2019 Donald Featherstone Memorial Weekend

The annual get-together at the Wargames Holiday Centre was last weekend.

This year, Steve Thompson took on the gargantuan task of buying some 2,500 figures, painting them, making scenery, buying & building MDF kits ... and if that was not enough, putting together a fun set of rules too !

All for our pleasure over the weekend - the man is a hero !

Here's the set up. This town must be taken by the Imperial forces which start from a camp at the other end of the table. 

All mod cons - fountains, markets, minarets and mosques

All very peaceful - for now.

In a village mid way, the British Commander has a female family member who needs to be collected and protected - here she is being interviewed by a gentleman from The Times.

Madhists could be lurking anywhere 

and there is plenty of cover for them to spring from

Not far from the town there is a small port for the river craft that ply their trade up and down the Nile

Joining them will be military craft such as these

My command for the weekend was the Imperial Camel Corps

Here's the army gathering for the march to the town

Lancers lead the way

and immediately we get shot at by tribesmen

and warbands emerge

The naval contingent set off too with guns trained along the river bank

There are too many pictures to try and enter individual comments so will restrict myself to occasional  ones

What do we do now ?!!

Here's the map General Gordon has been working from

Big debate going on here

Steve T continues to bring on Madhists in the British rear thus threatening their camp - Tony looks worried !

Melvyn wears the first of the White Feathers his command was presented with !

At the end of our Saturday night dinner and charity auction, MC'd by the venerable Henry Hyde, as usual, for Help for Heroes

David Hill's VC character prepares for the final assault

and my Camel Corps Commander is pleased to be there !

The walls are being breached by the artillery

Once two or three good sized breaches are made the attack will begin

Mind you, we are having trouble at the other end of the table as more and more Madhists appear to attack our encampment

Defended by such as Egyptian Cuirassiers

Unaware, our artillery continues to pound the town walls

as the town walls tumble, the Imperial troops await the order to charge

but the Madhists are having none of it

Despite our wall of fire

they charge out of the town

wave after wave of them

in a desperate final effort

giving the river boats point blank range flank shots

Here's the coveted trophy (which I won last year). This year its Paul Wisken's name which will be engraved on there 

Here he is being congratulated by Mark Freeth and Henry Hyde and Steve Thompson

Melvyn proudly displays on his pith helmet the three white feathers he had accumulated for the inept performance of his  Bengal Lancers

David Hill is presented with a facsimile of a VC to take back to New York for his sterling work slaughtering Madhists

Steve Clarke's Turks have been pushed back into the tented encampment

Looks like the bully beef and tiffin will fall to the enemy

but glory awaits at the other end

charge the town !

only a handful of Madhists are left in there

Melvyn's character has found time to regale ladies with stories of his military achievements (mostly made up of course !) 

Guns and foot move up to capture the town

David's Lancers now rampage through the town "sticking" anyone in the way

The General's Lady has not been forgotten. A strong force of infantry guards her 

A wonderful weekend, great game, game company, food and drink - what's not to like.

Roll on next year - its going to be Zulus !