The British Flat Figure Society - International Flat Figure Society

Transcription

Journal
The British Flat Figure Society
No 89
The Last Supper
Egyptians
Summer 2008
BFFS Journal No 89 - SUMMER 2008
Contact The committee and Area Representatives of the Society
Journal
of
The British Flat Figure
Society
Journal No 89 Summer 2008
Society Contacts
Please send all information to be published
in the Journal to Jerry Mortimore. All other
correspondence with the Society should be
addressed to Simon Hoggett. Society Sales
are handled by Michael Creese. Membership applications and renewals go to
Charles King. All addresses can be found
on this page.
The next Journal
The copy deadline for the next Journal is
15 July 2008 for the Autumn edition.
Contributions to the Journal can be typed,
handwritten or digital. If supplying scanned
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the better.
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(by air mail). Subscriptions are due for
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British Flat Figure Society, not to the
Membership Secretary or any individual
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2
Hon. Secretary:
Simon Hoggett, 23 Parkhurst Road,
Hertford SG14 3AZ
Tel: 01992 586568
E-mail:webmaster@britishflatfigures.org.uk
Membership Secretary:
Charles King, 224 Homefield Park, Sutton, Surrey,
SM1 2EA
Tel: 0208 643 5168
E-mail: charlesking1724@yahoo.co.uk
HAMPSHIRE: Chris Parkin,
17 Constable Close, Black Dam,
Basingstoke, Hants, RG21 3QY
SOUTH‑WEST: Tony Du‑Vall,
4 Pixie Dell, Braunton,
North Devon EX33 1DP
SOUTH‑EAST: Situation vacant.
BRISTOL & AVON: Situation vacant.
Treasurer:
Dr Bob Williams, 2a Old Bury Road, Thetford, Suffolk, IP24 3AN.
MIDLANDS: Jon Redley, 64 York Avenue, Finchfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV3 9BU.
Tel: 01902 423732
Editor:
Jeremy Mortimore, 17 Redwood Drive,
Wing, Leighton Buzzard, Beds LU7 0TA
Tel: 01296 688455
E‑mail: jerry@mortij.demon.co.uk
NORTH‑EAST: M.G.Wardle, 96 West
End Drive, Horsforth, Leeds LS18 5JX
Tel: 0113 258 1508
Additional Committee Members:
Ian Parkinson, Ashton House, Main Street, Hemingbrough, Selby, North Yorks YO8 6QE
Andrew Nickeas, 25 Newbold Way, Kinoulton, Nottinghamshire NG12 3RF
Distribution & Printing:
Mike Taylor, Stonechat House,
8 Ferndell Close, Cannock, Staffs
WS11 1HR
Joe Melvin, 21 Ridgeway, Aldridge,
Walsall, WS9 0HL
Malcolm MacDonald, 279 Blackberry Lane, Four
Oaks, Sutton Coldfield,
West Midlands B74 4JS
Archivist:
Richard Hyne, 23 Letchworth Road,
Baldock, Herts. SG7 6AA
Society Sales:
Michael Creese, ‘Nutwood’,
Great Glemham Road, Stratford St Andrew,
Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17 1LL
Tel: 01728 602746
Webmaster:
Simon Hoggett, 23 Parkhurst Road,
Hertford SG14 3AZ
Tel: 01992 586568
E-mail:webmaster@britishflatfigures.org.uk
Area Representatives
LONDON: Phil Redman, Georgian House,
50 Games Road, Cockfosters,
Herts. EN4 9HW. Tel: 02084 408475
NORTH‑WEST: Malcolm Collins,
16 Tithe Barn Street, Currock, Carlisle,
Cumbria CA2 4EL. Tel: 01228 46444
WALES: S.G.Rutherford, 5 Coleridge Road, Beechwood, Newport, Gwent. NP9 8HY
Tel: 01633 273014
EAST ANGLIA: Michael Creese, ‘Nutwood’, Great
Glemham Road,
Stratford St Andrew, Saxmundham, Suffolk IP17
1LL Tel: 01728 602746
SCOTLAND: John Russell,
2 Marcus Crescent, Aberdeen AB21 0SZ
Tel: 01224 790680
EUROPE & OVERSEAS: Situation vacant.
NORTHERN IRELAND:
C.W.Robinson, 25 Princetown Road,
Bangor, Co. Down,
Northern Ireland BT20 3TA
CANADA & USA:
Kevin W.Dunne, 1854 Stone Avenue,
East Meadow, NY 11554, USA.
Tel:516-567-8195
E-mail: KDUNNE@courts.state.ny.us
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND:
John Brewer, 18 Selby Avenue,
Dee Why 2099, Australia
ITALY:
Gianpaolo Bistulfi, Via Alberti 10,
20149 Milano, Italy
Tel: 02 33106690
E‑mail: bistulfi@orionesrl.it
Front Cover: Glorious Empires.
Some new flats from GEM, see Kjeld's
article on page 4 .
4. The (Glorious) Empires Strikes Back.
Kjeld Buccholz reviews some fabulous new
figures from Jacques Vullinghs.
6. What's New.
Flats from the pages of Die Zinnfigur.
8. The Great War.
The early days of the War by Jon Redley.
9. Knowle 2008.
9. At the Time of the Mary Rose.
Tudor maritime history.
16.Aviation News.
T h e l a t e s t f ro m o u r Av i a t i o n
Correspondant.
19. Odds and Ends.
Kjeld Buccholtz and Adrian Forman.
20.The 1st Schleswig Holstein War
1848-50.
Roy Boardman tells us about his
diorama.
23. Angus and Alastair Bantock
An affectionate memoir from Michael
Creese.
24. Glorious Empires.
Some new flats from GEM, see Kjeld's
article on page 4 .
Once again the Journal is a bit late - this
time because I did not have enough content
to fill it, so not my fault. And once again
Jon Redley and Kjeld Buccholz have come
to my aid, my thanks to them and the other
contributors. I am finishing this in haste so
apologies for any typos, etc.
I have started running a series of articles
about the Mary Rose. I have always been
enthusiastic about Naval history and figures
and before the Mary Rose was raised, way
back in October 1982, I joined the the Mary
Rose Society. This was a forerunner of the
Mary Rose Trust that took over from the
Society in 1979 to put the whole operation
to raise the ship on a more professional
footing.
The series of papers produced by the
Soceiety were written by Peter Whitlock
and illustrated by Neil Evans. A few years
back I found them when I was having
a clearout, along with other items from
the Society. I contacted the Trust to see
if anyone would want them and to my
surprise the Trust library did not have any,
apparently the transition from Society to
Trust did not run smoothly. I donated my
set to the Trust.
I would also highly recommend a visit to
Portsmouth to see the Mary Rose, along
with the Victory and the Warrior. The Mary
Rose museum is fascinating, well laid
out and with so many artefacts recovered
from the wreck, even a little glass phial
containing Tudor fleas. The surgeons
instruments are pretty gruesome.
www.maryrose.org
www.historicdockyard.co.uk
The new figures from Glorious Empires
look fantastic. I reckon the 'Last Supper'
flat should take some painting.
Yet more aircraft from Dick Jenkins - how
does he keep them coming so fast, and how
does Mike Taylor keep up with painting
them? Amazing.
Look forward to seeing you all at Knowle.
I hope this Journal gets out in time.
I must admit revisiting these articles
rekindled my interest. There are no figures
directly relating to the Mary Rose, but I
am sure it must be possible to create a
deck scene using period figures, some of
the Golberg market scenes, perhaps some
conquistadores, etc. I really must try this.
The BFFS meeting will be held on 15th
June 2008 at Knowle.
The opinions expressed within this
Journal are not necessarily those of the
Editor, the Committee, other officials, or
the British Flat Figure Society.
EuroMilitaire 2008 will be held over the
weekend of 20th-21st September at the
Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone
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Interrogation
Ney and Fourquet
4
a look at his website, where some of these
new ventures will be updated as the projects
comes along.
As he writes on his website:
“One of the reasons for choosing
Maastricht as our site is the central location in the cockpit of “Old” Europe. We
are within hours of the main Historical
and cultural sites and Museums/private
collections in Holland, Belgium, Germany,
France and the United Kingdom. London
with its wealth of Museums and expositions,
it’s amazing libraries and record offices and
a calendar filled with cultural events.
Since Jac Vullinghs has become a full time
editor he certainly has been very productive
and lately he has been busy, very busy, and
has a lot of new 54 mm flats coming up as
seen here. I have, with his kind permission,
been given the opportunity to show a
few previews of what is next in line, plus
revealing some of his future projects.
There’s new figures from Old
Egypt, religious figures, Waterloo, other
Napoleonics, amongst these some Maastricht market civilians, WW2, just to name
a few of the newcomers. He also has a few
delightful Fable figures “Nursery Rhymes
by Catherine Milton” designed by Mike
Taylor and engraved by Regina Sontag.
Normally these are sold by Frau Sontag,
and still are.
There are actually a lot of other
exciting things happening at Jac’s place.
From September, there will be reproductions of oil paintings by Eugene Leliepvre.
He is working on a showroom now and a
special diorama building area in his workshop.
The house has separate guest suites
that he is renovating, and from August he
will start offering Specialised Weekends
with bed and breakfast facilities. Do take
Very close to many of the main battlefields in Europe, 1 hour to Quatre-Bras
and Waterloo, 5 hours to the Normandy
Beaches, 2 hours to Arnhem (a bridge too
far), 90 minutes to Bastogne (battle of the
Bulge), 6 hours to Blenheim, 1 hour from
the largest open-air WW2 tank museum and
let us not forget 3 hours to Paris to visit
the Champs de Mars, Compiegne and Les
Invalides plus one or two other pleasures
Paris has to offer.”
So summing it all up, there’s surely
something for everyone, who likes and
enjoy our mutual hobby, in all its facets.
For further information:
Jacques Vullinghs / Glorious Empires
Ad Oude Minderbroeders 20
6211 HM Maastricht
Holland
E-mail: j.vullinghs@gloriousempires.
com
Skype : Glorious Empires.
Front cover: Two contrasting sets - 'The
Last Supper' in a single large flat and an
Egyptian princess with attendants.
Page 4: From the Desert War in WWII,
interrogation of two British P.O.W.s and
three figures from the Napoleonic period,
two Marshall Ney and one of Fourquet.
This page: Two WWII pilots and 'The
Dance of the Golden Calf'
Back cover: Children's nursury rhymes
'Jack and Jill' and 'Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat'
and figures from a Maastricht market.
5
Figures from the pages of Die Zinnfigur.
All figures 30mm unless otherwise stated.
Top is a set of modern sports, including
roller blades, skateboards and Nordic
walking. Designed and engraved by
K-W Rieger and edited by Jörg Scheibe,
Ottenbergstrasse 16, 39106 Magdeburg.
www.joerg.scheibe.de.vu.
by k.Breyer and engraved by
Rieger. Available from Roger
Histel, Narzissenweg 26,
66539 Neunkirchen.
Tel 06821/14538.
Email: roger.histel@gmx.de
Next is Tarzan of the Apes in 45mm.
Designed by Bollenbach and engraved
by Sonntag. Available from Essener
Zinnfiguren Kabinett, Christa and Karlheinz
Kochbeck, Hufeisen 24, 45139 Essen. Tel.
0201/535869.
A 75mm figure 'Die Nelke',
some sort of flower fairy.
Designed and engraved
by Reginna Sonntag and
available from Berhard
Bakat, Hubertusstr.8, 40882
Ratingen. www.inZinn.de.
Bottom are some Roman civilians, also
from Essener Zinnfiguren Kabinet.
Not shown are some nice sets of figures from
Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign. Designed
6
Also a set of 15th Century
Burgundians from Wilken. (Is
Wilken taking over some of
the Tobinnus figures?)
On this page are a spirited and colourful
set of figures from Haiti 1791-1804. These
were designed by Dr. Dangschat and
engraved by Rolf Baumgarten.
Available from Kulturhistoriche
Z i n n f i g u r e n , A l e x a n d e r Wi l k e n ,
Lusenstrasse 1, 94258 Fraunau.
Tel. 09926/180597.
email alexander@zinnfigurn-wilken.de
www.zinnfiguren-wilken.de
(I know a bit about this, Toussaint
l'Overture, Dessalines and so on, but what
really happened? Anyone know?)
7
We all have our own reasons for collecting
flats: for some it is the military splendour
they offer, for others it is the opportunity to
create an image of the past via a diorama.
For other collectors it is the challenge of
painting the two dimensional shape to
create a figure that appears solid and there
are others who collect because of the wide
variety of subject matter available; after all
there is no period in history and to a growing
extent no cultural aspect left untouched by
the editors of flats.
Shortly I shall retire from the world
of work and become, after completing the
ever-growing list of things to do about the
house, prepared by she who must be obeyed,
a man of leisure. In preparation for this I
recently paid a visit to the loft and looked at
the ranks of unpainted flats purchased over
the years and thought “Your time is about to
come!” Needless to say amongst all those
boxes in the loft I became sidetracked and
8
re-found some work that my mother had
done on our family history (another area to
help the retired to fill their time). This find
combined with the fact that I now discover
that I am a resource for my students studying history – that is right, the events of the
1950s and beyond form part of the GCSE
and A-level syllabus! With these thoughts
in mind I wondered about producing a
small diorama that reflected parts of my
forebears’ lives. I have long admired the
large majestic works of Ed Humphreys
and the smaller more intimate dioramas
of Michael (Cannock) Taylor, how both of
them are able to create a snapshot of their
chosen event.
Armed with this intention to fulfil
some of my retirement usefully I set about
looking at my mother’s family history research. I knew both my grandfathers fought
in the Great War but not the exact details.
Unfortunately my mother’s father died be-
fore I was born and at a time when I could
talk to my paternal grandfather I was more
interested in sport and all things teenage.
I do however remember him staying with
us when the BBC started its ‘Great War’
series. Having a history in history he and
I watched, one Saturday night, one of the
programmes. Early in the programme there
was filmof troops moving up to the front
and these images caused my grandfather to
start crying. The reason was he recognised
a friend who was to die in the trenches.
Besides the narration the BBC also added
a sound track and not long after composing
himself there was a sequence showing an
artillery barrage. The effect of this was to
have him curled up in a ball behind the
chair. This was the last he ever watched of
the programme or spoke of the events he
experienced. At a later point I spoke to my
father about these events and apparently my
grandfather never spoke to him about his
service during the Great War. Then again
he hardly shared his experiences with his
father or myself.
On investigating my mother’s notes
I discovered that my maternal grandfather
had signed up before 1914 and at the time
of the mobilisation he was a Farrier in the
Grenadier Guards. On this basis I currently assume he formed part of the B.E.F.
and therefore served in France frm the
outbreak of hostilities. I then discovered
that my paternal grandfather had served
from 1914-18 with the Northamptonshire
Regiment, unfortunately it was not clear
from the research he had enlisted prior to
August 1914. This information then created
the situation that both my grandfathers had
been members of the British Expeditionary
Force and served in France from the early
months of the Great War.
With these facts in mind, possibly
from a more romantic viewpoint than a factual one, I thought |that I would undertake
a small diorama based on one of the actions
from the retreat from Mons. Unfortunately
the call for dinner and the joys of work
have prevented further detailed research,
but I have become ‘fired-up’ with this
idea. (I suppose we all hope for heroes in
the family cupboard rather than the usual
skeletons). I have managed a quick check
through all those boxes of unpainted flats
and …… nothing. This then is where I
need your help, is there anyone who can
direct me to an editor (hopefully more than
one) who produces figures suitable for the
British Army of 1914?
I know that Dick Jenkins has the
‘Captain Billy’ set, which is based on the
Battle of the Somme, and this could be
converted, but one stage at a time; after
all I am hoping to create a diorama and
that is a big enough break from my usual
routine. Likewise Dick also has the London
Scottish figures from the 1914 campaign,
but these would require major surgery to
produce English regiments at the time of
Mons. From visits to Scholtz’ stand at
Kulmbach I know that he has a number of
Great War figures but all I have been able
to collect are French or German troops. I
know Neckel has some World War I British figures but again they appear to be the
post-1916 period but I do remember Doctor
Lovell Barnes telling me that Gottstein
used Neckel figures in the diorama of the
disembarkation of troops from the River
Clyde (now in the Imperial War Museum)
and I think that from memory many of these
wore the peaked cap of 1914. I also purchased a set of flats from Tobinnus of early
First World War German infantry marching
so possibly he might have a similar set of
British Infantry of the period.
Is it not always the way – all those
flats you have in your collection, you get
an idea but you do not have the figures!
So if anyone can help please let our editor
know. In that way we can all share in my
misfortune. Many thanks in advance for
your help.
The Annual Meeting this year will be held
at the Solihull Masonic Temple, 1621
Warwick Road, Knowle, Solihull, B93
9LF, on Sunday the 15th June. The meeting will start as usual at 11.00am and finish
around 4.00pm.
Coffee, tea and biscuits will be available in
the hall. Knowle is an attractive little town
with a wide range of pubs and restaurants.
There is some parking at the Temple, which
is adjacent to the Wilsons Arms, which has
a very large car park.
Hall and car park is on the left by road sign
(humps for 440 yds).
The meeting is not restricted to members
only; please invite anyone with an interest
in attending.
From the Motorway: Leave from Junction
5 on the M42 onto A4141 and head south
for Knowle. At half distance to the Masonic
Hall pass a large roundabout. Entrance to
As usual, the meeting will be non-competitive, a chance for members and friends
to simply display their work in a friendly
atmosphere. We do need as many people
as possible to display some of their work.
With no competitions and no judging
there is no need to be shy, we all want to
see what others are doing so bring your
work along.
From Warwick: North on the A4141. After
passing through Knowle High Street and
shops, the Masonic Hall is first entrance
on the right after Wilsons Arms.
Dick Jenkins (Western Miniatures), Ed
Humphreys (Glorious Empires) and John
Russell (Fredericus Rex) are usually in
attendance with figures to sell.
This year’s theme is ‘Western Miniatures’,
Dick’s figures are wide ranging and there is
a lot of potential. It would be great if people could bring along painted examples of
Western Miniatures figures and any figures
that they wish to sell or trade.
9
1. Introduction.
The World Maritime Scene and Ship
Evolution.
In the latter part of the 15th century a
‘merger’ took place between the north
European sail plan of a single mast with
a square sail and the Mediterranean rig
of fore and aft triangular ‘lateen’ sails,
thereby accelerating the development of
the true ocean going ship. This new sail
plan, together with the invention of the
centre line rudder, permitted a vessel to
take advantage of a wind from the stern
with the square sail and to progress to
windward with the lateen.
This combination opened up the
world’s oceans to trade and exploration
a vital necessity following the Ottoman
Turk’s closure of the ancient caravan routes
through the Middle East. Constantinople
fell to the Turks in 1453 and Egypt in 1517,
which effectively turned the Mediterranean
into a cul de sac and reduced the power of
the great Italian trading centres. The spices
of the East were in demand in the West as
a status symbol and against the foulness
of the meat. (In the Middle Ages a peck
of pepper (2 gallons dry measure) was
worth more than a man's life). Venice and
Genoa had imported the silks and spices
10
from Palestine and traded with linen, wool,
and timber from Europe. Concentration on
routes westward out of the Mediterranean
brought Spain and Portugal quickly into
prominence as ocean powers. In 1488 the
Portuguese Bartholomew Diaz rounded
the Cape of Storms (Good Hope) and on
Christmas Day 1492 the Genoese, Christopher Columbus, sailing under the Spanish
Flag (Henry VII had turned him down)
discovered the West Indies. It was known
that the earth was round although the flat
earth theory still held some sway in the 16th
century
and
Columbus had
hoped to sail
direct to Cathay
(China). Quarrels developed
between Spain
and Portugal
and this power
struggle was
settled by Pope
a maritime power at this time although a
Genoese, Giovanni Caboto, (John Cabot)
sailing under the English flag from Bristol
in 1497 did discover Newfoundland.
The Carrack had now evolved as
the vessel suitable for exploring and trading on the oceans of the world a rather
tubby cargo-carrying hull with dimensions
measured in a tonnage capacity linked to
wine. A ship of 600 tons burthen was of a
size capable of carrying 600 wine tuns and
this measurement continued into the 18th
century. Mary Rose was of this broad type
of ship. Castles were fitted to the carrack’s
beamy hull and this, now four-masted ship,
could also engage in land style fighting
at sea.
A major reason for the success of
Spanish and Portuguese domination of
world exploration was the scholarship of
Henry, Prince of Portugal, (1394-1460)
known generally as Henry The Navigator who was the inspiration of explorers
long after his death. He attracted math-
Alexander VI drawing an
imaginary line down the
Atlantic on Columbus's
line of no magnetic variation granting all land
discovered on the east of
this line to Portugal and
to the west of it Spain.
In 1499 Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese
Navigator, sailed around the Cape of Good
Hope and returned with spices from India,
a voyage that gave 600% profit. The world
was circumnavigated by the ships of the
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan,
under the Spanish flag between 1519 and
1522 although he did not live to complete
the voyage himself.
England could not be classed as
ematicians of many nationalities to teach
navigation, astronomy, cartography and
the use of instruments, to ships captains
and pilots at the naval arsenal of Sagres
in the Algarve. Sebastian Cabot, son of
John Cabot, brought many of the secrets
of Portuguese navigation to England on his
return in 1548. The science of navigation
proved to be the basis of the world search
for riches. By the 16th century ships had
the magnetic compass, gimbal mounted
to remain stable and the navigator could
steer by the Pole Star and sun using the
cross staff to measure the angle between the
horizon and the star. This in turn enabled
him to work out the latitude.
King Henry VIII encouraged the
science of navigation and founded Trinity
House as a guild of ‘Shipmen and Mariners’. This quickly became the centre for
the advance of navigation and training in
pilotage in England. Indeed Thomas Spert,
Master of the Mary Rose in 1513 became
the first Master of Trinity House in 1514.
Henry VIII also founded the Guild of St Barbara to improve the status of gunners. The
ocean going fighting ship emerged early in
the 16th century as is importantly demonstrated by Mary Rose. King Henry VII laid
a foundation in shipbuilding as exampled
by the construction of the first proper dry
dock in Portsmouth in 1495 trade, and
increased profits being the spur. His son
King Henry VIII had military objective as
incentive and was aware of the advances in
navigation and the improvement of the gun.
This led to an appreciation of sea power.
Mary Rose, a King’s ship, was built in the
Portsmouth dock in 1509 11 and largely
rebuilt in 1536. The adoption of placing
guns broadside within the hull, brought
into being the single purpose fighting ship
the ocean going warship was born. Henry
VIII also expanded his father’s dock and
store area into a Royal Dockyard.
The two other types of fighting ships
at the time of Mary Rose were the Galley,
an oared fighting vessel of the Mediter-
ranean, and the galleas.
Although the oared galley
was highly manoeuvrable
and efficient with its bow
ram and the addition of
the gun, it was not suitable
for the sea and the swell
conditions of the oceans.
The galleas was a blend
of galley and carrack, part
sail and part oar propulsion to provide a stable
and manoeuvrable gun
platform. It suffered the
defects of compromise.
The Galleon developed within 30 years
of the loss of Mary Rose.
The word galleon really
means major fighting vessel and covers both the
nimble fighting ships of England and the
more ponderous heavy gun platform for
close quarter fighting of the Spanish.
Within 50 years of the death of
Henry VIII England was a power and
influence on the oceans and shipbuilders
now concentrated on the ship of the line of
battle. The King’s ships were soon to be His
Majesty’s Ships, (HMS). (Circa 1625)
Building the Ships and obtaining the
Men
To build and fit out the 600 ton burthen ship
of the time of Mary Rose took something
in the order of 100,000 plus cubic feet of
timber (2,830 cu metres) and despite forests
being within reasonable distance of ship
building sites at Portsmouth and on the
Thames, it was a task of some magnitude
to get the timber to the dock roads were
almost non existent and a timber drag could
only haul about 50 cubic feet in one load.
Rigging blocks had to be manufactured and
a ship like Mary Rose probably needed a
thousand of these. Canvas, a cloth woven
from hemp, was needed for the sails; hemp
for rope making, and mast timber was
shipped from the Baltic. Mary Rose might
well have required 10 miles of rope. Some
timbers such as the knees, which held the
deck beams, had to be specially selected.
Wooden nails called treenails (trennels)
secured the planks of the hull and wrought
iron fastenings secured deck planks and
knees. Ships were built by eye, experience
and rule of thumb, not by carefully
following a detailed drawing and many
builders in England at the time of the early
Tudors came from Venice. Timbers were
sawn in a sawpit with two men using a saw
vertically and the shipwright and carpenters
used the adze for shaping timbers.
Men were ‘prest’ into service to
man a King’s Ship. It was natural at the
time for labour to be directed, either a man
shouldered his bill, pike, or long bow, and
followed his lord and master as required,
or if his livelihood was the sea he could be
directed into a King’s ship or both a ship
and her men could be taken to supplement
the King’s army upon the sea. Ships tended
to lay up and refit in the winter and a man
giving service in a King’s ship was paid a
half penny a mile ‘conduct money’ to and
from the ship, in addition to pay.
Discipline and Shipboard Duties
Within a King’s Ship the Captain held
overall tactical command but he was not
necessarily knowledgeable in the ways of
ships. The senior mariner was the Master,
experienced in the handling and pilotage
or navigation of ships. He was assisted
in running the seamanship aspect by his
mates who would stand watches so that
there would always be one on duty. During
a watch the Mate would be responsible for
the helmsman on the tiller and the conning
of the ship, the taking of sights of the sun
or stars using an astrolabe and cross staff
if required in addition to those taken by
the Master and pilot and recording the
courses steered, with their time duration
on a ‘traverse board’ for a running record.
He was assisted by Quartermasters who
were additionally responsible for stowage
in the hold to maintain trim. Navigational
information was rudimentary, consisting
of a ‘rutter’, a form of manuscript pilot
book giving guidance and describing
coasts, ports, rocks, and shoals. This was
supported by a ‘portolan’ or compass rose
chart so that the pilot could plot a course.
The Master’s Mates also measured the
11
speed of a ship using a line on a reel that
had knots at intervals. A float on the end
of the line was cast into the sea and the
number of knots that ran off the reel in a
specified time gave the speed in ‘knots’.
A very good speed for a carrack would be
5 6 knots, average speed 4 knots.
Changes of the sail carried, either
increase or decrease, would be directed by
the Boatswain and his Mates as required by
the Master. The Boatswain being second
to the Master in seamanship command and
responsible for all sails and ropes and the
direction of the seamen at their work.
A yard carrying a sail was hoisted
or lowered to change the amount of sail
carried. Extra strips could be laced to a sail.
The Boatswain and his Mates directed the
men by using the shipman’s whistle, later
called a Boatswain Call. This instrument
was also a symbol of authority worn by
Admirals and Masters of ships. The seamen
were divided into watches but all hands
would be required for a major change to
the sail plan it would have taken about
200 men to hoist the main yard.
Most of the men on board in time
of war would be soldiers from the militia,
(archers, pikemen, billmen) and gunners,
their officers being directly responsible to
the Captain and not acquainted with ships
and the sea. Many gunners would be continental mercenaries due to the introduction
12
into England of the new muzzle loading
bronze guns. As a generality the term mariner meant an experienced seaman.
All the men on board would be
subject to the same discipline as directed by
two sets of instructions to both officers and
men – ‘The Black Book of The Admiralty’,
an English codification of the ancient Laws
of Oleron brought into England by Eleanor
of Aquitaine in the 12th century and ‘Orders
to be used in the King's Majesty's Navy by
the sea’, written by Thomas Audley (later
Lord Chancellor) in 1530.
These orders held good until the
‘Articles of War’ over 100 years later. An
example
“If any man draw a weapon within
the ship to strike his captain, he shall lose
his right hand”.
There were no uniforms for seamen,
an early Tudor seaman normally possessed
one set of clothing in which he both worked
and slept. Captains were instructed not to
permit straw bedding, as it was “perilous
for fire work”. Most men would have slept
on the bare deck the hammock had not
yet arrived in English Ships.
Pay, Food and Disease.
During Henry VIII’s reign pay for
seamen was remarkable in that it appears
to have been paid regularly this scarcely
happened again for 200 years! A Captain
received 1s 6d (7½p) per day and a seaman
5 shillings (25p) per month. There were in
addition rewards for the Master Gunner and
his gunners, and Deadmans Shares. These
shares were pay for fictitious men shown
in the Naval Accounts. Initially these were
divided among the seamen complement, but
early in Henry VIII’s reign this dividend
was restricted to officers only. The seaman’s pay rose to 6s 8d (33p) (one third
of a pound) per month before the loss of
Mary Rose with the next increase in 1585
taking their pay to 10 shillings (50p). By
then it was worth less than 6s 8d (33p) of
Henry VIII’s reign due to the rise in the cost
of living (inflation!) There was no pension
for disabled men; a licence to beg for one
year was the best that could be hoped for.
The allowance for food was 5 pence (2½p)
per day. In 1513 Admiral Howard wrote to
Cardinal Wolsey from Mary Rose – “The
victuals are bad and scantie”. The rations
of the time consisted largely of oatmeal
(which did not keep sweet for long); biscuit, salt beef, pork, and fish; dried peas;
and beer. Fresh meat would be provided
as opportunity arose in lieu of the salted
ration, likewise butter and cheese. Biscuit
was the shipboard substitute for bread
made hard by thorough kneading and using
only a little water, and baked slowly twice.
The biscuit was normally softened with
beer before eating this would also drown
the weevils. The beer issued was small
beer, brewed without hops and scarcely
alcoholic. It normally rotted in the cask
after 12 weeks.
The incident of death by disease
was high despite the Barber Surgeon and
his chest. The English fleet on September
12th 1545, a few weeks after the loss of
Mary Rose reported AM on that day of
12,000 men, 8,488 are fit PM the same
day only 6,445 fit. The cause was probably
dysentery. Typhus being louse borne was
common at the time, as was smallpox. The
longer ocean voyages of Elizabeth I’s reign
brought the dreaded scurvy, caused by lack
of vitamins of vegetable origin. It is estimated that 10,000 seamen lost their lives
through this disease alone in Elizabeth’s
reign. Shortly to be added to this list was
the terrible yellow fever of West Africa and
the West Indies. Overseas trade, piracy, and
exploration greatly increased the chance of
disease and death.
The Organisation of the King’s Navy.
The Lord High Admiral was the supreme
executive office with control of the King’s
ships and jurisdiction in maritime matters
empowered to set up Courts of Admiralty to
try cases of crime, piracy, and prizes taken,
at sea. The office of Lord High Admiral
of England, one of the great offices of
state, dates from 1391. Initially he did not
exercise sea command of the fleet this was
vested as required in the ‘Captain General
of our Fleets and Seas’. The first occasion
of this post being filled by the Lord High
Admiral was 1513 Sir Edward Howard
in Mary Rose.
In 1532, with the increase in number
of the King’s ships, and at the command
of Henry VIII, the Lord High Admiral was
assisted by a committee for supply and
administration of the King’s Navy. Later in
1546, this committee under direction of the
Lieutenant of the Admiralty (annuity £100)
consisted of the Treasurer, Comptroller,
Surveyor, Clerk of the Ships, and Master of
Ordnance for Ships. The post of ‘General
Surveyor of the Victuals of the Seas’ was
added in 1550. This committee supervised
the work of the Master Shipwrights.
Lord Lisle, Lord High Admiral
when Mary Rose sank, exercised both
operational control and command at sea
and this procedure continued until the assassination of the Duke of Buckingham,
the then Lord High Admiral, in Portsmouth
in 1628. In consequence of this the ‘Lords
Commissioners for Executing the Office of
Lord High Admiral’ was instituted becoming known as the Board of Admiralty.
In time of war the King’s ships
were supplemented by arrested merchant
ships, except those of the unique Cinque
Ports. These ports, (all seven of the five)
agreed by ancient charter to provide ships
for service in exchange for privilege –
“to arme and sett forth at their costs and
charges”. The emergence of purpose built
warships like Mary Rose saw the decline
of this practice.
Fleet tactics developed under Lord
Lisle, pressured by the loss of Mary Rose.
In 1545, in addition to organising the fleet
into squadrons, i.e. Vauwerde (Vanguard),
a simple system of squadron identification by flags was introduced. A fighting
service called the Royal Navy emerged
circa 1670.
“Whoever commands the sea, commands the trade of the world, and whoever
commands the trade, commands the riches
of the world and consequently the world
itself”. (King Henry VIII)
It is the Navy “whereon, under
the good providence of God, the wealth,
safety and strength of this Kingdom chiefly
depend”. (Articles of War 1661).
2. SHIP HANDLING
Manoeuvring.
The Mary Rose and the other ships of
similar tonnage in King Henry VIII’s Navy
are shown on the Anthony Anthony Roll
as having an outfit of square and lateen
sails.
This rig, known as the carrack rig,
was the marriage of Mediterranean lateen
rig and the Northern Europe square rig.
From the bow, the
Mary Rose (Figure
1) carried a spritsail
under the bowsprit,
two square sails on
the foremast and three
on the main mast with
two lateen sails on the
mizzen and bonadventure masts.
The Mary Rose
was not recovered
with masts, sails and
rigging in place the
lower ends of the rigging attached to the
hull and trapped under
her starboard side are
the only factual evidence. A broad outline of the handling of
the Mary Rose can be established through
the inventory of the Henri Grace à Dieu and
other contemporary ship illustrations.
A carrack was manoeuvred by the
combined use of the rudder and the spritsail
and by fine adjustment of the other sails.
The spritsail acted as an air rudder pulling
the bow of the ship with the wind. The
power needed for forward movement was
developed from the positioning of the other
sails across the wind. The optimum angle
was not 90' to the wind but depended on
the individual sail and its spillage of the
wind into the next. The ability of a ship
to sail on a particular course is dependent
on many factors mainly the wind direction
and the tidal stream direction. The bow is
turned slightly towards the wind using the
rudder and the spritsail so that the effect
of the wind on the high superstructure as a
sail itself is allowed for. The effect of the
tidal stream on the under water shape of the
hull is countered in the same way.
The ship’s wheel was not developed
until after 1700. In ships of the Mary Rose
time, steering was by means of the tiller
and whipstaff (Figure 2) The rudderpost
was connected to a horizontal lever, the
tiller arm, which in turn was connected to
a vertical lever, the whipstaff. The helmsman stood on the deck above. By means
of the whipstaff pivot being nearer the
tiller a mechanical advantage was gained
but the rudder could only be moved 5 feet
to port or starboard. Unlike a tiller, if the
helm was put to starboard, the ship went
to starboard.
In heavy weather, the tiller was
moved by tackles called the yoke (Figure
3), which connected the free end of the
tiller arm to either side of the ship.
Handling the Sails
The Anthony Roll shows the Mary Rose and
the other ships of Henry’s fleet at anchor
with all sails furled to their hoisted yards.
Setting sail was achieved by releasing all
the stops that furled the sails to the yards
and loosening the clew garnets. The corners
of the square sails would move diagonally
downwards opening the sail to the wind.
The spritsail was set first turning the
ships stern to the wind gaining momentum
and steerage. The bonadventure lateen
would be set next followed by the main
course and other sails. The lower corners,
clews, of the top and top gallant sails would
be secured, bent to the yards below.
The main mast main sail, known as
the main course, of a carrack of 600/700
tons burthen was probably 3,000 sq ft (280
sq m) in area with an aspect ration of 1:2.
13
The fore course would have been some 60%
of this area with the main and fore topsails
being 40% of their courses. The sketch
of the main course, (Figure 4), provides
only a basic guide to its mechanism and
control. To avoid overcrowding only the
port or starboard item of rigging is shown;
no standing rigging is included.
To provide an increase or reduction
of sail area it was necessary to lower the
yard, this being achieved by a tackle system
of ‘jeers’ or ‘tyes’ (Figure 5) led down to a
windlass or capstan. The yard ‘lifts’ would
14
need to be operated in harmony with this
operation. The yard was held steady against
the mast whilst in movement by a wooden
ball bearing system called a ‘parrel’ (Figure
6). When the yard had been sufficiently
lowered the bonnet and/or drabbler was
laced on and the yard was re¬hoisted.
Sailors could scramble out onto a yard to
adjust sail, lacing stops etc., but footropes
enabling a man to lay over the yard safely
were not a feature in Tudor times and were
not introduced until the reefing method
of sail reduction was revived about 1670.
Reefing, as a means of reducing/increasing sail area had gone out of fashion about
1450 and was therefore in abeyance for
over 200 years.
To tack to port, the yards would be
trimmed round by means of their braces,
hauling down on the port tack of the sail
whilst hauling on the port bowline to refill
the sail. The starboard sheet and yard brace
would be loosed as the hauling taut of an
item of square rigging required the slacking
off of its opposite number in the opposite
side of the ship.
Sailing into the Wind.
To achieve progress to windward, beating, it
was necessary to tack (Figure 7). The rudder
and spritsail would be used to move the
ship’s head away from the wind increasing
forward momentum. The helm would then
be put over to swing the bows across the
eye of the wind. The yards and sails were
now reset for the new wind direction with
the running rigging.
Remarks relating to the sailing
qualities of the Elizabethan Galleon Leices-
ter in the 1580’s indicate her ability to sail
to windward - her officers reported making no progress when tacking but merely
struggling to and fro on a broad reach.
The wind in this instance must have been
due North or due South – “E. on ye one
board and W. on ye other for (she) would
be no nyer”. This situation was aggravated
because the sailing speed was reduced
by marine growth below the water line.
Against weeds and barnacles, the standard
hull protection of fish oil or tallow dressing
was of little use.
The Loss of the Mary Rose
Was the loss of the Mary Rose during the
Battle of Spithead on the 19th July 1545,
the result of bad ship handling? The answer
must be yes but other factors contributed to
this tragic event. Contemporary accounts
offer some clues and offer a basis for
conjecture.
It was reported that Gawen Carew,
in the Matthew Gonson, hailed his nephew,
Sir George Carew, the Vice Admiral in the
Mary Rose and asked him how he did. Sir
George replied that “he had a sorte of knaves
whom he could not rule”. The Master of
the Matthew Gonson commented at the
time “if she did not heel she was likely to
be cast away”. It was also reported that
one hundred of the mariners in the ship
were such good seamen that the worst of
them was able to be Master of the best ship
within the realm.
The question that must be asked
is why wasn't the situation corrected in
sufficient time to prevent such a disaster?
The solution was simple either reduce the
canvas or bring the guns in and close the
port lids. It is here that the other factors
come into play. There may have been 700
men on board, this in itself would seriously
hinder a smart seamanlike evolution being
carried out and additionally most of these
men would have been archers, billmen,
pikemen, gunners etc., who would have
no inkling of what the seaman might have
been trying to do too many people with no
appreciation of the situation just getting in
the way! Also with many of the mariners
being highly skilled a scenario of too many
managers might well have resulted. A further influence might have been the effect of
many of the militia crowding to one side,
particularly in the castles, to observe the
enemy: this would have caused a list to
aggravate the degree of heel.
Evidence indicates little wind at
the initial stage of the attack by the French
galleys but an off shore breeze could
reasonably be expected to have risen and
stiffened as the day wore on. For Mary
Rose to move under light wind conditions
she would have needed to spread a fairly
full outfit of canvas and either opened her
gun ports for action, or may have had them
open already to provide ventilation to an
overcrowded hull. As the breeze stiffened
she would have laid over to some degree
possibly causing the open gun ports to
ship water, they being only some 3 feet
(1 metre) clear of the waterline. Such an
ingress of water would have accelerated and
increased the heel and to this could doubtless have been added a sudden movement
of stores, equipment, and men, as a result.
The combined resultant could have caused
her total loss in a trice.
The verdict at the time was “Cast
away by neglect and brought upon themselves a common destruction”. The precise
truth will never be known.
FURTHER READING:
The Naval Miscellany Vol 11 The Sea
Scene from The Complaynt of Scotland
(Navy Record Society 1910).
The Mariners Mirror various articles
between 1910 and the present day
(International Journal of The Society for
Nautical Research).
Sailing Ships of War 1400 1860 Dr Frank
Howard (Conway Maritime Press 1979)
(To be continued)
15
I was wondering how I could introduce this my thirteenth Aviation News for
the Journal in a different way. Looking at
Dick Jenkins’ latest batch of aeroplanes my
mind changed wavelength and I thought
about another of my hobbies, singing. One
of my solos is called “Sea Fever”.It begins
with the lines “I must go down to the sea
again, to the lonely sea and the sky.” That’s
it, I thought! Dick has obviously got Sea
Fever. Every one of his new flats has a strong
association with the sea. Three are flying
boats and the other two Coastal Command
and Fleet Air Arm aircraft.
Well, down to the business in hand.
Number one is the Italian flying boat Cant
Z501. In 1923 the Cantiere Navale Triestino
ship building company joined forces with
the Rafaele Confleti Company to build flying boats. By 1931 their chief designer was
Fillipio Zappata. He produced a series of
flying boats for the Regia Aeronautica.
I must say I had to search around
a bit for information about the Cant Z501
but it must have been quite an aeroplane in
its day. On July 16th 1935 one flew from
Monfalcone in Italy to Berbera in the then
British Somaliland (some 3100 miles) in
25 hours, setting a world record for a long
distance flight at that time.
The purpose of the Cant Z501
was for coastal work and reconnaissance.
Several saw service with the Nationalist
forces during the Spanish Civil War and
were also used throughout WWII. The
16
single Issota Fraschine engine must have
been both powerful and reliable. Four or
five men formed the crew. There were three
defensive positions; front cockpit, dorsal
cockpit and one on top of the aero engine.
It looks as though the unlucky air gunner/
observer who got the upstairs job was stuck
there for the duration of the flight! 7.7mm
machine guns were the armament fixed on
flexible mountings. The plane could carry
a bombload of 1400lbs fitted in underwing
racks. The maximum speed was 170m.p.h.
and normal range was 1490 miles. The hull
was made of wood. The upper hull, wings,
etc, were stretched fabric covering metal
framework. The Western Miniatures flat
paints up very nicely.
Next is the Saro A.27 London.
This was one of quite a number of flying
boats made by British manufacturers in the
1930’s. The Saro London was produced by
Saunders Roe and came into service with
the R.A.F. in 1936 (replacing Supermarine
Southamptons and Scapas.) They were
flown by 201, 202 and 204 Squadrons and
employed for coastal and reconnaissance
work, right through until 1941 when they,
in turn, were replaced by Consolidated
Catalinas. Powered by two Bristol Pegasus
X engines they had a crew of five. There
were three defensive positions, one in the
nose, a dorsal position and one in the tail.
(The latter is hidden from view by one of
the two fins.)
Rather like the Cant it was felt that
the Saro London might be suitable for long
distance record breaking flights. Five of No.
204 Squadron’s Londons were fitted with
external fuel tanks constructed behind the
pilots cabins and looking like elongated
humps! The extra fuel carried enabled
the range of 1100 miles to be extended to
2600 miles. A long distance training flight
to New South Wales and back took place
with these aircraft between December 1937
and May 1938. At the outbreak of the War
29 Saro Londons were being used by the
R.A.F. The R.C.A.F. also had some Saro
Londons.
Dick’s flat could be painted in the
usual Coastal Command camouflage or in
the pre-war silver/grey.
When Dick was at my house in
November he spotted an aircraft in one
of my books that he fell for immediately,
and which he just had to turn into a flat. It
had to be a seaplane of course, and was the
Heinkel 59B. What caught Dick’s eye was
the fact that the Heinkel was painted white
with red crosses on it. During the Battle of
Britain these aircraft were used to rescue
Luftwaffe crew shot down in the sea. They
were first encountered by the RAF on 9th
July 1940. After deliberation the Air Ministryt decided that in spite of their red crosses
these aircraft would not be immune from
attack as it was believed that besides their
rescue work, reconnaissance and convoy
shadowing was also undertaken.
During the next few weeks ten were
shot down and one was forced down on
the Goodwin Sands and towed ashore by
the Walmer lifeboat! I painted my He59B
beautifully! Then alas I got into serious
difficulties adding the lettering and markings. Disaster! I had to clean off the lot
and begin again. By the way, the plane
can be painted in the ubiquitous sooty
green and black camouflage for the upper
surfaces with light blue undersides, used
on so many Luftwaffe aircraft. Personally
I am determined to produce a Red Cross
version.
I have obtained very little information about the He59B in time for this Journal
except they were old, slow and frankly look
very out of date compared with the Luftwaffe machines they were flying alongside
in the early years of the war.
The Fairey Gannet was a post war
turbo-jet aircraft designed and developed
for use on aircraft carriers. Its original
purpose was as an anti-submarine plane. It
was powered by a double Mamba turbine
engine and had contra rotating propellers.
It was one of those planes caught up in
the rapid advance of electronic technology
and development of jet aircraft. Various
teething troubles prevented it coming into
service until the mid nineteen fifties and
as an anti-submarine plane it was paid off
in 1960.
But the Gannet was then modified
to carry the APS 20F radar unit so that it
17
became an airborne “early warning” aircraft
and was known as the Gannet A.E.W.3. It
was deployed on aircraft carriers and was
used in this role until December 1978 when
849 Squadron was disbanded.
It was an unusual looking plane, particularly in its later role. The pod containing
the radar equipment gave it a pot-bellied
look! An interesting feature was that the
wings folded automatically for storing in
aircraft carrier hangers.
I think Dick’s flat will paint up well
in standard Fleet Air Arm colours.
I’ve left my favourite until last. This
is the twin-engined easy-to-fly Avro Anson.
Like the first three aircraft described the
Anson was developed in the 1930’s by the
outbreak of War it was almost obsolete as
a front line aeroplane. Nevertheless they
served with Coastal Command until 1941
18
when they were replaced by Lockheed Hudsons. But was the Anson finished? Certainly
not. It turned out to be the ideal machine for
pilots learning to fly multi-engined planes.
As a youngster in the Midlands I remember
the Avro Anson to be one of the commonest machines to be seen flying about. They
were used extensively as training aircraft
especially in Canada and Australia as well
as Britain. Almost 11000 of the 22 Marks
were built. That’s quite a lot.
Early in the war the Anson made
its presence felt. Two days after the declaration date an Anson attacked a German
submarine – but did not sink it. The first
successful Anson submarine engagement
took place on 13th December 1939. Pilot
Officer R.H.Harper was awarded the DFC
for this feat. Another event which takes
some believing is of an Anson being at-
tacked by three Me109s. By some brilliant
flying the Anson pilot managed to extricate
himself from the Messerschmitts, shooting
down two and damaging the third. (The
armament of the Anson was a fixed forward
firing .303 machine gun and one in the
turret!) This event took place during the
Dunkirk campaign when quite a number of
Ansons were less fortunate, in the melees
in the sky above the evacuation.
Dick's aircraft are vailable from:
Western Miniatures
123 Henacre Road
Lawrence Weston
Bristol
B11 OHB
Price £3 each plus £1.50 p&p per order.
We all like to read about flats.
Seeing some of the old Journals that are
loaded with enthusiasm and information,
I can see that our "lifeline" The Journal,
has changed over the years; that’s only
natural, being different persons as we are,
both members and the Board. Personally
I like to read about new flats, rare flats,
old series, where they are now, special
commemorative flats, and the historical
and colouring information for these, as it’s
not always easy to find this information.
Personally I am interested in costumes from
different periods, the hues and dyes used
for these fabrics, to keep the authenticity
as close to the real deal as I can.
Old editors and engravers, are also
a very interesting subject to me.
The older Journals care for some
of these needs.
And now we come to the hard part,
I seem to sense a “lack of material” in the
last years, and it is not making our editors
work easier, after all this Journal is the link
between us and the Society, at least for us
members from abroad. I will therefore encourage every member to make some kind
of contribution(s) to our Editor. As we all
have our different and personal approach
to both collecting, and areas of interest,
and some of us, the historical background
to some of these series, this could be an
interesting read for all of us. And even the
smallest article can be a goldmine.
If not, well the result could be a
reprinting of older articles, which I believe,
would be a defeat for us all.
So the word is free, what would
you like write about? Hopefully this would
be some kind of legacy, to the collectors,
hopefully following us, and showing the
diversity that should be the hallmark, of a
Society like ours.
Of course every Journal should be
a mix of different subjects, both historical,
about figures, and other flat figure related
items.
I have made a similar contribution
on BFFS website, and was told that many
of our members are not able to see the many
and very interesting contribution being
posted there. Therefore I have chosen to
make the same contribution here.
I would actually encourage all
members to take a look at the website;
there are a lot of interesting subjects and
a lot of good news, and the best thing of
all, a quick and prompt reply, from some
very knowledgeable people.
It should be noted that this contribution is on my own behalf, and no one
else, associated with the Society or the
Committee members.
Kindest collectors regards
Kjeld Buchholtz
Urgent Request for Help to BFFS
Membership from Adrian Forman.
Can anyone please help me with the
following:
1) An original Wolfgang Hafer catalogue
c.1955-1975 with full page classic sets
designed by Ludwig Madlener or the
loose pages.
2) Any original or photocopies of Hans
G.Lecke (The Engraver) catalogues or
even odd illustrated pages. Also trying to
obtain a photo of Herr Lecke!
3) An original Neckel catalogue circa
1955-1975 with illustrations of classic
sets designed by Ludwig Madlener or
loose pages.
I would gladly purchase or borrow
briefly to photo-scan with a firm promise to
pay postage & return within two days!
Full acknowledgement would also
be given in my book.
Adrian Forman
Email: Formanadrian@aol.com
2, Victoria Terrace,
Marine Parade,
Instow, Devon EX39 4JW., England.
19
Whilst looking through some back copies
of the BFFS Journal I read an item by
Michael Creese on how he creates vignettes.
I have always been somewhat reluctant to
ruin a good flat with my paint work but
Mr Creese's enthusiasm and some words
of encouragement from Michael Taylor
did the trick so decided to paint a small
vignette.
This idea was going to kill two birds
with one stone because the Continental War
Society, where I am also a member, was
putting on a display war-game at SALUTE
2007 held at Excel in London about the
Schleswig Holstein war of 1848-50. The
theme of the game was the battle of Schleswig; well as luck would have it I have
plenty of flats produced by Karl Rieger
that would fit the bill.
However before putting paint to
figure I always like to undertake some
uniform research plus for me reading about
the history of the conflict also forms a major
part of my research.
So having received a booklet I had
sent over from the Military Museum in
Copenhagen on this conflict I started my
reach. The Schleswig-Holstein conflict
was the result of the 2 principalities of
Schleswig and Holstein wanting to end
their links with Denmark and thus breaking centuries of treaties that had seen these
principalities form part of lands ruled by
the Danish crown.
The Schleswig-Holsteiners saw
themselves as more Germanic than Dan-
20
ish and they felt their future was better
suited by joining the then loosely formed
Federal German states. So in 1848 they
declared themselves independent, which
was an opportune time as the Danes were
somewhat busy preparing for their new
kings coronation!
However, it was not long before
the Danes gathered themselves and soon
an army was marching south to bring
Schleswig and Holstein back in to the
Danish fold.
Fearing for their newly declared
independence and under political pressure
internally the two Germanic principalities
sent their ill prepared army of 6000 north
to face the professionally trained and better
equipped Danish forces of 11,000. The result was a defeat for the Schleswig-Holstein
forces at the battle of Bov on 9 April 1848.
This defeat saw the Schleswig-Holstein
Army (SHA) now in full retreat with the
Danes hard on their heels.
On 23 April 1848 the Danish forces,
which had now increased to 12,000, pressed
on toward the city of Schleswig where to
its dismay it came face to face with a combined force of 30,000 troops comprising of
the retreating SWH army and a German
Federal Army sent to aid their Germanic
brethren.
In the ensuing battle of Schleswig
the Danes were beaten but by no means
humbled. The Danish forces fought bravely
and were able to make an orderly retreat.
This battle is considered one of the Danish
Army’s most glorious and it is from one
incident in this battle where I got my idea
for my vignette.
The Danes has decided that it was
prudent to withdraw in the face of overwhelming forces however during their
retreat they left some cannon were left
behind. Fearing these would fall in to the
hands of the enemy a squadron of the 6th
Dragoons was dispatched to retrieve them.
This was successfully carried out which
ensured the Battles of Schleswig would
go down in Danish Military history as a
glories encounter. Therefore I decided my
vignette would be a snatch shot in time of
these Danish dragoons taking back one of
the guns while the SWH infantry try to
beat them off.
The flats I used from Karl Rieger
range while the gun is a Keiler French
1870 but it appears to have done the trick
and does look too out of place in the scene.
I used acrylic paints and the base was
painted using war-games textured paint;
I then applied flock to enhance the bases
appearance.
I must say I am a long way off turning out dioramas or vignettes like those
I've seen by Michael Creese and Michael
Taylor's but inspired by them I had a go.
Rieger figures are at:
Karl-Werner Rieger
Melsdorfer Straße 77
D-24109 Kiel, Germany
Email: w.rieger@kielnet.net
Telephone: 0431/528333
21
I first met Angus Bantock in 1958 when I
was a student in Manchester and he was the
Governor of Strangeways Prison and living
in a pleasant suburb in north Manchester. I
had just joined the British Model Soldier
Society and was introduced to Angus
because I was interested in uniforms of
the Napoleonic period. I later met his son
Alastair when I was in London during
that summer working at the Armament
Research and Development Establishment
at Woolwich. Alastair was undertaking his
clinical studies at the Middlesex Hospital
and had a flat in Holland Park. During that
first visit he introduced me to garlic and
Rousselot plates! Angus’ father Professor
of Music at Birmingham University and
his brother, Hamish, was a noted builder of
model railway locomotives. Angus served
in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders
during the First World War. There was a
photograph of him with his platoon in the
downstairs loo at Manchester and among
his souvenirs were some German shoulder
straps collected from no-mans’s land! After
the war he joined the Ceylon Police and
another photograph showed him with a
water buffalo which he had shot. Alastair
and his sister were born on the island and
the family returned home before the start
of the Second World War. Angus joined
the Prison Service as a governor serving
at Wandsworth and Leicester and possibly
elsewhere. His involvement while in
London with a number of trials which
were held in camera led to the Americans
presenting him with copies of their then
secret report on the German and Japanese
armies. After his retirement he served on
the Mountbatten Committee which looked
into prison security following a number of
high profile escapes. Another photograph
in the loo!
Angus and Alastair were at the
centre of what was then a relatively small
group of flat collectors in Great Britain. The
group included Archie Cass, Ken Bastian,
Hugh Taylor and the actor Deryck Guyler
who had a Roman legion complete with
auxiliaries. At this time Rudi Donath and
22
Erich Roeder were instrumental in helping British collectors obtain flats from
Germany. This was not always easy with
currency and import restrictions; I waited
two years for the Scheibert French Guard
Lancers. Angus and Alastair were regular
visitors to Kulmbach and were well known
among the German collectors. When I first
got to know them, Angus and Alastair already had a vast collection of flat figures
which they used for war-gaming. Angus
played the Romans and Alastair their
enemies while for the Napoleonic period
Angus took the British and allies while
Alastair covered the French and their allies. Alastair took the British for the two
World Wars (he did his National Service in
the Royal Artillery) leaving the Germans
to his father. They also had figures for
Marlburian and Frederick the Great eras,
in fact the only two wars which they did
not cover were the American Civil War and
the Franco-Prussian War, though they did
use figures from 1870 modified for 1914.
For the Napoleonic armies their figures
were organised into regiments consisting
of a grenadier company, light company and
two centre companies plus a regimental
headquarters. If memory serves, each
company consisted of twelve men, one officer and a musician and the regiment was
packed on cards into a box which had held
photographic printing paper. Alongside
this collection of figures, which included
a few 54mm ‘solids, was an incredible and
eclectic library. I asked once for a Chinese
dictionary and was offered a choice of two!
I always felt that when Angus entered a
bookshop, military books actually leapt
off the shelves into his hands.
On my first visit I was ‘put through
my paces’ as Angus put it being asked to
identify various uniforms. Such was my
ignorance at the time that I only managed to
identify the Gordon Highlanders. I had seen
flats in the Gottstein Dioramas in what was
then the Royal United Services Museum
in the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall but
had never appreciated what they were or
that one could purchase them. Among the
figures on display on that first visit were
some of Scholtz’s ‘Retreat from Moscow’
series and I was hooked. During the fifties
and sixties currency restrictions made it
very difficult to pay for figures from the
Continent and this, coupled with need for
large numbers of figures to make up their
regiments, led Angus into making plaster
moulds. This is difficult if not impossible to
justify on moral grounds but Angus never
ever sold figures from his moulds. As he
moved from house to house, moulds were
broken up and buried in the garden! His
best casts are difficult to tell from originals
and from time to time some still appear.
A good tip is to look underneath the base
which should be smooth if the figure is
‘original’ and not a cast.
I used to take a stick of plumber’s
solder over to their house on a Saturday
afternoon and come away with a boxful
of casts. Angus’s policy was to keep casting if figures were coming out of a mould
well and he built up a massive collection
of spares. Many years later, Alastair melted
these down to make buttons for uniforms
for members of the sealed Knot of which
he was Captain General! After casting was
over I would be invited to join Angus and
his wife Marjorie for supper. At these meals
one was expected to behave as one of the
family and to help oneself to the tin of Cadburys’ mishap chocolates as it passed back
and forth at the end of the meal. Marjorie
was a good cook though Hugh Taylor did
say that staying there on one occasion he
had curry every night for a week!
Another aspect of Angus’ interest in
things military was photography for which
he used a second-hand Leica. It was said
that a photographic darkroom was set up
in every prison in which he served. It must
be remembered that in those days there
were very few sources of information on
uniforms available and Angus’ work made
information available to a number of collectors which they would otherwise not
been able to access. For instance, he photographed a collection of Bucquoy cards
on Napoleons uniforms held by the late
Colonel Nicholson and Alastair, and later
myself, laboriously hand-coloured all the
prints. Bookbinding was another activity
Angus encouraged in prisons and I still have
a couple of books and some folders which
I imagine came from this source.
After he qualified, Alastair set up in
practice in Northampton and in retirement
Angus and his wife, together with their
Pekinese dog, moved to the town in order
to be near him.
They were both supporters of the
Northampton branch of the British Model
Soldier Society and Alastair was one of
the founder members of the British Flat
Figure Society.
Angus and Alastair developed
a keen interest in the Indian Army and
encouraged Ulrich Lankau to produce
figures of Indian types, military and nonmilitary. Alastair was a most imaginative
converter of flat figures in order to obtain
types which were not otherwise obtainable.
Sometimes he would engrave additional
equipment into the plaster mould and he
was adept with the soldering iron in order
to change heads or other parts on a figure.
He frequently demonstrated his expertise
at BFFS meetings.
Angus and Marjorie and Alastair
and his wife Nancy were always most
hospitable and had a wide circle of friends.
The collection of figures and books which
they amassed has been largely broken up
and other collectors now have the pleasure
of owning them. The figures and books
together with fond memories will serve
to remind us of two great collectors and
two great friends.
ADRIAN FORMAN ANNOUCEMENT REGARDING:
"GOTTSTEIN & THE GOLDEN AGE OF ZINNFIGUREN".
I have found over the years nothing has been too much trouble for our BFFS volunteer staff, for
which I am eternally grateful as its been a constant support for me while typing away at home most
days of the year
Thank you also to those members who have supported me over the last years with information or
images.
Now I really do have almost all the research material I need to hand, so the serious work on writing
can start!
Dear fellow members, just in case anyone is still interested, I have just re-started work yet again on,
"Gottstein & the Golden Age of the Zinnfiguren" although I have been kept busy in my spare time
updating research, writing this personal book project had to be halted for the last year due to my
finishing off another long term long overdue book project.
Complicated by changing my American Publishers, after a very happy business arrangement,
this alas called for a re-hash of my new book format for my so called day job as an full time author.
However Just to prove I really do write books, if you either log onto the www with my name,
"Adrian Forman" you will find quite a few references to my older book titles or at my new web site:
www.adrianforman.com you will see my new book, "Bravery, Courage & Valour, Wartime Decorations & Awards of the Third Reich" In due course my other book projects on other subjects will
also be displayed!
For those members not into computors or the Internet, you are most welcome to a free detailed
four-page spread colour brochure of the above new book by post.
Adrian Forman P.O.Box 96, Instow, Devon EX39 4ZX England. Email: adrianforman4bks@aol.
com
23
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Pussy cat, pussy cat,
Where have you been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat,
What did you there?
I frightened a little mouse, under her chair.
Figures from a Maastricht market.
See page 5.
24

The British Flat Figure Society - International Flat Figure Society

Transcription

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