People Posts and Prizes

New Membership Secretary

At the end October Peter Garnett stepped down after two seasons of invaluable service as Society of Ancients Membership Secretary. Chris Helm has volunteered to take on this key role, and joins the Committee with immediate effect. A big welcome to Chris - whom some of you may have met as part of the Shows North team at Fiasco.

The Society's warmest thanks are due to Peter, who took over as Membership Secretary in our hour of need. We wish him the very best of luck. Web-based contacts for Memberships and Postal Sales are already redirected to Chris ... other contact details will be announced in the next issue of Slingshot.


(Paddy Griffith, as remembered by the Doormouse)

The John Westwood Trophy

It was with a unanimous decision that the 2010 Committee awarded the John Westwood Trophy for outstanding achievements in ancient and medieval history and wargaming set therein to the late Paddy Griffith in recognition of his remarkable life long contribution to military history and historical wargames.

The awarding of the prize was announced at the celebrated historian's memorial event at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst on November 6th.

For more on the event, there are links on my P.B.Eye-candy page...

(James Roach with the Paul Morris Memorial Prize axe)

The Paul Morris Memorial Prize

During a quiet interlude at this year's Fiasco show at Leeds, President of the Society of Ancients, Phil Steele, was able to present 2009 Paul Morris Memorial Prize winner, James Roach, with the ceremonial axe. The Paul Morris Memorial Prize is awarded annually to the most innovative non-commercial wargame set within the periods of the Society's remit.

The Committee is always happy to hear nominations and citations, although the Committee cannot engage in playtesting and evaluation, so consideration normally goes to wargames released publicly or on show at events and conventions.

Phil Steele
The Society of Ancients
www.soa.org.uk
http://soawargamesteam.blogspot.com/

Society of Ancients Roll of Honour 2009

Congratulations to the 2009 Prize Winners

The Society of Ancients would like to thank all the participants, organisers, and sponsors who made its 2009 events a success, and the authors and contributors without which Slingshot would not be possible.



The special award winners:





(the prize winning game pictured at Fiasco)



The Paul Morris Memorial Prize (for the most innovative new non-commercial wargame within the Society's remit):

James Roach and the Ilkley lads for 'Fleet of Battle' as seen at Fiasco 2009

(more on this at http://olicanalad.blogspot.com/2009/10/contemplating-my-naval.html)



Tony Bath Award (for invaluable contributions to running the Society of Ancients):

John Graham-Leigh for his sterling service on the secondary distribution of Slingshot to late subscribing members.



Deryck Guyler Award (a special award for assisting the promotion of the Society):



To Paul Innes for his support of the BattleDay in Scotland and in galvanising local shows support.



The Persian Helmet (The players' player award at Britcon)

Ray Duggins



... And to the Slingshot contributors:



Editor's Prize

Doug Melville 'Putting it All Together - the Sassanians Re-Examined'



Charles Grant Prize

Awarded for the best article covering a B.C. topic up to 500 BC:

Alastair McBeath 'Mesopotamian Warfare'



The Phil Barker Prize for an article in the period 500 BC to 1 AD

Patrick Waterson 'Amazed was I Ere I saw Zama'



The Ian Greenwood Prize

Awarded for the best article 0 to 1000 A.D: Stewart Hey 'Ambush at Callinicum'



The Alan Nickels Prize

Awarded for the best article post 1000 A.D.:Mick Hession 'Cogadh Gaedhil, Medieval Irish Warfare 600 - 1500 AD'



Best Wargames Article, sponsored by Gripping Beast:

Adrian Goldsworthy for his series 'Thinking About Romans'



And Congratulations to the Wargames prize winners:



SoA Doubles Masters

1. Graham Evans/Wayne Dare 2. Dave Handley/Nic Sharp, 3. Bob Amey/Andy Ellis



Society of Ancients/BHGS GB Armati League

Bill Wilson



Northern DBA Cup (Hosted by Triples)

Graham Fordham



English DBA Open (co-sponsored with Magister Militum)

Colin O'Shea





(Martin Myers and Colin O'Shea pose with their awards)



The Society of Ancients Championship

John Davis (top placed player in the 2009 trial year)



The Society of Ancients Armati by the Sea

1.Bill Wilson 2. Malcolm King 3. Matthew Bennett



The Society of Ancients Anderida Trophy

Kevin Large/Andy Rourke



Thanks also to the BHGS for administrative help, and to Gripping Beast, Magister Militum and Ancient and Modern Army Supplies for sponsoring prizes

Slingshot Editor's Prizes

As sent out to the Society Yahoo! Group:

"Time once again for the announcement of the year's editor's prizes (i.e. the subset of SoA prizes which are within the grant of the editor), and following on from our esteemed president's announcement of the new Phil Barker prize. This year, I should mention, the list of potential prizewinners was significantly longer than the list of actual winners. To avoid various cats getting a good kicking, I won't list the articles and authors that just missed out. But it's a good thing to have such a large reservoir of quality material (and the amount currently "in the hopper" is actually more than at any other time when I've been editor), and it reflects the amount of new, high quality material that has come in over the past 12 months.

The prizes are awarded for articles published in the 6 issues running from November 2008 to September 2009 (reflecting the fact that they would have previously been announced at the AGM). Some "series" articles do cross the "consideration year" boundary, and those that do so this year will be eligible for consideration in the 2010 prizes.

• The Editor's Prize: Doug Melville, for "Putting it All Together: the Sasanians Re-Examined", S/s 260, 261, 264
• The Charles Grant Prize (for a historical article in the period pre 500 BC): Alastair McBeath, once again, for his Mesopotamian Warfare series, S/s 261-266 and ongoing
• The (inaugural) Phil Barker Prize (500-1 BC): Patrick Waterson, for "Amazed Was I Ere I Saw Zama", S/s 262
• The Ian Greenwood Prize (1-1000 AD): Stewart Hey, for "Ambush at Callinicum 531AD", S/s 263
• The Alan Nickels Prize: (post 1000 AD): Mick Hession, for "Cogadh Gaedhil, Medieval Irish Warfare 600-1500AD", S/s 263-265
• The award for Best Wargaming Article, kindly sponsored by Gripping Beast: Adrian Goldsworthy, for "Thinking About Romans", S/s 263-266 and ongoing

Congratulations to the winners. David Edwards will be contacting them individually to establish the how they'd like to receive their prize."

Phil Barker Prize

New Slingshot Prize.

To reflect the number and quality of material submitted for publication in the BC periods, The Society of Ancients has added a new prize to the honours it awards for contributions to Slingshot. The Charles Grant Prize will now cover contributions from the earliest periods of warfare up to 500BC. The new prize will cover the period 500 BC to 1 AD.

In 1971 WRG published Armies of the Macedonian and Punic War by Phil Barker - the first in a ground breaking series of books aimed at wargamers, and attempting to translate the latest research into clear and reliable reconstructions of the soldiers of the ancient world. Barker’s next in the series, Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome, went through 4 editions over 10 years and is widely recognised as a definitive guide to the appearance of the Roman Army. For many enthusiasts, the modern approach to historical wargaming in these periods began with Phil Barker’s unique contributions.


(Phil Barker, left, presents awards at the English DBA Open)

In recognition of his immense contribution, through stand alone publications, WRG rules and Slingshot articles, The Society of Ancients has named its new award for outstanding contributions to Slingshot in the period 500 BC to 1 AD The Phil Barker Prize.

For a brief appraisal of Phil Barker’s contribution to wargaming, there is a Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Barker

Phil Steele
President