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/

2010 English DBA Open Results

The 2010 English DBA Open was held on 10th October at the Southsea Community Centre. Sponsored by Magister Militum and the Society of Ancients, thanks are due to Portsmouth and Allied Wargames Society for hosting the event.

Congratulations to Scott Russell, the new English DBA Open Champion, and to James May, the new English DBA Open Junior Champion.

(left to right: James May - Junior winner - Scott Russell - Open Champion - Arnaud Marmier - runner up)

The entrants played off in three pools of 6, the winners plus best runner up going into semi finals, the top four Juniors likewise into their own knockout phase.

In semi final A, Scott Russell defeated Lindon Paxton (Early Carthaginians vs Syracusans) 4-2; In semi final B, Arnaud Marmier defeated Mark Schofield (Pyrrhic vs Camillan Roman) 4-0.

Using the same forces, Scott Russell defeated Arnaud Marmier in the final 4-1.

James May won the Junior event.

Richard Pulley won the Plate Competition.

For an illustrated blog, please visit Ancients on the Move

Many thanks from the Society of Ancients to all those who supported the event. With a minimum of 5 games each, all the entrants had a busy and worthwhile day: we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2011 if not before.

Phil Steele
The Society of Ancients
www.soa.org.uk

Pool results: A: A Marmier 22; M Smith 16; M Myers 11; R Dowling 7; D Constable 6; R Walker (J) 5. B: S Russell 21; M Schofield 20; R Pulley 8; T Ellis 6; S Etheridge 6; P Myers (J) 5. C: L Paxton 20; C O'Shea 14; P Steele 13; F Schofield (J) 11; J Drury 11; J May (J) 0.

Armies and popularity: Viking (2); Ghaznavid (2); Early Burgundian (2); Patrician Roman (2 ... 1 East, 1 West) ... then 1 entry each: Early Sumerian; Minoan; Kushite Egyptian; Spring & Autumn Chinese; Asiatic Early Successor; Ptolemaic; Middle Imperial Roman; Feudal Spanish; Medieval French; Medieval Portuguese.

ENGLISH DBA OPEN 2010

(one of last year's semi finals)

The Society of Ancients looks forward to next weekend's English DBA Open, hosted again by the Portsmouth and Allied Wargames Society.

Sponsored by the Society of Ancients and Magister Militum, the English DBA Open is a one-day event running from 9am on Sunday 10th October. To enter, or for more details, visit the English DBA Open information page
Junior, Senior and 25mm categories are available, and trophies and prizes will be presented.

For more information about the Society of Ancients, visit our website
www.soa.org.uk

SOCIETY OF ANCIENTS DOUBLES MASTERS

Good luck to all the competitors in this year's Doubles Masters Tournament.

Over 40 competitors will be gathering over the coming weekend on Oxford Brooke's University's Wheatley Campus to contest the 2010 title.

Organised by the BHGS and sponsored by the Society of Ancients, the event, this year, consists of a single 'English Open' round in 15mm scale using Field of Glory rules. The south of Oxford venue will also be playing host to Flames of War and Field of Glory Renaissance (beta, singles) competitions.


(last year's champions with the Alexander trophy. Will they retain their crown?)

Details of 'runners and riders' etc. can be found on the BHGS website www.bhgs.co.uk

Update on Veni Vidi Vici discounts

Justin Taylor of Veni Vidi Vici asked me to update you all that the 10% discount that he offers SoA members is against everything at VVV, not just shield transfers. We will of course amend the website Discount programme section and Slingshot accordingly. A reminder of the website:
www.3vwargames.co.uk. I advise contacting Justin by email before ordering via the website, to check how to claim your 10% discount.

More discounts for SoA members

The Assault Group is offering our members a 5% discount, which on top of the free shipping that they offer customers, is very welcome. See their website at at http://www.theassaultgroup.com/
as ever, I advise you to email them before making th order, with your membership number.


More good news: Columbia Games is offering Society of Ancients members a whopping 20% discount on direct purchases through his website at http://www.columbiagames.com/
Please email Columbia ahead of making an order, so that the discount can be agreed.
Many thanks to Columbia Games for making this generous offer.

Armati-by-the-Sea IV Results

Armati-by-the-Sea (2010)


Peter Barham has sent me the full results of the fourth annual Armati-by-the-Sea event staged in Bournemouth over the weekend of 6-7th March 2010.



Pos. Player ave score (max 32)

1. Phil Steele (25.4)
2. Bill Wilson (25.0)
3. Malcolm King (21.2)
4. Roy Boss (20.6)
5. Vincent Auger (20.4)
6. John Bradley (18.4)
7. Matthew Bennett (17.2)
8. Bruce Rollett (16.8)
9. Rodger Williams (16.4)
10. Craig Tannock (15.4)
11. Ian Kerr (15.2)
12. Tim Cull (14.6)
13. Michel Acloque (14.4)
14. Carl Luxford (14.2)
15. Peter Barham (13.6)
16. Mark Fry (13.2)
17. Stuart Campbell (12.2)
18. Kate Lake (10.8)
19. Paul Collins (8.2)
20. Mick Owen (6.8)

The event was managed by Peter Barham and (occasionally) umpired by Mark Fry. Peter and Phil Steele presented prizes on behalf of the Society. The 22 matched pairs of armies were assembled and provided by Mark Fry and Roy Boss. The Society of Ancients thanks everyone for a magnificent job.

There are pictures and comment from the event on the Society's Ancients on the Move blog (here ...)

Next Year? Peter has provisionally announced March 12/13th 2011 for the Fifth Annual Armati By the Sea event.

Phil Steele

The next Society of Ancients sponsored event will be the DBA Northern Cup to be held at Triples, 17th April at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield

2010 reshuffle

Apologies to anyone who found contacting us difficult around the end of February. For reasons beyond our control, the website and associated mailboxes were out of action for an annoyingly protracted period - how long it takes the host to allow payment details to be updated!

The Society of Ancients Website is back and fully functioning.


The online subscriptions and payments services are available, and email contacts are live.

Behind the shop-front, there have been some changes. Mark Watson retires as editor with issue 268 that has just gone out. Many thanks are due to Mark for the fantastic job he has done; for masterminding the journal's makeover as well as two years of great content ... and then staying until we could find a new editor!

Richard Taylor takes over with 269 (and inevitably, thanks are also due to Richard who, in turn, is taking over earlier than originally planned) - please extend him all your support.

Daivid Barnsdale steps up from the Championship's leading advocate (and most prolific player) to Wargames Championship Organizer. Thanks go to Bill Thurlow for steering the Championship through its trial year in 2009. Contact Daivid at Championship@soa.org.uk and please start registering games via the website submissions form.

As well as kudos and crockery, the 2010 Championship boasts an attractive extra prize of £100 worth of 25mm figures donated by Hinchliffe. More sponsorship will be announced during the course of the year. The Championship is open to any current Society of Ancients members, and runs throughout the membership year. Computer games are allowed as well as traditional formats, and online games possible with the agreement of both players (check the website for more detailed rules).

A 2010 subscription to the Society of Ancients costs £20 and brings the full range of member benefits and discounts as well as 6 issues of the Society's celebrated journal, Slingshot. You can become a member by applying online (here ...), contacting the Membership Secretary, or meeting us at a show or event.

Slingshot 268

The latest issue of Slingshot is 268, publishing date January 2010. This issue is running somewhat late in order to try and pick up the most complete version of the resubscription database and avoid subsequent one-off postings.

The next issue will be the March issue. The delay to January's issue will probably have a knock on effect on March. Also, from March Slingshot will have a new editor.

This issue is 56 pages long, not including the cover pages. It's published in the same format introduced with issue 258.

The contents of Slingshot 268 are as follows. For games articles, I've indicated the relevant rule set where it's not immediately obvious from the title; with historical articles I've tried to indicate period if a similar issue applies.

• Zama 202BC, the 2010 SoA Battle Day Battlepack, by Richard Lockwood
• The Manichaeans in the army of Alexius , by Jim Webster
• “Let the magilum boats of Meluhha transport gold and silver”: Mesopotamian Warfare Notes X, by Alastair McBeath
• Yongle’s Campaigns in the South: The Ascent of Yongle, by John Walsh
• [ DBA ] III/46. Early Medieval Goídil (ca. 795-1297 C.E.), by Brian Girard
• [ Armati ] Adapting Balaclava to Roman Britain, by Chris Hahn
• Beating Shock Troops with Light Foot in FoG, by Christopher Webber
• Naval Campaign Rules Using Naumachiae, by Christopher Webber
• Mesopotamian & Chronological Notes from AMW, by Alastair McBeath
• [ DBM ] The Wolf on the Fold, by John Graham Leigh
• Impetus – a Very Brief Overview, by Mike Brian
• New Year Review Feast!, by Various Voices
• China: The Middle Kingdom, reviewed by John Graham-Leigh
• Richard III – The Wars of the Roses, reviewed by John Graham-Leigh
• Figure Reviews, by David Edwards & Mark Watson

New additions to the discount programme!

We have several new vendors joining our discount programme:

Blaze Away can offer a flat 10% to our members on any sized order. Members will just need to indicate in the text box of the online order process that they are SOA members and to include their membership number, which Blaze Away can verifiy with us later. Alternatively, members can email their order and Blaze Awaw will send an invoice with the discount included. Check them out at blazeaway.com.au


Hinds Figures Ltd are offering members a 10% discount. Contact Ian at Hinds in advance of making an order, with your membership number. You can then agree with him how to make the order. This offer also includes the Hinchliffe figure range that Ian sells. Note this offer is not in conjunction with other discount offers that Hinds have. See the figures at http://www.hindsfiguresltd.com/


Tumbling Dice UK are also now offering members a 10% discount. As above, contact them first with your membership number. Find them at http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/


10mm specialists Pendraken Miniatures will give SoA members a 10% discount on orders over £50. As usual, contact them first before ordering. They have a new website launching in February and have said they would welcome any feedback from our members. Have a look at http://www.pendraken.co.uk/


Nick Eyre at North Star is extending a 10% offer to our members for Crusader Miniatures UK, Artizan Design and North Star Military Figures. Note that Nick can only offer this to mail order customers, and not at shows. Again contact him in advance. See the ranges at http://www.northstarfigures.com/


Hopefully more to come!

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 267

The latest issue of Slingshot is 267, publishing date November 2009. It still seems to wending its very slow way through the snow from printers to mailing house and thence to subscribers.

The next issue will be the January issue (which I actually hope to get to the printers in January).

This issue is 60 pages long, not including the cover pages. It's published in the same format introduced with issue 258.

The contents of Slingshot 267 are as follows. For games articles, I've indicated the relevant rule set where it's not immediately obvious from the title; with historical articles I've tried to indicate period if a similar issue applies.

• Mercenary Genitors in the 1470s, by Duncan Head
• Constantius II, Ammianus, and the Big Parade, Part 3, by Jim Sye
• The Gladius vs. the Sarissa – The Battle of Heraclea 280BC, by Jeff Champion
• The Battle of Pydna, by Richard Taylor
• Battle of the Year: the Decisive Victory over Varus, by Robert Heiligers
• AMW’s Lost Battles I – Marathon, 490BC, by Graham Evans
• Combining ‘Empire’ and ‘Lost Battles’, by Philip Sabin
• Army Choice in DBA – The English DBA Open 2009, by Martin Smith
• Results of Legion 2009 DBA Tournament, by Martin Smith
• Welsh DBA Open Championship, January 31st 2009, by Martin Smith
• [ Armati ] AD 9 – “Give Me Back My Legions”, by Mark Fry
• Clash of Iron, Flash of Bronze: FoG Ancients Campaign rules, by Christopher Webber
• Games Reviews, by Christopher Webber
• Book Reviews, by Robert Heiligers & Mark Watson
• Guardroom

Monarch Books and Iceni Games join SoA Discount Programme

I am delighted to announce that Monarch Books and Iceni Games are now offering a 10% discount to members on orders over £15 in value on purchases made either through the website or at shows. This includes both books and minatures.

The websites can be found at:
www.monarchmilitarybooks.com
www.icenigames.co.uk

The Monarch side will concentrate on the Publications area of their business eg Rules and Books etc, and Iceni will be the place to go for Xyston and other miniatures, boardgames etc.

As usual, email them in advance of making your order, telling them your membership number and your intnetion to order. They will help you through the process to obtain the discount.