Right now, I should be prattling on about something to do with the Joy of Six or our Lens demo game, or even some new releases.   But this week it's different. 

The reason for the change in style is that I’ve just heard of the death of Charlie Wesencraft.   Charlie was one of that stalwart bunch of pioneer wargamers in the 1960s and early 1970s who helped lay the foundations of the amazing hobby that we have today.   Perhaps he wasn’t as famous or celebrated as Featherstone or Grant, but his books were full of practical ideas of how to play historical games with toy soldiers. 

Although I knew his name through magazine articles, I really didn’t read much from him until I decided that I wanted to write some ECW rules back in the early 1980s.   His book, ‘With Pike and Musket’, seemed to be a great starting point, and I still have that very same publication.   Although my ideas on the period moved away from Charlies style of mechanics and game play (my own rules developed into, ‘Forlorn Hope’) I found his writing clear, interesting and highly informative.    

Very shortly after I’d started running Baccus full time, I got a phone call from Charlie, completely out of the blue.   I will admit to being a little starstruck at the time.   It turned out that he had been commissioned to produce a diorama of the Battle of Blenheim to be displayed at Blenheim Palace to celebrate the 300th anniversary of that famous victory.   Charlie had weighed up the options, and having decided to go with 6mm as the scale to work in, had chosen Baccus as the best option for his plans.  For a fledgling company to get such an endorsement and involvement with such a prestigious project was enormous. 

Charlie at work on the Blenheim model

Charlie was great to work with.  Unassuming, very friendly and in complete control of what he needed.  Given my own interest in the period, it was a joy to contribute, and I topped it all off with a one-off original sculpt of Marlborough himself.   We became friends during the course of the project and kept in touch.  He would often make it down to the Vapnartak show where we would catch up and have a natter.   It was at one of these shows where I got him to autograph my dog-eared copy of ‘With Pike and Musket’, and it remains a prize possession.  Typical of the man, he was rather perplexed as to why anyone would want his autograph.  

Charlie was not a big man, but in our hobby, he was one of the giants that laid the foundations of what we have today.   Can I pass on best wishes to his family from all of us at Baccus.  

For those who are interested this is a link to an earlier version of the Baccus site with Charlies account of how he put the model together.  https://web.archive.org/web/20051220143628/http://www.baccus6mm.com/index.php?content=projects

Thanks for posting that Peter. I never met the man unfortunately, but his Practical Wargaming really is a remarkable book that stands up very well over time. In particular, the ideas in the 'Grand Manner' rules (1 unit/formation = 1 base), streamlined rules for larger engagements, was a very different approach from the "we are going to need a bigger bathtub" approach that had prevailed before (and for some time after) this.

Pike & Shot is not my period at all... BUT... a big thanks to Peter for acknowledging true talent in our particular field of entertainment... recognition for the true classics is never overdue! 

Some time go I picked up my own very dog eared copy of With Pike and Musket.Coincidentally I am also working on my own WoSS project at the moment, with most of my Dutch infantry still having a very small number of pikes,