Minster Gate Bookshop Revisited

Hello There! The day before I visited Vapnartak 2026, I had a tour around York and revisited the Minster Gate Book Shop again.

Again there was a noticeable change in the stock in the History and Military History sections.

After a while I walked away with the following.

While these subjects are not my usual interests for less than four pounds each I added these to the collection.

I have a few publications on the Roman Army and I had a look through this and felt it would be a useful addition. Also the Towton book was also interesting, especially as we passed the battlefield on the way home.

I originally had a creeping feeling that I had this already but thankfully I was incorrect.

I have a small force of  Resistance, which could be the basis of a good game. I do not have anything specific on this subject so was pleased to find his. Also another couple of additions concerning Normandy. This time from the German and British perspective.

This last item came from an Oxfam shop on the high street. It was hidden behind a number of other books and not easy to find. I already have the first part and this concentrates on the large Capital ships in the Kriegsmarine, some destroyers which were formally from other nations and an errata from volume one.

Rome Versus Carthage

Hello there! Another game, which has been lurking in my camera is the above game, using Epic scale figures from a collection of a wargaming friend.

I did spend part of the game feeling they could easily be mistaken for 15mm figures! It has been a few weeks since I played this game and I cannot remember the rules used but it was a very entertaining night with good company. The game was also well run and the rules were easy to pick up.

The Battle of Cannae 216BC

Hello there! The New Buckenham Historical Wargamers recently put on the Battle of Cannae as a weekend game.

I was unable to take part but did manage to take some photographs during the day.

As you can see, the Carthaginian centre had just given way, but there were some well painted units still on the table.

The game was enjoyed by all that attended and there are further photographs on the clubs Facebook page here.

Battle of Mona, 60AD

Hello there! A weekend game of the Battle of Mona, saw a handful of club members turn out for this Impetus game.

The game was set on an amphibious landing by the Romans and a later outflanking move by them, on the Ancient Britons left flank.

One club member had spent a lot of time building and painting a Sarissa Models Roman Navy!

The Romans had their auxiliary units on their right flank and they spent much of the time trying to fight their way out of the surf!

The initial charge of the Ancient Briton chariots came to nought as the Romans absorbed the shock and drove them off.

The hoards of Ancient Britons was very impressive!

As the edges of the board were heavily wooded plenty of the clubs trees were used. I noticed the use of polyfibre here, something I have yet to try.

Reinforcements were steadily added to the fray over the course of the game.

Here are some closer views of the Roman Navy.

This is the view from the Roman side of the beach and you can see the enemy seem formidable.

Eventually the Ancient Britons reached their break point tests and failed. They fled the field despite keeping the Romans fighting in the surf for most of the game. 

Further photos are on the New Buckenham Historical Wargamers Facebook page here.