Donald Featherstone 1918-2013

It is with a great sadness that I write this post. Donald Featherstone a leading military history expert and well know as the father of modern wargaming, passed away yesterday 3rd September 2013.

I started wargaming at a very early age thanks to the influence of my grandfather who served in the 5th Division during World War 2 as a Battery Sgt Maj with the Royal Artillery in an Anti Tank unit, serving in Syria then through North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Finally ending the war in France then Germany as a stabilisation force.

As I was growing up my Grandad had a friend he had served with, who then worked for Airfix and supplied a certain young wide eyed boy (me!) with copious amounts of brightly coloured toy soldiers. To go with these I was bought a wide range of books to allow me and my Grandad to recreate battles in history across the kitchen table using an old Subutteo cloth upside down with books underneath to add contours and matchboxes for buildings.

I remember being utterly engrossed reading the books and Donald Featherstone has been a constant influence to me thoughout the years in not only wargaming but military history as a whole.

I have been extreamly lucky to have met and spoken to him a few times over the years at book signings and seminars and his books are always a constant in my library.

Below are a few of my favourite titles.