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Probably the grandfather of modern wargaming, Don Featherstone has passed away. Many older wargamers like myself had our first introduction to wargaming via his rules, sad loss... :(

EVERY gamer should realize, this is the great grand daddy of miniature warfare games!

Donald F. Featherstone (born 20 March 1918, London) is a British author of more than forty books on wargaming and military history. He wrote classic texts on wargaming in the 1960s and 1970s.

During the Second World War, Featherstone attempted to join the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy; both rejected him. Therefore he settled on the Army and joined the Royal Armoured Corps. An account of his war experiences can be found in his book Lost Tales

Originally a physiotherapist, Featherstone was first introduced to wargaming by reading HG Wells' Little Wars and his first opponent was Tony Bath in 1955. In 1960 the two of them began editing the UK version of the War Game Digest, a seminal wargaming newsletter started by Jack Scruby. Disapproving of a trend towards articles that were "attempting to spread an aura of pseudo-science over what is a pastime," Featherstone started his own periodical in 1962, the Wargamers' Newsletter. While in discussion late one night with Dr. Paddy Griffith (the well known military historian), Don had a Eureka moment when he came to realise that the hobby of wargaming could considerably aid understanding of military history . Featherstone appeared on the BBC to promote the hobby. In 1966 he organized the first UK wargames convention. However, Featherstone's greatest contribution was his books: hardcover collections of rules for the recreational wargamer, culminating in his encyclopedic War Games through the Ages series. Featherstone continued to write in the 1990s, switching to works on military history. He published a further book in 2009 Lost Tales about his wartime experiences, the first UK wargaming convention and the wargaming rules he liked most.

Literature
War Games (1962) A revised edition has been printed as part of the History of Wargaming Project.
Tackle Model Soldiers This Way (1963)
Naval War Games, Stanley Paul, London, 1965, ISBN 0-09-076581-8, Updated edition 2009
Air War Games (1966)
Bowmen of England (1967 first ed.)
Advanced War Games, Stanley Paul, London, 1965, ISBN 09-087350-5, reprinted 2008
War Game Campaigns (1970) reprinted 2009
Battles with Model Soldiers (1970)
Military Modelling (1970)
MacDonald of the 42nd (1971)
Solo Wargaming (1972) Reprinted 2009
Poitiers 1356: Knight's Battles for Wargamers (1972)
War Games through the Ages: Vol. 1 3000BC-1500AD (Stanley Paul, 1972. ISBN 0-09-110240-5)
Tank battles in miniature: A wargamers' guide to the Western Desert Campaign in 1940-1942 (1973)
Battle Notes for Wargamers (David & Charles, 1973. ISBN 0-7153-6310-7)
War Games through the Ages: Vol. 2 1420-1783 (Stanley Paul, 1974. ISBN 0-09-118760-5)
War Games through the Ages: Vol. 3 1792-1879 (Stanley Paul, 1975. ISBN 0-09-121250-2)
Skirmish Wargaming (Patrick Stephens Limited, 1975. ISBN 0-85059-197-X), new edition 2009
Wargaming: Ancient and Medieval Periods. David & Charles, UK, 1975. ISBN 0-7153-6939-3. Hippocrene Books, USA, 1975. ISBN 0-88254-353-9.
War Games through the Ages: Vol. 4 1861-1945 (1976)
Wargaming Airborne Operations. Kaye & Ward, 1975, ISBN 0-7182-1172-3, reprinted 2009
Wargaming Pike and Shot (1977)
Better Military Modelling (1977)
Tank battles in miniature: A wargamers' guide to Mediterranean Campaigns 1943-1945 (Patrick Stephens Limited, 1977, ISBN 0-85059-275-5)
Featherstone's Complete Wargaming (David & Charles, 1989. ISBN 0-7153-9262-X)
Victoria's Enemies: An A-Z of British Colonial Warfare (1989)
The Peninsular War (1991)
Victorian Colonial Warfare: Africa, from the Campaigns Against the Kaffirs to the South African War (1992)
Victorian Colonial Warfare: India : From the Conquest of Sind to the Indian Mutiny
Khartoum 1885: General Gordon's last stand (1993)
Tel El-Kebir 1882 : Wolseley's Conquest of Egypt (1993)
The History of the English Longbow (1993)
Omdurman 1898 : Kitchener's victory in the Sudan (1994)
Weapons and Equipment of the Victorian Soldier (1996)
Warriors and Warfare in Ancient and Medieval Times (1997)
Khaki & Red: Soldiers of the Queen in India and Africa (1997)
Bridges of Battle: Famous Battlefield Actions at Bridges and River Crossings (1999)
Bowmen of England (2003)
The Battlefield Walker's Handbook (2005)
Donald Featherstone's Lost Tales (2009) ISBN 978-1-4092-9431-3 available from the History of Wargaming

A true pioneer of our hobby, my introduction to gaming was from finding one of his old books in a library.

This may sound bad, but I didn't realise he was still alive. I knew he was old, but I just kinda assumed.

This is damn sad either way. I remember checking out his books on wargaming from the local library. It wasn't my introduction, but it certainly built up a lot of steam in my gaming boiler.

RIP

...I might go check them out again, for nostalgia's sake.

Nephilim wrote:
A true pioneer of our hobby, my introduction to gaming was from finding one of his old books in a library.

Indeed.

sad news indeed.

http://mechanicalhamster.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/a-day-of-memories/

http://wargamesfoundry.com/

Donald Featherstone: the father of British wargaming has passed away.The cover of War Games by Donald Featherstone

It was Donald who got me started in wargaming. I must have been about 11 when "Wargames" came out. The vague description that I read in Airfix Magazine got me rolling dice and moving plastic figures about. I reserved a copy from Arnold library, but didn't get hold of the book for some months: so I invented temporary crude rules of my own. As soon as I got my hands on the library copy of the book I was busy casting crude lead figures in plaster moulds just as Donald described it should be done (I was 11). I have never stopped.

Rather over a decade later, when I corresponded with Donald (for some years I would periodically send him new fantasy models for his son) I learned that he had never actually cast lead figures but had only heard how it was done (I suspect that Tony Bath was the source of the information)!

Without Donald's books and Bob O Brian's plastic chopping articles in Airfix Magazine, I would probably not be involved in this unlikely business now. In fact there would probably never have been a wargames "industry" and Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer and all the rest would never have occurred.

I would periodically attempt to tell Donald all this, but he would have none of it!

Donald gave us all a huge gift in the shape of a genuinely absorbing hobby involving whatever amount of manual skill with brush and the modelling knife suited you. Whatever level of seriousness, commitment and/or fun you and your mates wanted to bring to the wargames table and the chance to do endless research into uniforms, battles and the history of nations and great men if you choose. Most importantly, he gave us all a chance to get out of the house and be among a group of like minded wargaming friends.

I bought my son Marcus a ragged copy of “War Games” last Christmas, alongside a copy of Little Wars.

Shortly before I departed from Games Workshop, I recall that John Stallard was involved finding Donald appropriate photos of model soldiers for a new book.

I will hand you over to John:

Bryan Ansell

........................................................................................................................

This is a sad day for wargamers.

Bryan is quite correct, there is no way would we all be where we are without kindly Donald.

My last contact with Donald was when Rick Priestley wrote the Black Powder rule book I went looking for some colour text to enhance the book as it has a "voice" of a Victorian flavour.Then I remembered that Donald Featherstone had written a splendid book entitled "Victoria's Enemies", so grabbing my well thumbed copy from my shelf I found just what I needed. Donald had written a page listing an A to Z of Britain's foes stating with Ashantis and finishing with Zulus, with everyone else sandwiched in between, it was great fun and most informative.

I phoned him up out of the blue to ask permission to use the listing and he was most generous in saying yes, adding that he didn't think people read his books anymore.....How wrong he was...He also sent me a treasured personal, hand written letter saying how much he enjoyed our new book, praise indeed.....

I only actually met him once three years ago at Salute in London where he spent a good while chatting to many of his fans. There was a WW2 re enactment group there, right next to him, all dressed in Waffen SS camo gear including Hitler Youth boys. Some people found it not to their taste and took offence for Mr Featherstone who had fought WW2 in Churchill tanks and had many of his mates killed. He was asked whether they upset him dressing like that and he gently replied, "Oh no, I've met them before"......A fabulous reply, by a true gentleman and an inspiration to wargamers world wide.

John Stallard