ENGLISH OFFICERS - THE SOVIET VIEW

An extract from the "Odessa News" of 1950, illustrating the Soviet view of English army officers: 

No doubt just as apt in 1938 as 1950, and perhaps explaining why Comrade Stalin cannot understand Comrade Colonel Professor Winter's recent defeat at the hands of the Royalist Army in the Hereford VBCW (see the "Disaster at Dinmore")

TYPES OF THE VBCW (10) - REGULAR ARMY OFFICER

A splendidly painted Regular Army Officer to add to our series of "Types of the VBCW":

Artizan Miniatures "General Clearwell" (PLP 165)
Painted by Dave Woodward

It's not quite clear what rank this 28mm officer holds - without red tabs or hat band, however, he can't be more senior than a Major. Portly and "passed over" by the look of him, more than a little choleric and a stickler for discipline in the ranks; mind you, it doesn't look as if he's undertaken an infantry assault course for quite a while (possibly 1913...). All in all, less "General Armageddon" and more "Major Disaster"...

No. 92 SQUADRON RAF - "Colourised"

On the subject of pilots and colourised photos, a wonderful "colourisation" of two of "the Few", Battle of Britain pilots of No.92 Squadron, RAF: 

Flt/Lt Brian Kingcombe and P/O Geoffrey Wellum, RAF Biggin Hill, Battle of Britain 1940.

Kingcombe and Wellum "restored to life" in colour.

"Boy" Wellum acted as Flt/Lt Kingombe's "wingman" throughout the Battle of Britain, and the two were firm friends. No.92 Squadron was originally commanded by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell (subsequently leader of the "Great Escape"), but he was shot down, over Dunkirk, within 24 hours of Wellum's arrival at the Squadron. Kingcombe then took over command.

"Boy" wrote one of the classic accounts of air fighting during the Battle of Britain, "First Light", which was only published in 2002:

Kingcombe, Wellum and No.92 Squadron RAF also feature in Patrick Bishop's "Fighter Boys", one of the best books on the RAF and the Summer of 1940:

For anyone interested in the development of the RAF in the late 1930s, or in the Battle of Britain, required reading !

Add Edit:

Brian Kingcombe also wrote his memoirs, titled "A Willingness to Die". Kingcome passed away in February 1994, and Wellum in July 2018 :

1930s FEMALE BEAUTY - VBCW PILOT

It had to happen. Our passing interest in colourised photographs of the 1930s generally, and specifically the Very British Civil War, so far confined to (inter alia) the shapely curves of the Polikarpov I-16 Rata, or the angular lines of the Vickers Mk.6 Light Tank, has finally thrown up a 1930s female beauty, and a daredevil pilot at that:

VBCW Pilot enjoys a nonchalant Woodbine before her very first
 "aerial patrol" over war-torn Herefordshire.

The colourised version - but who is this 'female beauty' ? And for whom does she fight ?

So far, most unusually for this VBCW Blog, absolutely nothing is known about our "colourised" aviatrix. So the hunt is on for a suitable name and, most importantly, a suitable 28mm figure. We can worry about her plane later....

Any suggestions - please add a "Comment" below !

TYPES OF THE VBCW (9) - POLICEMEN

As long term followers of this blog will attest, the local constabulary, now led by Chief Constable Recurrin-Lockdowne, have endured "a very rough time of it" in the Hereford VBCW. Such is the price of seeking to maintain 'law and order' in circumstances where both have entirely broken down. While most of the 28mm Hereford VBCW Police Force have been sourced from plastic Lledo figures (see blogposts passim), one section is made up of very OOP Citadel policemen:

Constable with whistle - Citadel OOP Gothic Horror figure.
Painter - Fairoaks 024

Reverse side.

Constable on watch - 2nd version OOP Gothic Horror figure
Painter - Fairoaks024

Reverse side.

Unfortunately, the Citadel Gothic Horror range of figures is now very OOP, and hence prices for these characterful figures tend towards the astronomical. However, if you're lucky enough to have some already, or to track some down at a reasonable cost, they fit right in to the VBCW....

SHINY STUFF - WARGAMES ATLANTIC BRITISH WW1

Wargames Atlantic have announced the release of their long awaited set of 28mm hard plastic WW1 British Infantry:

We're promised a release date of 31st August 2023, and the set looks as if it will be extremely useful for VBCW conversions (plastic Lewis Guns at last! lots of different British heads!) or even as the basis for an entire VBCW Platoon (30 figures, or 3 sections according to the WTDW Rules, for somewhere between £22.50 and £25.00 RRP).

The only slight problem is that the "release date" may vary massively from the "able to purchase" date. The last Wargames Atlantic set we looked at, the "WW2 German Sentries" set, had a release date of 31st March 2023 - but they are still unobtainable in the UK in late July. Wargames Atlantic's own "release schedule" is presently showing them simply as "en route" to the UK (and everywhere else other than the US), so there is no telling when they might appear....

Still, if you're thinking of putting together a British VBCW force sometime next year, or the year thereafter, these Wargames Atlantic plastics might be just the figures for you...

HEREFORD TOWN HALL

One of the many still unresearched areas of the Very British Civil War is the power relationship between the "new" central Government in Westminster and Whitehall (Mosley and Edward VIII) and the local authorities in towns and cities. Some time ago, the Bishop's Broadcasting Service looked at the members of Hereford City Council in 1935, questioning "What would they have done?" upon the outbreak of the VBCW. Now it's time to take a quick look at where they all met and worked in Hereford, at the "New" Town Hall, St. Owens Street: 

The "New" Town Hall in Hereford, a pre 1914 photograph.

A "colourised" version of another pre 1914 photograph

"New" Town Hall in landscape rather than portrait format.

A modern day photograph of the Town Hall. Save for the cars, nothing has changed since the VBCW.

Illustrations from an Edwardian magazine upon the opening of the 
New Town Hall on 9th June 1904. Splendid interiors, with a number
of local worthies commemorated : the then Mayor, Alderman H.C. Beddoe;
the then Town Clerk, Mr Joseph Carless; the architect, Mr H.A. Cheers;
and the contractor, Mr W.J. Bowers. As noted, Princess Henry of 
Battenberg (daughter of Queen Victoria) laid the foundation stone
on 13th May 1902. All Very British !

[Add edit] : The 1937 Town Council can be seen both "in state" and "on film" in THIS POST on Queen Mary's (short) visit to Hereford to open the King George V Playing Fields.

[Add edit] Princess Henry of Battenberg (Princess Beatrice) had an interesting life. See her WIKI HERE 

MITSUBISHI A5 2M "CLAUDE" - EBAY BARGAINS

The Mitsubishi A5M Fighter (known as "Claude" to the Allies, and the forerunner of the A6M "Zero") was a classic of 1930s design - monoplane, big radial engine, non retractable landing gear (in spats) and an open cockpit. A competitor to the Boeing P-26 Peashooter and the Polikarpov 1-16, the A5M's WIKI is here.

No-one has yet suggested that the Japanese supplied "Claude" aircraft to any of the factions within the VBCW, but obviously anything is possible in Herefordshire. These three fine pre-made and factory painted 1/72 examples of the A5M fighter recently appeared on Ebay, at the remarkable price of £7.50 each:

While the Claude in "Imperial White/Grey" could only ever be identifiable as a Japanese plane, "re-decaling" either of the two camouflage versions could produce a very useful "classic 1930s" VBCW aircraft at minimal cost and effort. Advertised in 1/72 scale, these A5Ms should have a scale wing span of 6 inches (or 15cm).

The Ebay vendor appears to have a few of these models still for sale, and postage is free! Aspiring VBCW aviators should check out : "Creative Models Limited"

TYPES OF THE VBCW (8) - CHURCH MILITANT

Anglican "Field Armies" in the VBCW bolstered their ranks with a substantial number of "muscular Christians" drawn from the clergy, determined upon a "religious revival" within England and the  overthrow of "Edward the Oathbreaker", aka Edward VIII :

28mm OOP Citadel "Gothic Horror" Vicar
Unknown Painter

Reverse Side. Useful as a Platoon Leader, Artilleryman, "Mortar Spotter",
or simply a fanatical "Bringer of Fire and Brimstone".

Note : a more bumbling peaceable sort of Anglican Vicar can be seen HERE

Add Edit : at a certain point, Citadel were notorious for making minor conversions to existing figures, thereby producing a "new" release with minimal effort. This vicar duly got the 'Citadel treatment':

A different version - headswap and left hand conversion to hold
a crucifix.The every useful "Stuff of Legends" page has full
information on the Citadel "Gothic Horror" line.

28MM NUNS with GUNS

Anyone enthused by THIS PREVIOUS POST and in search of suitable 28mm VBCW Nuns might check out the webpage of Troublemakergames. While their range of Nuns are not newly released (apparently they came out in 2019), they don't seem to have received much publicity:

28mm Nuns with double-barrelled Shotguns - very VBCW !

28mm Nun Artillery Crew - useful for "Big Guns", mortars or vehicle crews

28mm Nun and 'Holy Ghost'. Possibly useful as a unique anti-tank device ?

The range is obviously directed principally at the 40K enthusiast, with lots of ridiculous "Sci-Fi" weaponry, but some careful figure choices and limited conversion work could produce a force of VBCW Nuns without much difficulty. Where else can you find Nun Cavalry ?

Nuns on "Little Donkeys". Chop out the GW style weaponry, replace with wire and home printed
VBCW pennons, and "Cha-a-a-rge !"........

COMRADE WINTER'S LONDON JOURNEY - VBCW RESEARCH TOURS

Legendary as Comrade Colonel Professor Winter's "lonely London walk" might be within the annals of the Herefordshire VBCW, re-tracing his historical steps is certainly a favourite pastime for dedicated VBCW researchers (aka "geeks"):

Middle Temple Hall, 2020s. Nothing has changed since the 1930s -
unsurprising, given that this view has been unchanged since the 1570s.

Middle Temple Lane, 2020s. No 'Fleet Street' press pack in evidence now,
but otherwise unchanged from the 1930s. Photo (rather obviously)
 from 'alamy'.

Still an Embassy today at 13 Kensington Gardens - but of the "Russian Federation" (note flag)
rather than the "Soviet Union". Was Winter's visit responsible for such a dramatic change?
[Answer - er, no.]

COMRADE WINTER'S LONDON JOURNEY - CONTINUED

His pleas to avoid immediate recall and execution having been rejected at CPGB Headquarters, Covent Garden (thanks to the ever unsmiling Comrade Raj Palme Dutt), and his recommended consultation with Counsel (D.N. Pritt KC) having been less than satisfactory, Comrade Colonel Professor Winter has been left idling in the Temple, wondering what to do (aka how to "save his skin"):

Middle Temple Hall at night, 1930s.

After a long night of soul-searching and with a heavy heart, Comrade "Bill" Winter realised that he had only one option left. Desperate times called for desperate measures...

Middle Temple Lane, 1930s. Some VBCW historians argue that this is a rare
snapshot of Comrade Winter (dressed up for his consultation with Counsel)
setting off on his now famous "lonely walk".

Another shot of Middle Temple Lane, 1930s. Again, some VBCW
historians argue that this shows Fleet Street's "press pack" hurrying
 in pursuit of the elusive Comrade Winter. Where is he going?

At last Comrade Winter's destination is revealed:

The Soviet Embassy in London - 13, Kensington Gardens. A 1930s photograph.

Dare Comrade "Bill" Winter enter the Soviet Embassy, and  if so, what fate lies in store for him within?

TYPES OF THE VBCW (7) - THE FOOTMAN

An occasional series of painted 28mm VBCW archetypes 

The "Country House" was central to England in the 1930s, and indeed to the Hereford VBCW - see this list of Herefordshire's Country Houses. Every "Country House" had its own staff and family retainers, many of whom took up arms in defence of their squire and locality. Usually lead by "the Butler", such household forces relied heavily upon already uniformed "footmen" and "valets" to act as junior NCO's, bolstering their otherwise fragile line-up of nannies, maids, cooks, etc:

"The Footman". 28mm figure - old Citadel "Gothic Horror" line.
Unknown painter. 

Replace the cream jugs with grenades, and ready for the Civil War - a line up of determined footmen.