Local News

(OOC: Apologies for the lack of updates in VBCW Herefordshire. I’m busy with my Frostgrave stuff at the moment, having pretty much painted everything I need for VBCW. However, this post by erstwhileVBCW gamer ‘Leadboy’ requires some kind of retort…)

Who is the ‘Scarlet Lady’?

Decent law-abiding listeners throughout the county have been shocked and scandalised by the recent output from a traitorous radio station, the ‘Bishop’s Broadcasting Service’.

Transmitting from rebel-held Ludlow, their so-called news program claims to have uncovered the identity of the ‘Scarlet Lady’ – an unfortunate young woman, who is rumoured to appear in a number of photographs from the collection of the late gadabout, Colonel Patrick Mustard.

These frightful derrogutypes, the rebels claim, are of none other than Lady de Braose, supposed wife of our dear Governor!

Until now this noble Baron has refused to lower himself and answer such ludicrous claims, but at the urging of his press secretary, has released the following statement: “What utter rot! It just goes to show how desperate these fellows are, to cast aspersions on a man’s wife, especially when that man is not actually married! Silly b-s!”

Indeed, as everyone in proper Herefordshire society knows, Baron de Braose is a confirmed bachelor, who’s only mistress is his job!

Manuscript still in Rebel Hands

The salacious memoirs of the aforementioned Mustard is still thought to be in rebel hands, being last seen in the grubby oil-stained hands of a socialist rabble-rouser.

As is the habit of these unscrupulous reds, excerpts have been leaked to the more disreputable organs of the press (see above), however most of these have been dismissed as the perverted workings of an unbalanced hack by experts.

Many however are still taking this work of fiction seriously, and have expressed an interest in securing the manuscript. Shady deals are thought to have been made, although the authorities have disavowed any involvement, merely warning individuals against making private agreements with such unpleasant characters.

Fighting Near Aconbury

After a period of calm, fresh fighting has erupted around the Aconbury front around the Hereford-Ross road. Our correspondent Mr. Morrison has phoned in this report from Shell village:

A BUF lorry carrying fuel had broken down and been hidden in a barn near Shell village. The BUF/Royalist forces were tasked with recovering the fuel. The Anglican League forces were ordered to sweep the village and farm for rumoured hidden fuel supplies. Both sides were under strict orders NOT to destroy the fuel.

Unknown to both sides the ruined village was occupied by the remnants of the Shell LDV, who had been decimated in a previous battle after being deserted by their Anglican allies. Now nursing a bitter hatred of both sides they were determined to fight to the last to defend their village against all-comers.

 As the Hereford Small Traders advanced into the village on the Anglican left flank and Lord Scudamore’s Loyal  Legion did likewise on the Royalist right both suffered casualties when ambushed by the Shell LDV, who knocked out an Anglican armoured car with grenades.

In the centre the BUF reached the barn, where they were inadvertently joined by Lord Scudamore’s Legion seeking cover, and the Gas Street  Irregulars seeking loot. With 75% of the King’s men in the barn the Anglican commander, unaware the barn contained the vital fuel, decided it made too tempting a target for his mortar team to ignore. As spectators held their breath the mortar scored a direct hit, but to the disappointment of the onlookers the bomb turned out to be a dud and failed to explode!

Meanwhile the avaricious tendencies of the Gas Street Irregulars had left the Royalist left flank held by only the BUF Company Sergeant, who now faced the Archenfield Young Farmers and an armoured car advancing along the road through a wood. In an act of seemingly suicidal bravery he charged the Farmers, who failed their morale test and fled. He then survived a machine-gunning attempt by the armoured car and charged it in return. The raw crew also failed their morale test and drove off.  Sgt.’ Mad Wullie’ MacFeeble has been recommended for the Cross of St.George (Iron Class).

A desperate charge towards the barn by the Forest of Dean Free Miners and the Bishop of Hereford’s Suffragen Militia was met with a hail of fire from the BUF HMG and artillery, and repulsed with heavy casualties.  The Shell LDV were finally wiped out by the Royalist cricketers of Lord Smedley’s Gentlemen’s Second XI, and the game ended with the Royalist/BUF forces triumphant, having had the best of luck. If only that mortar shell had exploded...........!

Mr. Morrison was also on the present during a BUF punitive expedition against malcontents on Windy Ridge:

Both sides were tasked with investigating suspicious lights from the church tower and checking the village for spies. The BUF had also assembled a demolition team to destroy the Bishop’s Broadcasting Corporation transmitter on Windy Ridge, which was guarded by the Archenfield Young Farmers.

A cautious approach by both sides uncovered a number of malcontents and deserters lurking in the woods and houses, some of whom surrendered quietly but a few decided to fight and put up a ferocious resistance, causing casualties on both sides, before being eliminated. This diversion basically bogged down the whole centre of the battlefield.

On the Anglican left wing the Forest of Dean Free Miners were driven back from the church by the Cheltenham Ladies College and Gas Street Irregulars, who occupied the tower, but found nothing untoward.

On Windy Ridge the firepower of the BUF supported by an armoured car forced the Archenfield Young Farmers to fall back, but time ran out before the demolition of the transmitter could be carried out.

Kington on the Verge!

Welsh nationalists holding the market town of Kington are on the verge of surrendering, a military spokesman has revealed:

“With the railways cleared of rebel saboteurs, we have been able to transport heavy siege guns from Royalist bases in the West Midlands, and are currently using them to great effect against the Taffies,” he said.

There can be no doubt that Joubert’s men and our brave Territorials have their tails up now, and soon they will have liberated Kington and, with the rebels in full flight back across into Wales, will have secured the border within days!

Ex-Bishop Attacked!

An attempt has been made on the life of the former Bishop of Hereford, currently staying in the city at a guest of Baron de Braose.

At 3 a.m. last Wednesday, an intruder broke into the ex-Bishop’s lodgings in the Green Dragon Hotel and lunged at the stricken cleric with a kitchen knife. Thankfully the noise alerted a section of de Braose’s personal guard, who were also staying at the hotel. These stalwart fellows managed to apprehend the would-be assassin before he could fulfil his gruesome intent.

A man, thought to be a crazed anarchist agitator escaped from nearby Burghill Asylum, is currently being held under arrest at Hereford city gaol.

In order to protect the former Bishop, orders have been given to fly him to an undisclosed location for his personal safety. Captain Arrowsmith’s air flotilla is currently on standby at Hereford Racecourse in readiness for this transportation.

Society News

Sir Barrington Patchpole, QC, is delighted to announce his engagement to Lady Deirdre Ffaines-Muir of Wigmore Manor.

The couple, both long-standing widowers, are believed to have developed a close attachment during their work with the Landowners’ Protection Association, branches of which they both lead.

The State of Play

Once again battles have been fought and the balance of power is shifting. However this time things have been complicated by rumours of the contents of Colonel Pat Mustard’s salacious memoirs, currently in the hands of the Socialists.

Although deemed to be largely a work of fiction by mainstream experts, the possible existence of this scandalous tale of love affairs, assignations and lust among the Establishment has sent ripples of discontent throughout British society. Authentic or not, the manuscript gives the Socialists a strong bargaining chip, for one of their barges, plus it's crew, is currently being hauled out of the river by the BUF.

In Herefordshire, trust in the landed gentry has been shaken. In parishes in and around the scene of the recent Anglican League victory at Aconbury, residents have flocked to the Anglican banner. Local landowners south of Hereford, formerly content to remain neutral, have fallen over themselves to prove, should the manuscript ever be published, their piety and good character under the accusing glare of the ‘lower orders’ in their employ. Further north, newly conquered Brimfield and adjacent parishes have also followed suit and declared for the Bishop of Ludlow.

However most of this area remains loyal to Miss Nemone Mortimer-Wagstaff. With her control over Mortimer Country, Nemone has been looking for a cause (and a husband) for some time, but has been unable to make up her mind until now. Worried by the discovery of Mustard’s memoirs, in which the young lady’s late mother is mentioned, she has made no secret of her desire to possess and destroy the document. In matters of romance her heart is currently torn between the Anglican ‘Shropshire Swain’ and a dashing Royalist officer from Shrewsbury.

To the west, the Welsh border campaign has ended with the Fascists dealing a coup-de-grace to the rebels by pushing them out of their last strategic base at Whitney. However the joint Anglican/Socialist rear-guard has given the retreating forces plenty of time to withdraw and regroup closer to their respective HQs at Ross and Ludlow (now firmly under the Anglican League). The Welsh Nationalists have been similarly repulsed and but are clinging on in a besieged Kington.

A small but potentially significant development is the arrival of the Albertines – supporters of the King’s brother Prince Albert, whose armada sailed in force from his exile in Canada but was scattered by a storm and has landed piecemeal around the British coast. The small force of Albertines that washed up the Severn estuary have negotiated passage through the Forest of Dean and have set up shop along the Wye valley around Welsh Bicknor and Stowfield. They have since fought alongside the Anglicans but, should reinforcements arrive, they may well emerge as an independent faction.

So the Welsh border is largely in Royalist and BUF hands, but this has left the north and south of the county vulnerable to a rejuvenated Anglican League presence. Can the King’s forces anticipate the next threat quickly enough to counter it? Will the accord between Royalist and Fascist continue to hold? Will neutral parties such as the Landowners’ Protection Association and the Twiggy Mommet protest movement survive in an increasingly polarised county? Can the Anglican League exploit it’s recent gains? Will their alliance with the Socialists and Welsh hold now that another Royal has thrown his cap into the ring?

I’ve no idea, but it’ll be fun finding out!

Parish map update

Roo’s Royalist report on the Battle of Kinnersley the other day prompted me to put aside my current Frostgrave obsession for a minute and dig out the parish map that I use to drive the narrative of our games for a well overdue update.

The most obvious thing following the last Big Game is that the forces of The King have made significant advances along the Welsh border.

The failure of the Anglican League’s push from their salient at Eardisley has given the Royalists the impetus needed to move forward against the anti-government presence in the area and tighten their grip around Welsh-held Kington.

They have also followed the retreating Anglicans back to Eardisley, and are also slowly applying a stranglehold there too.

Further south, the strategic river crossing at Bredwardine is still being contested, but the timely arrival of Royalists at Dorstone means that there is enough freedom of movement between these two areas to allow the pro-Government forces to exploit the gap and reinforce the loyal parishes abutting the Golden Valley.

Thus Royalist territory abutting the Black Mountains has expanded slightly at the expense of the anti-Government coalition, including Sir Gilbert, whose plans to control the Golden Valley railway are still being thwarted.

Outside the border zone, the small number of parishes under control of the various Socialist militias has been reduced as their influence continues to wane, whilst in the north-west, Mortimer Country still remains part of the neutral(ish) Landowners’ Protection Association (while a couple of eligible bachelors have piqued the interest of the lady of the manor, none have yet to press their suit with any real determination).

So the initiative rests once again with the pro-Government camp and, along the Welsh border at least, the Anglican League and their allies must dig in. However, while the Royalists and BUF are busy in the region, this leaves their presence depleted elsewhere in the county…

"Conservatism With Knobs On"

Getting my grubby mitts on a set of Blind Beggar’s uniformed female militia got me thinking… I was originally going to paint them up as a women’s BUF unit, but in the end decided to go for one of the smaller right-wing units – the British Fascisti.

The British Fascisti was formed in 1923 by Rotha Lintorn-Orman: an upper middle-class daughter of an army major who served in the Women's Reserve Ambulance and Scottish Women's Hospital Corps during the Great War and gained a penchant for dressing in male uniform.

Like many of her class she was virulently anti-communist, royalist, patriotic and pro-empire. Alarmed by the rise of the left she sought out others with similar beliefs to form the British Fascisti – it’s name inspired by Mussolini’s movement. However Lintorn-Orman’s group was originally more a royalist organisation, as opposed to an explicitly fascist one, leading extreme right-winger Arnold Leese to label it ‘conservatism with knobs on.’

Composed of largely of minor aristocracy, obscure politicians and disgruntled ex-army officers, the group suffered from numerous splits, especially after the general strike, when the anticipated socialist revolution that would allow the BF to spring forward and save the day never materialised. Soon it was eclipsed by larger fascist groups. Riven by factionalism, the group dissolved in 1934, with Lintorn-Orman, dependant on alcohol and drugs, dying in 1935 amid rumours of hedonistic parties.

In the VBCW universe, the British Fascisti is reborn as war breaks out by Lintorn-Orman’s fictional equivalent, Emma Picton-Bryant, who returns from a Swiss alcohol addiction clinic to reform the group. Soon cadres of British Fascisti militias are operating – sometimes as an adjunct to the BUF, sometimes as rivals.

One such cadre, a female section under the command of Lady Lydia Gravie-Browning, has been training with the forces of the BUF’s Lord Cirencester in Gloucestershire. Refusing to be relegated to traditional women’s roles, Gravie-Browning has been vocal in her demands for the group to take a more active combat role. Fed up with her constant (and to his mind, rather shrill) badgering, Lord Cirencester has arranged for this cadre to be transferred to the Three Counties Legion in Herefordshire, where their dark blue uniforms will at least make a change from all that black.

The minis, from Mason's Blind Beggar line, are painted in a rough approximation of Picton-Bryant's uniform, as shown in the Solway sourcebook (minus armbands - I couldn't face painting lots of tiny F's, plus it makes them faction-neutral enough to use in other forces if need be).

(A test piece in BUF uniform - based with a spare bike to act as a messenger/runner)

The Herefordshire Campaign in Maps

When I design scenarios for our Big Games, I use a number of maps to help me identify important places in the county. I also use maps to work out how much territory each faction roughly has control over.

My first port of call is the parish map. I find using parishes a convenient way of splitting up the county. If a faction has a greater military presence in a parish, then it is assumed that they control it. However this is not to say that other factions do not have a presence. Control over parishes is largely driven by how I interpret the result of each game we play, plus the occasional arbitrary decision!

I also have maps for rivers, main roads and railways - e.g. the arteries of the county. These help me decide how each faction can get about.

The most important of these is the railway map (from 1922), as it is assumed that railways were still very much the main way of shifting stuff from A to B in the 1930s. It is no coincidence that the current Welsh border campaign is all abut the control of railway lines.

I found this map in a very interesting thesis. Roads were of course becoming increasingly important, with lorries taking on a greater share of the transport burden. However in Herefordshire, I have deemed roads to be of lesser importance than railways, as even today the road network isn't particularly brilliant. What isn't shown on this map is the network of minor roads, lanes and tracks - it is always possible for factions to travel along these without necessarily other factions noticing.

Rivers, when navigable, offer another alternative, but with the Rivers Wye, Lugg, Arrow, Frome etc. not being particularly suited to large-scale river traffic, these are tenuous links. However for the local Anglican League, largely cut off from other rebel groups, river transport up to Ross-on-Wye must be an important lifeline.

At the start of the civil war, the most parishes looked to their own devices, with the Bishop of Hereford declaring the city for the Anglican League and sending out parties to cover the routes of a possible Royalist advance from Worcester, garrisoning Bromyard and Bishop's Frome.

The next map shows the situation after the inevitable Royalist response, with the King's forces capturing the Anglican positions and marching into Hereford and Leominster. Meanwhile the Anglicans retreated to Ross, whilst the Welsh Nationalists took advantage of the chaos to seize Kington.

Next the Royalists secured the railway lines that link Bromyard, Leominster and Hereford, with the BUF garrisoning the former two. The Anglicans sought to regain the initiative and advanced, via Much Marcle, to Ledbury - the first step in a plan to encircle the county, cut off Hereford and isolate the Royalists into submission.

Alas this plan failed after the battle of Little Hereford and a series of Government counter-attacks which saw the BUF gain control over Ledbury, Much Marcle and nearby Colwall, as well as the Instructional Centre at Shobdon. Royalist forces continued to extend their control over the railway lines, while a new player entered the fray in the form of the Landowners' Protection Association, which united much of the gentry along the front line and the lawless Welsh border. A small Socialist presence also appeared, formed by red forces retreating from the battles of Shobdon and Little Hereford. By this stage neighbouring power blocs outside the county, such as the Shropshire Free State, the Worcestershire Loyalists and the Malvern Hills Conservators, had established themselves .

A shift in the Anligcan's fortunes occurred during the 1st Battle of Foy - BUF bigwig Baron Foy's ill-judged attempt to form an armed stronghold in the bend of the River Wye. The resulting battle saw the BUF cut off by the Anglicans, whose prestige following the victory bought many nearby parishes into the fold. Also of note is the arrival of Sir Gilbert Hill, who persuaded many Golden Valley parishes to join his banner after his part in the rebel victory at Foy. The Welsh Nationalists also began to stir, occupying some outlying border parishes.

The 2nd Battle of Foy saw the Anglican League secure the short-lived BUF stronghold, and the booty it contained, further enhancing their reputation and swinging many neutral parishes in south Herefordshire into their sphere of influence. Sir Gilbert's star also continued to rise as he extended his control in the Golden Valley, hoping to dominate the Golden Valley railway line. In response to their defeat, the Royalists consolidated around Hereford.

With the front between Hereford and Ross largely stabilised, the rebels turned to the Welsh border region. With the booty gained at Foy only lasting so long, the need for a decent supply route from Nationalist north Wales became imperative. A plan was thus hatched to advance across the border from Wales and capture a number of strategic railway junctions between Prestiegne, Kington and Hay, thus linking these towns with the Golden Valley railway. The plan only partially succeeded, and had the side-effect of forcing the local LPA landowners into the Royalist camp. For their part in the fighting, the rebels grudgingly allowed the Socialists to set up worker's councils in a scattering of small, out-of-the-way parishes.

We now come to the latest map (now with the rail network and River Wye added) - the situation after the second part of the Border Campaign. The Welsh have been ejected from Titley and that junction is safe in Royalist hands. However the important river crossing at Bredwardine is still being contested, leaving the newly declared Royalists along the border in grave risk of being cut off by the Anglicans and Sir Gilbert. Aside from this very little has changed as both sides plan their next move.

Will the Anglican League, Welsh Nationalists, Socialists and Gilbertines remain in peaceful coexistence now that their plans have been set back? Will they find alternative supply routes or press ahead with their current plan? Can the Royalists and BUF keep their new allies along the border safe and supplied? What will the next move be for the King's Men?

Parish Map Update

Now that the dust has settled after the last Big Game, it's time to take a look at the lie if the land.

An alliance of Anglican League, Welsh Nationalist and Socialist forces have pushed across the Welsh border to capture the important railway junction at Eardisley, and occupy a strong position to take the strategic Titley Junction.

The allies have elected to keep hold of these gains as part of their grand plan to take control of the Hay-Presteigne line and link it up to the Golden Valley Railway. Much of this line lies under the control of Sir Gilbert. For his part Sir Gilbert has given rival landowners in neighbouring Longtown a bloody nose for daring to oppose his expansionist plans.

The Socialists have demanded a slice of the pie in recognition for their assistance, and their uneasy allies have begrudgingly allowed them to set up shop in a handful of parishes. However these are isolated and separated rural locations where it is hoped they can run their Socialist utopias without upsetting the apple cart too much.

The Royalists and BUF, far from being put on the back foot by the rebel advance, have been galvanised into action. Squads of loyal men have been sent to any neutral parishes along the westbound railway routes from Hereford and Leominster and have secured them against any possible rail-borne thrusts from the Welsh border.

Additionally those border parishes that were under the sway of the Landowners’ Protection Association before Sir Gilbert turned his attentions on them have also taken action; realising that banding together for mutual protection is not enough, the local gentry from Longtown to Clifford have declared their estates for the government and the King.

Plans are being drawn, defences erected and assaults prepared. This will not be the last time that the border will shake to the sound of gunfire...

Big Game News!

Followers of our VBCW Herefordshire big games will be pleased to learn that we're planning another bash - provisionally on Saturday 27th September (subject to change).

With the civil war continuing to rage across the country, shortages abound. In Herefordshire, no faction is immune to the problems of supply as everything from petrol to artillery shells are rationed.

The Royalists and BUF at least have a reasonably secure supply route to Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, but the government, content to keep the county as a buffer zone, is slow to put it's hand in it's pocket.

The Anglican League is forced to rely on a number of meandering, low capacity supply lines incoming from the Forest of Dean up to mid Wales. A significant proportion of supplies are painstakingly carried from ports in the north west, through Nationalist north Wales and down the salient into Monmouthshire. However, with Royalists from Carmarthen establishing outposts as far inland as Brecon, an alternative route must be found.

All eyes are turning from the largely stabilised front in south Herefordshire to the border country in the west, where a railway line loops from Sir Gilbert's Pontrilas to neutral Hay, and thence to Welsh-held Kington and points beyond in Radnorshire. Control of this line would greatly simplify the Anglican's supply route and bypass numerous unsympathetic enclaves in mid Wales.

However between these areas a number of strategic junctions and stations lie either under direct Royalist control, or are jealously guarded by local potentates under the umbrella of the Landowners' Protection Association.

It is clear that all local factions, aided and abetted by numerous interested parties from outside the county, must wrestle for control of the Welsh border parishes and the strategic railway line, before supplies run out...

 

Presenting Miss Bonnie Taylor

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Miss Bonita 'Bonnie' Taylor; Morale officer for my Welsh Nationalist faction.

Miss Taylor was born in Patagonia to a poor but hard-working family of Welsh settlers. Her father, a Methodist preacher, brought her up with the traditional Welsh songs, stories and poems that his father had taken with him to Argentina, as well as tales of the desperate conditions that compelled him to emigrate.

An imaginative and strong-willed girl, Bonnie quickly identified with the land of her forefathers, performing the traditional songs with gusto. When the cause of Welsh Nationalism became intertwined with the stirrings of civil war in Britain, she stepped up her already lively correspondence with various literary and academic figures among the Welsh diaspora and espoused a free Wales to anyone who would listen.

Desperate to support the cause, Bonnie yearned to do her bit in Wales, but being a mere preacher's daughter, felt unable to do so. This changed when she found herself betrothed to a local rancher, a well-off but rough and uneducated man who had little time for her old songs. At the same time, a trickle of men began to leave the area to fight for the embryonic Welsh Nationalist militias.

Seizing her chance, Bonnie slipped away one night with a group of volunteers and armed with nothing more than her lusty voice and her great-grandmother's cawl recipe, found herself on a steamer bound for Britain.

Some say that any true-blooded Welshman will happily charge into the very teeth of death just for a chance to hear that voice or taste that cawl. Others maintain that dashing into those fiery jaws is a distinctly preferable option!

 

The miniature is a camp follower from a Perry Miniatures camp set, with a hat and shawl of Greenstuff.

Updated Parish Map

The Second Battle of Foy has changed the dynamic in the county somewhat, with the victorious factions bringing more parishes under their control, and those who did less well losing face. Time then to update the map!

Having ended the costly siege of Foy and seeing off a BUF attack on their western flank, the successful Anglican League have been able to consolidate their position around Ross and convert a few neighbouring parishes to their cause. Their captured booty places their supply situation in a much less precarious position, enabling them to cautiously push north towards Hereford. Moreover they still pose a threat to Ledbury due to their presence in Eastnor and thereabouts.

The victorious Royalists, although bereft of much heavy weaponry, have been freed up to similarly consolidate and expand around the city of Hereford, taking over of the defence of the area from the myriad neutral militias. Now at liberty, their South African volunteers have re-established themselves between Shobdon and Kington, taking control of the strategic Titley railway junction.

Increasingly a big player in the area, Sir Gilbert Hill has also been able to capitalise on his success by bringing some nearby parishes into his Golden Valley Protecorate, expanding Hill's influence towards the sparsely populated uplands that flank the Black Mountains but currently unable to sway the LPA-dominated Dorstone and thus complete his control over the Golden Valley railway.

Hill’s gains have however been at the expense of the Landowners’ Protection Association, whose ‘marcher lords’ grow increasingly jealous of Sir Gilbert’s influence. On a positive note, many country estates caught between the Anglicans and the Royalists, especially around the important Aconbury Hill astride the Hereford to Ross road, have turned to the LPA in order to keep out of the fighting.

The BUF, while not enjoying the fruits of victory after their embarrassing withdrawal from Foy, remain in control of the main market towns in the county, as well as the strategic points of Rotherwas, Shobdon and Little Hereford, and still hold the Ledbury to Ross route through Much Marcle, including the radio transmitter on Marcle Ridge.

Yet again the Socialists have been unable to establish much of a presence in the county, but are still in force enough to lurk around the fringes and maintain connections with their industrial heartlands. The Welsh Nationalists similarly loiter along the border – still holding Kington as a base for further operations.

Dramatis Personae

I've been pleased and impressed to see how the Herefordshire Big Games have generated a degree of role-playing among the participants, with many characters emerging from among their miniature leaders. With another bash on the cards next March, it is high time that we got to know some them, along with the movers and shakers in the county...


PRO-GOVERNMENT

William de Braose, Interim Governor of the Marches

William de Braose

More information 

A rather shady character of dubious background who has used the civil war to further his career.

Although titled Governor of the Marches, de Braose's power only extends to the areas of Herefordshire under Royalist control.

Jealous of the influence of the BUF (although nominally a member himself), de Braose is having to tread a fine line between the interests of Mosley's government and that of the King (who is attached to via his friendship with the King's equerry and, rumour has it, a number of loans to His Majesty).

De Braose's main job is to keep Herefordshire as a buffer zone between the Anglican League and the Welsh nationalists, and Royalist Worcestershire. However this is being complicated by the infighting between various Royalist and BUF commanders which will eventually force De Braose to pick a side and intervene with all the resources (and small private retinue) his considerabe personal fortune can provide...


Sir Peter Mandie-Benjamin, 1st Baron Benjamin of Foy

Baron Foy (centre)

More information

A prominent government supporter and ardent right-winger, Sir Peter was recently made a life peer under the title Baron Benjamin of Foy and promptly set up shop in the local manor, much to the chagrin of de Braose.

However Baron Foy's plans to seize the initiative and launch an attack on the Anglican League stronghold at Ross from his fiefdom failed when a combined Anglican League and Welsh force succeeded in cutting off the Foy isthmus, and the BUF/Royalist forces therein.

This allowed anti-government forces to take control of most of south Herefordshire and leave a bottled-in Foy and his Royalist allies to fight among themselves.


Captain Alexander Campbell, BUF

Commanding officer of one of the BUF units currently trapped at Foy. The kilt-wearing Campbell, of Oughtawashmurr House, Scotland, has been engaged in a war of words with rebel leader Sir Gilbert Hill, at one point challenging the wheelchair bound aristocrat to a boxing match and calling his secretary Miss Sweetmeat a 'tart'. This ungentlemanly behaviour has drawn the ire of Royalist commander Brigadier Lord Robert Grover, who regards Campbell and his men as an 'ill-bread Scotsman and his irksome Cockney bully-boys.'

In his own words, Campbell describes himself thus: 'The Robert The Bruce infant school, Fort William taught me all I need to know, those skills being honed in the Palestine Police in the recent troubles. If any Sassenachs want a lesson pay me a call.'


Captain Arrowsmith, BUF

A BUF officer who played an active part in the Ledbury campaign, but was in Italy during the Foy debacle. Consequently he is one of the few BUF officers in the county who is currently at liberty.

Rumoured to be a close friend of Mussolini, Arrowsmith has a reputation for brutality among his enemies and has a penchant for burning and/or blowing up buildings, veering his tank off the road and running over his opponents.


Brigadier Lord Robert Grover, The Duke of Farnham's Household Defence Force

Lord Robert (centre)

Officer of The Duke of Farnham's Household Defence Force (the Duke is his uncle) and a cousin of the Baron of Foy.

Currently trapped in his cousin's estate, Lord Robert has taken out his frustrations on BUF commander Captain Campbell.

In fact it could be said that he shows more sympathy for the rebel Sir Gilbert than his BUF allies, who he sees as a nothing more than a necessary evil in the fight against Bolshevism.



Stokkies Joubert, Commanding Officer Kings Own African Legion

Stokkies Joubert commands a unit of South African volunteers who have come to England to fight for their King, forsaking the open veldt for the damp hedges of Herefordshire. Joubert and his men have had a pretty tough time of it as of late, especially during the defence of Strangford, the result of which sees them also trapped in Foy.


Eustace Spode, Commander, King Offa Legion of Blackshorts

Eustace Spode, third from left

More information

Eustace, nephew of the powerful 7th Earl of Sidcup and Blackshort leader Roderick Spode, was exiled to Herefordshire after an unfortunate misunderstanding in a gentleman's convenience in London. Here he was tasked with establishing a Blackshort presence - a task which achieved with remarkable success.

Although theoretically subordinate to the BUF, the Blackshorts have been largely kept at arm’s length, patrolling along the county borders with a degree of autonomy.

As such they were not present during the battle of Foy and as such are one of the few remaining pro-government units still locally at Mosley’s disposal.


Sir Jonathan Porridge and Sir George Moonbat, leaders of the Malvern Hills Conservators.

The Malvern Hills Conservators are the guardians of the Malvern Hills and, while ostensibly Royalist, will fight anyone who tries to encroach on their territory. This includes the BUF, with whom they have developed a bitter rivalry in the area.

At one point the MHC even allied themselves with the Anglican League in order to drive the BUF out of the Malverns and more recently clashed with the Blackshorts.

Miles Straitt-Jackett

Born 1879, only son of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward 'Loopy' Straitt-Jackett and the Hon. Felicia Straitt-Jackett (nee Warming-Knightley).
Educated at Mr. Thrashem's Academy for Young Gentlemen.
Joined Army 1897. Served in Sudan, Gold Coast, Basutoland, Matabeleland.

Despite never hearing a shot fired in anger Major  Straitt-Jackett served with distinction during World War 1, commanding 13th (Colonial) Field Kitchen Unit stationed in Bulawayo.  He was present at the Tsetse Valley Incident when a crowd of rioting Native miners were subdued by volleys of plum duff hurled by his cooks, for which action he was awarded The Order of the Yellow Buffalo (2nd Class).
A good friend of the renowned Major Denis Bloodknock, Major Straitt-Jackett joined the B.U.F. in 1935, in the mistaken belief it was a book club.
Interests : Cricket, Lepidoptery, Taphophilia. He also has a large collection of cheese labels.


ANTI-GOVERNMENT

Brigadier Gideon Langnecke, Military leader of the Herefordshire Anglican League

Brigadier Langnecke

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Since the capture of the previous Anglican League leadership, Langnecke has stepped into the breach as the first professional military man to command the faction.

His fist act was to abandon the disastrous campaign to encircle the entire county and pull back to defensive positions at Ross-on-Wye.

By luck or judgement, Anglican Forces have since established themselves in the south of the county and managed to encircle a considerable number of their enemies at Foy. However they have paid a heavy price for this success and Langnecke is now forced to rely more on his Welsh nationalist allies than many of his men feel comfortable with - a reliance that will continue until the Anglican League can bolster their meagre resources for the next confrontation.


The Bishop of Hereford

The Bishop of Hereford

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Original leader of the Anglican League in Herefordshire and the man responsible for declaring the county against the King.

After initial successes against the government, the Bishop cooked up a half-baked scheme to install a pretender on the throne - a move which alienated him from the national Anglican League leadership and bought the full fury of the Royalists upon him.

He was captured during the disastrous Severn Valley campaign and held at Madresfield, but later managed to escape, only to be recaptured again at the second battle of Ledbury before he could re-join the Anglican lines. Currently a guest of the Governor of The Marches, his status and indeed future is uncertain.


The Reverend Henry Meredith

A fiery Welsh vicar, the 'Bishop of Ross-on-Wye' took command of the remnants of the Herefordshire Anglican League after their defeat in the Severn Valley campaign. With a mix of firebrand rhetoric and personal charm he managed to bring the faction into some semblance of order and stabilise their front.

However he then overreached himself by attempting to link up with anti-government forces in the Midlands and encircling the whole of Herefordshire. His forces got as far as Ledbury, where they held on grimly before being forced to retreat back to Ross-on-Wye.

His military reputation in tatters and with Brigadier Langnecke waiting in the wings, the reverend split himself off from the Anglican League and began a preaching tour of the Welsh border areas, where he was captured by the BUF during a skirmish with the Welsh nationalists.


Capt. Teddy ‘Bear’ Jerningham, Anglican League officer

Before the civil war started Teddy (Bear to his friends) was the personal private secretary to Tory grandee, Sir Archibald Conrad Borrowmere and hoped to become an MP himself. Teddy watched first-hand the collapse of the government and the rise of Mosley.

Teddy was an outspoken critic of the new government and how it went about making new powers for itself and the King.  After a run in with Lord Cirencester and his ‘Political Intelligence Unit’ Teddy was forced to make a run for the country, along with his ‘man’ Purves and the two dogs. Helped by an old friend Hugh ‘Bulldog’ Drummond Teddy made to Staffordshire, here He joined the Anglican League.

Teddy had no military background, but loved the countryside, and country pursuits. Teddy loved nothing better than to be out hunting, fishing or shooting. These pastimes have helped Teddy in his new career. Beagling was Teddy’s favourite sport and he always kept a couple of beagles even when living in London, these dogs, Dynamo and Sprocket are now the platoon mascots.

Teddy spent his early civil war career as a gypsy moving from one unit to another. Now He is part of the Malvern Shock Battalion, like most civil war units not a battalion at all, but 3 under strength companies. The battalion has a tank called Bertie’s Ruin, this is normally short of ammo so is used as a threat or to bully locals. The battalion moves up and down the Welsh border, where the villages are now laws unto themselves and the big manors are the private fiefdoms of their owners.

After his failure to cross the river Wye, Teddy is on the lookout for a couple of boats so He is better prepared next time. Teddy still keeps in touch with his old boss (now in hiding) and other friends from parliament. He knows that Lord Cirencester and his ‘Political Intelligence Unit’ are still after him.


Anthony William Hayle, King of England

King Anthony (centre)

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One-time conman and crackpot, Hayle claims to be the descendant of Sir Richard Hayle, an illegitimate son of Henry VIII and through this lineage claims to be the legitimate heir to the throne.

Wisely keeping his head low at the outbreak of civil war, Hayle was forced to flee to Anglican territory when Royalist forces occupied Hereford.

Here he and his small band of eccentric followers currently form a somewhat embarrassing auxiliary to the anti-government forces.


Miss Jennifer Ryding-Hudd, Commissar, the Joseph Arch People's Column

Ryding-Hudd (left)

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Also known as 'Little Red Ryding-Hudd', this debutante-turned-agitator is the political head of the Joseph Arch People's Column, an offshoot of the People's Assault Column tasked with bringing the revolution to rural Herefordshire.

Under the military command of Comrade Commander Fred Gibbons, the column failed in their attempt to capture a strategic rail junction near Little Hereford in the north of the county as part of the grander scheme to cut off Royalist Herefordshire.

They are currently holed up somewhere near the territory of their allies the Worcester Loyalists at Tenbury Wells.


Sir Gilbert Hill, The Golden Valley Invincibles

Sir Gilbert (seated)

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Sir Gilbert Hill is a land-owner and gentleman farmer from just north of Pontrilas.

While a respectable figure in the local area, he cuts a somewhat different figure over the border into Wales, where he runs a number of ‘legitimate’ interests via a gang of ‘business associates’, posing as Welsh Nationalists.

Sir Gilbert has forged a sizeable satrap in the Golden Valley and has raised his banner in revolt against the King and Mosley.

His forces played a sizeable part in the battle of Foy and his star is in the ascendant – much to the chagrin of the neighbouring gentry.


INDEPENDENTS

Sir Barrington Patchpole QC, Leader, Landowners' Protection Association

Sir Barrington Patchpole (centre)

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Sir Barrington Patchpole, QC, is the nominal head of the Landowners' Protection Association - an umbrella group that represents the interest of the landed gentry in Herefordshire.

While some landowners see the group as a cover to create their own marcher lordships and mini empires, the LPA's main aim is to pool their resources to defend their lands from all and any interlopers.

In the main this means bandits and raiders from across the Welsh border (along which most of the territory protected by the LPA is situated) but also from other factions who might be tempted by the stocks of food and ammunition garnered in the various estates and farms under the LPA's wing.


King Twiggy Mommet

A Twiggy Mommet scarecrow

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Titular leader of the Twiggy Mommet protest movement and descendant of Rebecca and Captain Swing, King Twiggy is believed by folklorists to be an imaginary figurehead, rather than an actual person (although that has not stopped the authorities from putting a price on his head).

Disguised as scarecrows, the movement gives the rural populace an opportunity to vent their anger at the privations of civil war with a degree of anonymity - breaking down roadblocks or vandalising property in the name of King Twiggy.

Across the factions many an unpopular officer or official has woken up to find a sinister scarecrow placed in his garden as a warning of his conduct, while in extreme cases a strange band of straw mannequins can be seen shambling across the battlefield.

Updated Parish Map

After the momentous events of the Battle of Foy, I've decided to update my parish map of Herefordshire.

If you compare it to the pre- Foy game at http://hereford1938.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/herefordshire-parish-map.html, you'll notice that, with the cuting off of the BUF at Foy, the Anglican League has been able to expand and establish a presence around Foy parish.

Also obvious is the appearance of Sir Gilbert Hill's Anglo-Welsh force, and his growing control of the Golden Valley railway from Pontrilas. Note also that the Welsh nationalists have pushed across the border from monmouthshire (from where they have clashed with a BUF presence at St. Weonards, resulting in the capture of Anglican firebrand the Rev'd Meredith - http://mattsgamepage.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/battle-of-st-weonards-mud-and-blood.html)

Apart from a little rejigging of the royalists to cover the railways under their control (plus the addition of the early battles around Bromyard that I forgot to add last time) that's about it.

Herefordshire Parish Map

This is a parish map of Herefordshire, showing the dominant military force in each area.  One of the chaps in the Very British Civil Forum has done something similar with Bedfordshire, and I thought it was a great idea!

Most of the county is not dominated by any single military presence, with the inhabitants looking to their own defence, heedless of the bigger political picture.

On the Royalist side, the City of Hereford and environs are largely protected by the Hereford Municipal LDV, while the Herefordshire Regiment T.A. and other royalist militias are strung out along the main road and rail routes to Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire (with an outpost at Pontrilas on the Hereford – Abergavenny line).

The Fascist B.U.F. and Blackshorts are concentrated around their barracks at Bromyard and Leominster respectively, but have also been given the job of guarding sensitive spots such as Shobdon and Rotherwas. They also have a dominant presence in the newly ‘liberated’ parishes between Colwall, Ledbury and Much Marcle and also near the strategic rail junction by Little Hereford in the north, guarding against the Worcester Loyalists in Tenbury Wells and sundry roaming bands of socialists from the Midlands (who have established themselves in the north-east of the county).

Dotted around the countryside are parishes under the control of the ostensibly royalist Landowners’ Protection Association. The bulk of these are along the vulnerable Welsh border, where the farmers and landowners have banded together to guard against Welsh raiders. Others straddle important road and rail routes, access to which is jealously guarded by the local gentry. Another band of L.P.A. territory acts as a buffer zone between royalist and Anglican Herefordshire.

After initially controlling most of Herefordshire, Anglican League territory has been largely reduced to the ‘Diocese of Archenfield’, a chunk of territory stretching from Ross-on-Wye and environs to the sympathetic communities in the Forest of Dean and the Welsh Nationalists in Monmouthshire. Pockets of Anglican resistance can also be found in and around the Malvern Hills, occasionally acting in concert with the Malvern Hills Conservators.

The Welsh Nationalists have snatched a piece of the county by occupying Kington and its hinterland, although a growing royalist movement in the area is threatening this toehold.

I'll try to keep this map updated as things progress...

The Tân yn Llŷn Brigade

My latest unit, the Welsh nationalist Tân yn Llŷn brigade.

Tân yn Llŷn infantry

Command team

Figures are mainly Brigade games Russian Civil War shock troopers, with the occasional head or weapon swap. The tricolour flag is based on the colours of the Urdd Gobaith Cymru (Welsh League of Hope/Youth), a Welsh youth movement founded in 1922.

Welsh Nationalists in Herefordshire

Considering Herefordshire’s long border with Wales, it is not surprising that there has been a Welsh nationalist presence in the county since the civil war erupted.

Welsh fighters fought for the Anglican League during the first clashes with the Royalists and in return the Bishop of Hereford did nothing to interfere with the spread of Welsh nationalism from North Wales down into the border counties of Radnorshire, Brecknockshire and Monmouthshire – not necessarily fertile ground for the nationalists, but nonetheless capable of sustaining a presence.

This salient into south Wales was able to survive not least in part by having a friendly Herefordshire to the east and only a semi-effective Royalist presence to the West – a presence largely offset by the Socialist ‘Little Moscows’ of the mining 'distressed areas' who were sympathetic towards the more left-leaning elements of Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru.

With the defeat of the Herefordian Anglican League and their retreat to Ross, this salient changed from a useful buffer zone to a vital supply line from the main nationalist areas of North Wales. The formation of the nationalist ‘Mountain Goats’ illustrates how both the Welsh were prepared to safeguard this mountainous route and thus keep the Royalists occupied with the Anglicans on the south Wales border.

The Welsh further assisted their allies with the formation of the Tân yn Llŷn brigade, named after the famous incident that was partly responsible for the explosion of nationalism in Wales. The Tân yn Llŷn brigade consisted of volunteers from throughout the Celtic fringe, including Cornishmen, Breton nationalists, Basque refugees and even second/third generation Welsh and Scottish from the Americas.

Armed and equipped from allies in Europe via cover organisations such as Yr Undeb Pan-Geltaidd (the Pan-Celtic League) and clad in locally made uniforms, this ‘brigade’ is intended to act as a core of ‘regulars’ around which local militias can be rallied when the time comes for the Welsh to once again march to the aid of the Anglican League or defend the precious salient.

Welsh nationalist officer

Welsh HMG team

It's The Bishop!

Making a rather ignominious appearance at the 2^nd Battle of Ledbury was the Bishop of Hereford, who declared Herefordshire for the Anglican League at the outbreak of the civil war. After initially holding back Royalist incursions into the county, he inadvisably attempted to set up a pretender to the throne, claiming him to be the supposedly deceased Prince John, earning himself the ire of the King.

The Bishop’s forces were eventually defeated in the Severn Valley campaign (one of the first Big Games at Evesham), and he was captured and taken into custody while Herefordshire fell largely under Royalist control.

Clad in a modest black robe, the Bishop proved a quiet and contemplative prisoner, leading a simple confinement of prayer and study, earning himself a transfer from the Tower of London to a more comfortable exile at Madresfield House, Malvern.

It was here that pressure was put on him to return to Hereford as a reformed man, where he was to gain his freedom by arranging for the treasured Mappa Mundi and Chained Library to be transferred into the ‘protection’ of the King’s private collection.

However the government car he was travelling in mysteriously crashed en-route, smack in the middle of what was soon to become the Second Battle of Ledbury. Uninjured, the Bishop fled the scene and his captors, hiding in the privy of a nearby farm until he could make his way to the Anglican lines. Unfortunately the farm was occupied as headquarters of the besieging Royalists, and his presence was eventually discovered.

Assumed to have been recaptured, his current whereabouts and status are unknown…

(The figure is a Perry Miniatures Carlist War priest, with Westwind head and TAG helmet.)

Dr. Lisle Carr, the real Bishop of Hereford 1931-1941

Charles Lisle Carr (1871 – 1942) was an Anglican clergyman who served as the second bishop of the restored see of Coventry before becoming the 107th Bishop of Hereford in 1931.

He was born in Alnwick, Northumberland and was educated at Liverpool College, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, to which he was elected a Fellow in 1934. After university he took Holy Orders at Ridley Hall, Cambridge and embarked on a varied clerical career that took him to many urban locations.

Carr was curate of Aston juxta Birmingham, 1894–97; Redditch, 1897; Tutor of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, 1897–1902; Vicar of St Sepulchre, Cambridge, 1901–02; Vicar of Blundell sands, Liverpool, 1902–06; Rector of Woolton, Liverpool, 1906–12; Vicar of Yarmouth 1912–20; Archdeacon of Norfolk, 1916–18; Archdeacon of Norwich, 1918–20; Vicar of Sheffield, 1920–22; Honorary Canon of Sheffield Cathedral, 1920; Archdeacon of Sheffield, 1920–22; Bishop of Coventry, 1922–31; Bishop of Hereford, 1931–41.

In 1905, Carr became part of 'The Group Brotherhood', originally a trio of young like-minded evangelicals who had become alarmed by the tensions between and alienation of different camps in the anti-ritualist, anti-high church evangelical movement at the time. Campaigning for a more positive, thoughtful and relevant attitude among evangelicals through a series of informal gatherings with sympathetic friends. Annual conferences were also held, and, after 18 years, the group had become structuralised with an elected committee.

During his tenure as Bishop of Hereford, Carr participated in an initiative from the Bishop of Chelmsford, who launched a grand appeal in the 1930s to help fund the building of new churches in the populous section of his diocese adjacent to London’s east end. The Bishop’s fund reached £300,000, £6,000 of which was raised by the diocese of Hereford towards the costs of £11,000 for the building of a new church at St George's, East Ham, replacing the temporary structure.

In honour of the funds raised in Hereford, the church was renamed 'St George and St Ethelbert', and Carr laid the foundation of the new church on 9 May 1936. Handing over the first instalment to the bishop of Chelmsford – a cheque for £3,000, Bishop Lisle Carr remarked, amid laughter: "I may say that this is the largest cheque I have written in my life".

Carr continued with words that, in the make-believe universe of VBCW, may prove to be rather apt: "I venture to ask all the people who will enjoy this church that now and again they will remember their friends in Hereford and pray for those in that diocese, where, in the loneliness of country parishes, isolated among our hills, where communications are bad and difficult, the beacon of God is still strong among us. Pray that He may give us spiritual life, as we shall continue to work and pray for you."

Carr retired in 1941, dying later that year.