BOOK REVIEW: TERROR IN THE TUNNELS.

 BRITAIN'S DANGEROUS RAILWAY HISTORY.

 As is often the case, having read a book on a particular subject, "Rails to the Front" in this case, I then find myself reading similar books for a while. I am afraid this means the next few book reviews will be about railways !!!!!

This particular book comes from my library and has not been read for a very long time. It basically details the various accidents that occurred both during and after the construction of the many railway tunnels in the UK. Most of the material is taken from newspapers of the time supplemented with official reports. The former of course offer by far the most interesting accounts because of the headline grabbing descriptions as well as the quaint language of the time. There are not too many illustrations but those included are both interesting and informative. 

Overall a fascinating book and highly recommended to railway historians but also generally as just a good book which I should have re-read a long time ago. In fact, the author has another book on disasters during the construction of Britain's railways which I have just ordered as a direct result of enjoying this book so much !!!!

BOOK REVIEW: RAILS TO THE FRONT.

THE ROLE OF RAILWAYS IN WARTIME. 

I found this book on Amazon some time ago reasonably cheaply and have finally got around to reading it. The delay has mainly been caused by the strange shape of the book which is landscape rather than portrait which I find peculiarly disconcerting in a book.

That said the book is very well illustrated and basically covers the use of railways in war from the Crimean War right up to WW2 and into the 1960's where use of railways for military purposes is claimed to have been superseded by road transport. However anyone watching the news from Ukraine over the past year will be only too aware of just how important military use of the railways still is to both sides.

Rather than cover every conflict separately, the book discusses the use of railways more by period with only the major wars meriting a specific chapter. The book is loaded with many excellent photos and although the coverage of any particular conflict is necessarily limited, it does give an excellent overall history of railways in war. 

There is a great deal of useful information in this book which means it should appeal to the reader who is looking for a general history of railways in war and in that respect it is certainly recommended.

PONTOON BRIDGING EQUIPMENT.

 PONTOON BRIDGING EQUIPMENT FOR THE WOODSCREW MINIATURE ARMY.

Regular readers will recall I mentioned a while ago that I had decided to investigate the provision of pontoon bridging equipment for my armies. This was provoked by Ion of Archduke Piccolo blog when he wargamed a campaign from my Imagi-Nations series early last year. One of his background questions was whether my armies had a bridge building capability. I replied in the negative but the thought stayed with me that maybe such a capability should be provided.

Ever since I have been looking, without success, for some everyday object that could be adapted for use as a pontoon boat. I did find a model in a manufacturers range but really did not like it that much. Recently I posted asking if readers had any ideas. Steve Johnson suggested I consider 3D models and Ian Dury suggested I look at ebay where a number of 3D printers were offering model railway accessories including model rowing boats. This was something I had not considered.

A quick look revealed a manufacturer supplying rowing boats in N gauge which seemed suitable. I made contact with the supplier and got the measurements of their boats which seemed perfect. I decided to order a pack of 6 boats just to be sure. While looking at the various other products available from this business I also found OO scale pallets, in packs of 30,  which looked like perfect "chesses" for the bridge decks so I ordered a pack of them too.  My original idea was to just use bits of cut up toothpick to represent the "chesses".  

(Chesses are the name used for the bridge deck timbers, apparently from the old French words chasse meaning frame and chassis meaning framework.)  

These items arrived just before Christmas and have proved to be top quality and ideal for my needs. 

Four boats and ten pallets provide a perfect 65 mm long, scale 32 foot bridge as shown below.

I quickly designed a new flat bed wagon and flat bed heavy trailer to transport both boats and "chesses". My idea is that each of my 16 Pioneer battalions will be provided with a bridging platoon comprising a wagon and trailer carrying four pontoons and another wagon and trailer carrying  ten "chesses". The four Pioneer battalions in each army would therefore have the collective ability to build a bridge some 250 mm long which is about scale 125 feet or around 40 meters.  Manpower to build the bridges would be provided by the existing Pioneer battalion soldiers. I prefer this arrangement rather than the alternative of creating dedicated bridging columns.

Below are photos of the new wagons, unpainted and without horses so far, showing the pontoons and "chesses". Just for clarification, the boats and "chesses" will be glued to the wagons and the illustration at the beginning of this article of a completed bridge was only a "proof of concept".

Close ups of the two specific loads are below. I found that two boats fitted on each vehicle and looked better too. I decided I prefer the look of having the boats the right way up however I understand from Ian Dury that most armies carried them upside down. Any views ?????

Each "chess" vehicle carries 5 "chesses". To make it look more interesting the top pallet is turned over.

It has crossed my mind to revise the arrangements to have a wagon with boats towing a trailer with "chesses".....any thought on whether this would look better ????

I am very pleased with these new models and hope readers will agree this new equipment looks good.  Many thanks to Ian Dury and Steve Johnson for pointing me in the right direction.

I have just placed an order for another 58 boats and 130 pallets with the supplier who is Cliff at "3D pluss" on ebay. Cliff makes a fascinating and very wide variety of model railway accessories in OO and N gauge, many of which, in my opinion, could have military modelling applications and he has proven to be prompt and cooperative in responding to my enquiries.

I will post photos of fully painted up vehicles as soon as possible.

BOOK REVIEW: THE GREAT BLUE ARMY WAGON.

 To discover this book recently on Amazon was, for me, like finding the Holy Grail.

This book covers the development and construction of the US Army's standardised 6 mule heavy wagon and 4 mule Escort light wagon from their origins before and after the Civil War respectively to the final versions constructed during the First World War.

The 6 mule wagon was the first to be developed during the 1840-50's. It was a heavy wagon perfectly suited for use  supplying army outposts over very long distances. The specification for this wagon was finalised by the start of the Civil war and most of the wagons seen in Civil war photographs are of this vehicle. It remained in production throughout the second half of the 19th century with few modifications.

The Escort light wagon came about after the war due to the need for a lighter vehicle for use on post and for local short range duties such as escorting troops moving from post to post or going on campaign in more rugged country. This vehicle had became the standard army wagon by the end of the century. On the entry of the USA into the First World War some 30,000 Escort wagons were immediately ordered with about 10,000 being delivered by the end of the war.

The title of the book reflects that throughout the wagon era, until the First World War,  all military vehicles had bright colour schemes. Interiors and running gear was painted Venetian red while the outside was Prussian blue with boldly stenciled US letters on sideboards and white canvas covers. There was never any doubt as to the ownership of US army wagons.

The book provides good detail on the development history of the vehicles, construction methods and materials including full dimensions and improvements made over the years. There are many excellent photos too. There are even paint colour samples and details of standard sized packing boxes designed specifically to maximise  the use of space in wagons. Finally there is some brief information on non standard or locally used specialist vehicles used on some army posts including buggies, forge carts, water tankers and fire engines.

Clearly not a book for everyone by any means but for someone like me who is fascinated by horse drawn logistics, an absolute gold mine of information and a new star in my library destined to become a constant source of reference.

UPDATE.

 Just a brief note to wish all my followers and everyone in blogger land a Happy Christmas with lots of new soldiers and a very prosperous New Year with a huge increase in painting productivity.

BOOK REVIEW: STORMING EAGLES.

 GERMAN AIRBORNE FORCE IN WORLD WAR 11.

Another book I picked up in a seaside book shop on my birthday  in October.

I have no special interest in airborne troops including the German forces however the book was very cheap and seemed well written on a thumb through.

The book gives a highly detailed history of the creation of the German airborne forces including the glider troops and air landing troops, a brief review of all the major actions involving airborne units and details of all the various formations raised during the war, all in a chronological order.

There is a strong recurring theme through out the book about the spectacular fighting spirit of German paratroopers and the fearsome reputation they enjoyed on all fronts right to the last days of the war. All were volunteers and trained to a very high standard which was reflected in regular successes although at a high cost in casualties.

There are a number of short appendix covering weapons, planes and uniforms to complete what has to be the definitive book on German airborne troops  and which I strongly recommended if you are interested in the Fallschirmjaegar.

UPDATE.

 Yes another update and very soon after the last one !!!!

 I have news to share about Humbrol paints.

One of my blog followers, Joe at FISH TALES blog, mentioned in passing that he had heard that Humbrol may be stopping production of enamel paints. Interesting as Joe is American and had heard about this but I had not here in the UK, home to Humbrol !!!!  Now I have been using these paints for over 50 years and although I have often considered moving to acrylics, being over three quarters of the way through building my armies, now is probably not the time to change.

Although I keep a good stock of paints at all times I knew I would not have sufficient to finish my fourth army so I decided to investigate.

It seems that due to a new government regulation, one of the components in all enamel paints has been banned. For reasons difficult to establish this resulted in Humbrol suddenly taking a lot of paint off the market. Again for reasons difficult to determine, Humbrol chose not to make this matter public resulting in a lot of rumours and a shortage of paints in shops.

In the YOUTUBE video I saw it was clear the audience thought  this change has been poorly managed by Humbrol.  The fact remains that their enamel paints will however remain on sale for the foreseeable future.  That said they have taken this opportunity to seriously reduce the range from about 200 to only 80 colours again with little public notice.

Typically over half the colours going out of production are colours I use a lot. I have already placed a large order with an on line supplier for sufficient paints to hopefully see me out !!!! I will also be visiting my local model shop to hoover up what ever he has left too.

Overall I am left with the impression that Humbrol have mismanaged this situation and are now making it worse by dramatically reducing the range.  If you use Humbrol I suggest you check out the new range and buy up quickly any of the soon to be discontinued colours you may need while you still can.

Sometimes I think these smaller specialist British companies almost want to go out of business by the way they operate !!!!

On a happier note I have this week started to build a batch of 25 field kitchen trailers and have prepared the screws to paint up a new infantry battalion. Hopefully I will find the time and inclination to work on these diligently over the coming few weeks.

BOOK REVIEW: 1983.

THE WORLD AT THE BRINK.

 I bought this book on a visit to the seaside on my birthday. Not the usual subject matter I look for but a quick canter through the pages looked interesting.

The book basically relates world events leading up to the NATO war-games of late 1983 during which the Russians started to believe that NATO was about to launch a full scale nuclear first strike against them. The book gives a clear indication of just how close we came to nuclear war mainly due to the West not realising how paranoid Russia had become at the time.

The book gives a good history of Ronald Reagan coming to power and his strong anti Russian stance, the poor and geriatric leadership in Russia and the increasing weakness of the Russian economy which led to the fall of the USSR a few years later. In effect it gives the history of the final few years of the USSR as it collapsed under the weight of the Cold War which resulted in serious instability in the Russian leadership and a nuclear crisis made worse by the failure of US intelligence services to clearly recognise what was happening in Russia.

This is an exciting read much like a Tom Clancy novel....but real !!!! which of course makes it very scary.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in recent world history and the fall of the USSR.

UPDATE.

It has been over six weeks since I last updated on my activities. However the simple fact is that I have not done a great deal...again !!!!! Ordinary life seems to have continued to get in the way of modelling. I had hoped that with the miserable autumn weather I would get more modelling time but that has not happened, at least not yet anyway.

Having just said that, on reflection I have to admit I have not really tried that hard to get modelling time. If I am being totally honest, I have not actually had that much enthusiasm for modelling recently. I am sure this is a passing phase as I have really enjoyed finally getting the cavalry and heavy artillery battalions finished after so many months of them sitting on the work bench gathering dust. I think it is just a case of getting going again after so many months of modelling inactivity.

Above are the cavalry just finished on the work bases.

And here set up, with the foot elements of the regiment and most of the vehicles, on the display shelf before insertion into the display cabinet.

Here are the soldiers of the heavy artillery battalion on their display shelf. No vehicles or equipment has been built yet for this battalion.

The next vehicle construction project will be a batch of field kitchens. The next battalion to be painted will probably be another infantry unit.

Readers may have noticed that I have started updating and republishing the organisation tables of my armies. These now reflect the several upgrades I have introduced over the past couple of years.

A considerable time ago I realised that my armies lacked a bridge building capability. My initial thought was to create a couple of bridging battalions at army group level but then I decided the best way forward would be to provide the capability within each Pioneer battalion. Ever since I have been searching for some object to represent a pontoon boat. 

Scratch building one or two would be easy but I need 32. I have found a model within the Pendraken range that is the right size but it is a slab sided square shaped pontoon that does not look good in the scale I use. I want an actual rowing boat shape that can be placed upside down on a flat bed wagon. I am coming to the conclusion that I will have to make a master and mould my own. However if any reader has another suggestion please let me know. Size needed is 30 mm long, 13 mm wide and 5 mm high.

 

BOOK REVIEW: HARDTACK AND COFFEE.

THE UNWRITTEN STORY OF ARMY LIFE.

Yet another book from my library although I have a feeling I may have reviewed this book before. It is a great book however so another reading/review will not go amiss. This is a first hand account by a Union soldier of the Civil War originally published in 1887.

The author served from 1862 to the end of the war and, as is so often the case, his time in the army was the highlight of his life. However rather than write about the various battles etc in which he participated, he decided to write about ordinary day to day life as a Union soldier. 

This book is divided into chapters on subjects such as enlisting, tents, rations, offences and punishments, a day in camp, foraging, badges and flags, the army mule, hospitals, and so on.  As a result the book gives a fantastic insight into the ordinary activities and life of soldiers. In fact there is really no mention of actual battle at all. The author was determined to make a record of day to day life as he believed that over time the ordinary experiences of military service would be forgotten, which is of course quite true.

This book is now considered among the top ten of first hand histories of the Civil War which is no surprise to me given the extraordinary wealth of detail it contains.  (The author has also written a full unit history of the artillery battery in which he served, which is also highly regarded by historians.)

Highly recommended to anyone interested in the US Civil War and the ordinary day to day experiences of an ordinary soldier.

 

ORGANISATION OF THE ARMY.

FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALIONS.

Field Artillery battalions have two batteries and a headquarters company.

Each battery consists of  4 guns, 4 caissons, 4 limbers and 2 ammunition wagons with 24 gunners,  4 Corporals, 4 Sergeants  and 2 Lieutenants organised in  two sub sections.  Each limber and ammunition wagon also has two quartermaster drivers giving 12 QM men and 2 Corporals commanded by a QM Lieutenant supported by a QM Sergeant. The battery is commanded by a Captain supported by a battery Sergeant Major. The total strength of a battery is therefore 52.

The headquarters company has a Staff platoon of 4 men and 1 Corporal commanded by a Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 6 medics and 1 Corporal medic commanded by a Surgeon Lieutenant supported by a Sergeant medic and a Signals platoon of 10 Signallers and 2 Corporals commanded by a Lieutenant supported by a Sergeant. The Quartermaster platoon has 10 men and 1 Corporal with a Lieutenant in command supported by a Sergeant. The battalion's total QM contingent is under the overall command of a QM Captain supported by a QM Sergeant Major. The battalion is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel with a Major as second in command and Adjutant supported by a Battalion Sergeant Major with two standard bearers carrying the national flag and the battalion flag. In addition and reporting direct to the battalion commander is a Fire Control section consisting of a Captain and a Lieutenant who are responsible for coordinating and directing the fire of the battalion. The total strength of the headquarters company is 51 giving a total battalion strength of 155.

Apart from the vehicles in each battery, the battalion also has 5 GS wagons towing a field kitchen, water tank trailer, signals trailer, observation trailer and a medical trailer. 

The following photo shows a battalion in parade formation.

The next photo shows a battalion in combat with the guns in the foreground, battery vehicles behind and battalion wagon lines at the rear.

The arm of service colour is black for Field Artillery. My armies have a scheduled total of 48 Field Artillery battalions and at the time of writing 39 have been constructed.

BOOK REVIEW: THE WAFFEN SS.

THE THIRD REICH'S MOST INFAMOUS MILITARY ORGANISATION.

 I recently picked this book up in The Works very cheaply. 

Although no fan of the SS generally, I am interested in the Waffen SS, the military arm. There is no doubt that the divisions of the Waffen SS were among the most effective and powerful of Germany's armed forces. The book concentrates on providing a detailed history of the various divisions that were formed during the war, their military service and short profiles of some of the most important leaders of those units. In fact I think it provides the most comprehensive record of Waffen SS units I have ever seen.

No attempt is made to gloss over the atrocities perpetrated by the SS but the focus is far more on the combat history of the SS and in that it is very effective. Overall I recommend this book if you are interested in the combat units of the Waffen SS and their battle histories.

ORGANISATION OF THE ARMY.

INFANTRY BATTALIONS.


The Infantry battalion consists of 6 Infantry companies, a Heavy Weapons company and a Headquarters company.

The Infantry company comprises three platoons each of 12 privates and two Corporals under the command of a Lieutenant assisted by a Sergeant. The  company is commanded by a Captain assisted by a company Sergeant Major. The total strength of a company is 50.

The Heavy Weapons company comprises two platoons each of 12 privates and two Corporals under the command of a Lieutenant assisted by a Sergeant. The company is commanded by a Captain assisted by a company Sergeant Major. The total strength of the company is 34.

The Headquarters company comprises a Staff platoon of 4 privates, a Corporal and a Sergeant, a Medical platoon of 14 medics, two medic Corporals, 2 medic Sergeants, a surgeon Lieutenant with a surgeon Captain in command. The Quartermaster platoon has 18 privates, 3 Corporals, and a Sergeant with a Lieutenant in command. The Signals platoon has 12 signallers, 2 Corporals and a Sergeant and Lieutenant in command. The command platoon has a Lieutenant Colonel as battalion commander with three Majors, one as Adjutant and second in command and two Majors as wing commanders of three of the Infantry companies, a battalion Sergeant major and two standard bearers, one with the national flag and one with the battalion flag. The total strength of the headquarters company is 73 giving a total battalion strength of 407.

The vehicles and equipment of the battalion comprises 6 GS wagons towing a field kitchen trailer, a water tank trailer, a signals trailer, a medical trailer and two light GS trailers and two limbers, two caissons and two heavy weapons together with an ammunition wagon.

The photo above of a battalion in parade formation shows the Infantry companies on the left with the Heavy Weapons company in the centre and the Headquarters company on the right in front  of the battalion vehicles. 

This photo shows the battalion deployed for an advance with the Heavy Weapons company and command platoon in the centre and the battalion wagon lines at the rear.

My armies have a planned total of 96 Infantry battalions of which 76 have been built at the time of writing. The arm of service colour for Infantry is blue.

BOOK REVIEW: ANIMAL MANAGEMENT 1933.

 

Regular readers of this blog may recall that I mentioned receiving this book as a gift from Mark at the Man Of Tin blog. Mark is aware of my interest in horse drawn logistics and this is an original War Office publication which he no longer wanted, a very generous gift indeed.

The format of the book is the usual War Office style and covers every conceivable element of the care and use of horses and mules in service in the British Army. There are chapters on the structure of the horse and points of particular types and breeds, stable construction and management including grooming, foods and watering, saddles, shoeing, transportation of horses by sea and rail and of course prevention of disease and first aid. In fact everything you could wish to know about the military use of the horse.

Although a reference book and therefore not the easiest read, as a source of information this book is a "bible" of relevant data about horses in military service and I am delighted to have it in my library.

BOOK REVIEW: SUPPLYING CUSTER.

 THE POWDER RIVER SUPPLY DEPOT 1876.

Another book from my library, it relates the 1876 US Army campaign against the Indians which culminated in the Battle of The Little Big Horn and Custer's last stand.

The first half of the book details the various expeditions to the Powder River country and the history of the fighting against the plains Indians in the general area including the famous battle at Little Big Horn with an emphasis on logistics. The second half of the book relates in detail the supply arrangements for the campaign of 1876 and in particular the supply depot that was established at Powder River and the archaeological excavations carried out on the site in 1983.

The historical element of the book is first class and gives a clear and detailed analysis of the US Army's activities against the Sioux Indians but the results of the archaeological investigations are really fascinating.  Items found cover the whole range of products of the time even including bottle fragments that were identified as British made beer bottles. Who would have thought that British beer would find its way to the American frontier and in large quantities too.

I accept that this is very much a highly specialised topic but it makes for very interesting reading and gives a great insight into life on the early American frontier especially for the soldiers during the Indian wars.

Highly recommended if you have an interest in this sort of history.

IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 47

 PREPARATIONS FOR THE INVASION OF CHINA.

Following the signing of the treaty between the UNION, Britain and India in Spring 1891 preparations commenced to prepare for the invasion of China by the UNION from northern India. In May a British ship arrived in Miami with a group of British government officials and a number of civil and railway engineers. They were met by the UNION India Survey Group. This comprised a number of UNION government officers together with UNION railway engineers and a large group of UNION army logistics officers, veterinary officers and a company of Field Police to provide security. All UNION army personnel were out of uniform. The group also included a number of vehicles and equipment provided by the UNION army to enable the survey group to travel extensively within India without recourse to local transport.

The joint survey team arrived in Bombay early in June and were immediately joined by a number of Indian government officials, army officers and local engineers. The combined group immediately started to survey the docks in Bombay to determine what construction would be needed to meet the UNION army's requirements  both in terms of dock facilities, railway marshaling yards and storage facilities. The group then traveled slowly north towards the Chinese frontier surveying the route of  the new railway lines.  On arrival at the border region the survey group determined the location and facilities needed to provide railhead facilities. At the same time, some of the UNION army personnel remained in Bombay to survey and determine what resources may be available in India to meet logistical requirements including food , fodder and local horses.

By August the surveys had been completed and the group returned to Bombay where discussions commenced on the construction needed and a programme was developed for implementation by the Indian government assisted by British engineers. Early in October the UNION members of the survey group returned to Miami.

The plan developed was quickly ratified by all the participating governments and construction commenced in mid October 1891. The plan provided for no additional docks in Bombay as the existing facilities were deemed adequate. However a very large area of land beside the docks was secured to provide a base for the UNION army. The storage, troop transit, medical and administrative facilities and railway marshalling areas commenced construction in late October. At the same time construction commenced on additional railway lines following the existing lines to the border with China. Land for three railheads on the border was secured and construction also commenced on those facilities.

All construction was scheduled to be completed by the end of 1892. In the meantime the UNION army began preparing plans and timetables for the deployment of 8 UNION armies to India together with vast quantities of munitions, food, fodder and other essential stores. Around this time it was also decided that a new army would be formed. The 11th Reserve army would be created to join 10th Reserve army to provide security for the UNION while the bulk of the regular army was deployed to India. Both reserve armies would be called up in good time to allow for intensive re-training before the regular army deployed.

Discussions also took place to ensure the British could provide sufficient shipping. To meet the anticipated requirements it was agreed that only ships of 10,000 tons or more and capable of at least 20 knots would be used. To ensure sufficient capacity the British laid down a number of new ships for delivery by the end of 1892. The deployment plans developed allowed for the accumulation in Bombay and at the railheads of a three month stock of all supplies before the main body of UNION troops began to arrive. To preserve as much secrecy as possible the UNION troops would be deployed to India in the shortest possible time. Also to avoid China becoming suspicious, the construction efforts were publicly announced as a major British investment to provide the infrastructure needed to develop northern India.

By October 1892 construction and associated planning by all parties was well advanced and proceeding to timetable.

BOOK REVIEW: WOUNDED.

 FROM BATTLEFIELD TO BLIGHTY 1914-1918.

Another book from my library, this one covers the treatment and transportation of wounded British soldiers during the First World War by means of personal accounts from both soldiers and medical staff.

Each chapter covers the story of either an individual or group of individuals from soldier to nurse, doctor, bearer, orderly or chaplain giving details of what they experienced. There are also  chapters devoted to the ambulance trains and the not well known London Ambulance Column which took wounded soldiers from main line stations to the many hospitals around the capital.

The various accounts are fascinating and absorbing, it is a hard book to put down. The hardship that both wounded soldiers and medical staff, especially those in France, experienced makes for difficult reading but the constant thread in the book is of selfless service and fortitude, traits that are frequently evidenced in many accounts of WW1 and I believe, reflect the attitudes and perspectives of that generation.

The book is very well written and highly recommended to those interested in this important but often neglected aspect of WW1.

UPDATE.

Well my 70th birthday is now almost a distant memory.....short term memory loss  being a symptom of advancing age I am told...except I can't recall who said that !!!!!!!

I had a great day anyway. We went to Llandudno on the north coast of Wales for the day. About the closest seaside to us and a round trip of 190 miles...that's the cost of living in the middle of the UK !!!!  That said my car delivered another amazing result of 51 mpg on "A" roads at an average speed of 50 mph.

We parked on the sea front to the right of the photo and walked all the way down to the pier which can be seen as a pale line at the foot of the hill which is called The Great Orme. Walked to the end of the pier, watched some fishermen for a while then back and on into town which is on the left of the photo. As can be seen, the day was perfect, blue sky, flat sea, warm and sunny which for this time of year was unusual. 

Although not quite as dramatic as Johnathon Freitag's adventures with moose, we too had a wildlife encounter. We bought ice creams in a parlour, I finished mine inside but my wife was still eating hers when we left the shop. Just outside a seagull landed on her head and tried to seize the ice cream cone from her hand. She screamed and I turned in time to see it launch back into the air. Fortunately neither my wife or the ice cream were injured in any way. My wife was more stunned by the sheer weight of the gull on her head than anything else. That it should try to grab the cone was no surprise as that sort of thing happens all the time but to land on her head was a bit extreme but has provided an interesting dinner conversation anecdote !!!!  On the way home we stopped at a favourite local gastro pub for dinner.

As it was a special birthday the "celebrations" continued on Friday. We drove to our local National Trust property for a walk around the 1,000 acre estate. We first visited the estate on my birthday in 1998 so it seemed appropriate to go on Friday. In those early days the estate attracted 20,000 visitors a year, now it has over 400,000 a year. We now tend to visit only in autumn and winter when it is not quite so busy.

This is the house, Attingham, built around 1760. The park has a large deer herd and the rut is on at present. The often means bucks are holed up in the woods but none were seen on this trip. In fact all we saw was a large group grazing far away in the distance.

Another view of the house from the deer park on the way to the woods. Although we have some fine autumn colours in our local trees the park trees are still mostly green however the leaves are falling and carpeted the path in the woods as seen below.

As we neared the river bridge a squirrel ran across the path in front of us, another wildlife encounter !!!!!

Again we had lunch in a nearby pub before heading home. Today we met friends for an "eat all you can" breakfast at a pub outside Dudley where we all used to work together. An early start but a great way to spend the morning.  Tomorrow, Sunday, we are having lunch with my daughter at yet another local pub which will be four days on the trot eating out, almost a record !!!!!  No doubt the bathroom scales will have something to say about that when next visited.

Overall a good and extended birthday which kind of makes up for being so old......well maybe not !!!!!!

UPDATE.

 As  Autumn has now arrived I am hoping for some more modelling time. As mentioned before I have done very little this Summer, there always seems to have been something else to do. That said I have this week just managed to complete the battalion of Heavy Artillery that has been on the bench for at least three or more months. The Cavalry regiment still has some way to go but I have finally started the priming of the horses. Once that's done the top coat can be applied and they will be completed too. I have also managed to draft the next article in my Imagi-Nations series which I hope to publish next week.

Finally for this brief update, I am, at this point in time, less than two days away from Three Score Years and Ten......I really cannot quite grasp that I have become so old.....the inner me is at most only 15 or so....some would say more like 7   !!!!!!  Of course the body says otherwise as does the mirror  and with children in their forties the evidence is overwhelming that I really am old !!!!!!   With the number of meals booked with friends and family over the rest of the week, I think the bathroom scales may well also be sending a message soon !!!!!

No doubt like everyone else reaching this milestone, I wonder where the time has gone. The years seem to be rolling by with greater speed than ever and I still have well over 20,000 screws to paint !!!!!

BOOK REVIEW: MEETING THE ENEMY.

 THE HUMAN FACE OF THE GREAT WAR.

Yet another book from my library, this one is written by the great WW1 historian Richard Van Emden.

This is an unusual book in that it discusses the human face of the war. It is well known that prior to the war the cultural and social ties between Britain and Germany were very strong. Thousands of Germans lived and worked in Britain and had done for many years. Inter marriage between the two nations was high and there were many "mixed" couples living in both countries in 1914.

The book addresses what happened to those people of both nations who found themselves either in the wrong country on the outbreak of war or , as a result of military operations, found themselves prisoners of war.

There are several astonishing issues discussed in the book including the level of contact on "human" matters that continued throughout the war between the two governments and the harsh treatment of British women who were married to Germans but living in Britain and who were considered as German by the British government.

This is an excellent book covering an poorly known subject but one that is both complex and fascinating and demonstrates beyond doubt that war is far more complex in its impacts that just soldiers fighting one another especially among nations with a close pre war relationship.

A great book and highly recommended.