must have been a bow mounted light piece. Of course following that, though not built as oared fighting vessels, the Confederacy used some oared boats to tow torpedoes against Federal warships, without success I think. It may be that someone will know if oared armed boats were ever used in the Russo-Turkish war, or the Franco-Prussian, perhaps? (Rob Morgan)

13 ‘Battle on the Seven Seas’ This is in no way a review of this new WWI title, as I have only flicked through its pages in a bookshop so far and haven‘t read it. However, I thought I would just bring its appearance to the membership‘s notice and say that it is a medium-sized volume dealing with actions involving German cruisers during the Great War. As such, it is a handy source for organizing quick scenarios, either historical or as inspiration for the ever-popular ‗what-if‘ type of game. Should anyone read it before me, I would welcome a proper review. (RW) "Ships & Sea-power Before the Great Persian War" Was published in 1993 by Brill, which is an expensive academic publishing house, from which the 100 €uro book is a regular product. The ISBN 90-04-09709-0, and the author was K.T.Wallingham. At 240 pages it is a valuable text on a number of subjects for the Salamis and pre-Salamis naval wargamer. The book is divided into several areas, early Greek naval developments, which I found remarkably informative, material on 'shipping in the 8th century BC, and a good chapter on the newly developing Greek sea-powers. Though most people who will be attracted by this book will find 'The Invention of the Trireme and the Creation of a Persian Fleet' the section they want to read, and it is very useful indeed. The book ends with 'Themistocles and the Trireme, and Fighting the Persians', again worth spending time over before you set to sea. A very good book. (Rob Morgan) USS Vesuvius! The April 2011 issue of 'SEA BREEZES' the World Ship Society's colourful monthly publication, contains an article entitled 'The Animal Coughed' ( pages 41-43), by Kyle McKibben. It's an account of the development and career of the world's only 'Dynamite Cruiser' and her use in the Spanish-American War of 1898. It is worth taking a glance at, not only because of the succinct and frank account of the activities of this unique warship, but also the author's interesting comments on naval ordnance generally, and on the development of the ironclad warship. The intriguing title apparently comes from an observer's description of the sound of her three 15" airguns being fired. (Rob Morgan) The First Cod War? I noticed in 'BBC History' magazine the other day, that Queen's University, Belfast are undertaking some significant research into the war between English and Hanseatic League Fishermen in the 1530s. The North Germans apparently raided two English bases in Iceland and destroyed dozens of fishing vessels. The English fortified another base on Iceland at Grindvak, but this was captured in a night attack. A fleet of 100 Hanse veselswas involved with, the article says, about 160 English ships. There's mention of similar events in G.J.Marcus' excellent 'The Conquest of the North Atlantic'. If I recall, back in the late 1980s there was a very sound three-part work in 'Military Modelling' on the Cod Wars of modern times [I remember those! ED], sadly, it is deep in the archives (the attic!) somewhere, but I do recall writing to a couple of manufacturers suggesting that a couple of 1/600th trawlers, tugs, and gunboats might be usefully marketed, and used alongside a cut-down Airfix kit or two. Perhaps the idea of a no-gunshots war didn't appeal, but I think it is worth revisiting at some stage. (Rob Morgan)

14 JOINING THE NAVAL WARGAMES SOCIETY If you have been lent this newsletter and would like to join the Naval Wargames Society, please follow this link to join our Society: www.navalwargamessociety.org. NWS Events and Regional Contacts, 2009 NWS Northern Fleet – Falkirk East Central Scotland Kenny Thomson, 1 Excise Lane, Kincardine, Fife, FK10 4LW, Tel: 01259 731091 e-mail: kenny.thomson@homecall.co.uk - Website: http://falkirkwargamesclub.org.uk/ Falkirk Wargames Club meets each Monday night at 7pm with a variety of games running each evening. Naval games are popular with 2 or 3 run each month. Campaign games sometimes feature in our monthly weekend sessions. Games tend to be organised week to week making a 3- month forecast here a waste of time. Please get in touch if you‘d like to come along.  Popular periods – Modern (Shipwreck), WW1 and 2 (GQ), WW2 Coastal (Action Stations), and Pre-dreadnought (P Dunn‘s rules) NWS North Hants [Every 3rd Sunday] Jeff Crane 31 Park Gardens, Black Dam, Basingstoke, Hants, 01256 427906 e-mail: gf.crane@ntlworld.com NWS Wessex [Bi-Monthly Meetings] The Wessex Group has gone into (hopefully) temporary abeyance for the moment. If anyone living in the Bath / Bristol / Gloucester area (or further afield) would like to take on managing the group please contact myself or any of the other NWS officials.