Abstract
Donald Featherstone became the iconic wargaming author of the 20th century, with over forty books on wargaming and military history. His first wargaming book in 1962, War Games, included multiple conceptual leaps to change the projectile firing toy cannon system used by H G Wells, into game systems that could be used to replicate all periods of warfare. His World War II service with the British Army tank regiment informed his later writing about the experience of the ordinary soldier from all ages of history. He used his eighteen year editorship of the Wargamer’s Newsletter to encourage and inspire many of the key amateur and professional wargamers who became key figures in the emerging hobby of wargaming and the professional use of wargaming for training and analysis.
Keywords
Donald Featherstone was one of the dozen or so people who, in the 20th century, turned wargaming into both a hobby and a more useful tool for military professionals. Don is a historically important figure bridging both the Prussian kriegsspiel and H G Wells’s work to the modern wargaming era.
In the 19th century, the German Army had put considerable time and energy into developing a super-detailed wargame called kriegsspiel. Their aim was to make an accurate simulation reflecting current tactical combat. However, the rules and methods of play were too complex for widespread dissemination of the game. Although Verdy du Vernois, a German General, proposed dispensing with almost all the rules and running the game based on the umpire’s judgement, this method seemed somewhat arbitrary to many in the military (Curry, 2008). It also posed the problem of what to do if the organisers of the wargame lacked a suitable umpire with current battlefield experience.
The British volunteer movement (military reservists) took up the German kreigsspiel game, but the games were always strictly a minority interest. It was H G Wells’ classic 1913 book, Little Wars, that attempted to present a playable wargame, but it was firmly positioned at the game end of the wargame spectrum. Although Little Wars was one of only a number of wargames at the time (Curry, 2011b), it has remained the best known. Wells’ reputation as a popular literary figure coupled with the charming presentation of the book with Sinclair’s drawings helped keep the book in circulation until the proliferation of the hobby in the 1960’s. No one, including the author, would look at his game system and assume it was anything more than “A game for boys” (Wells, 1913).
Featherstone was familiar with Little Wars and many of his simple, early rules were clearly derived from it, but he significantly developed the toy soldier game described in Little Wars by abandoning shooting with toy guns, whose projectiles knocked the toy soldiers over; instead, he used dice, modified by factors to reflect the tactical situation, to determine casualties – in a similar way to the kriegsspiel style military training games. Using dice in this way would enable and encourage wargamers to construct formulae to portray the level of casualties inflicted by different weapons in different eras, something the Britain’s toy 4.7 inch gun, used in Little Wars, could never do. One of Donald Featherstone’s achievements was to change the public perception of wargaming from a childish past-time to an adult hobby (and to quote H G Wells, “as well as one that could also be enjoyed by the more intelligent sort of child” Wells (1913)).
Don Featherstone’s classic book War Games was published in 1962. As Paddy Griffith wrote, “it came as an amazing thunderclap to an entire generation of would-be wargamers” (Featherstone, 2008). This new wargaming book demanded credibility; the foreword was by a celebrated Commando officer from World War II, Brigadier Peter Young DSO, MC, MA, FSA, F R HIST S (Retd) whose combat experience include the raid on Dieppe (1942). Brigadier Young’s foreword stated that wargames had a long history and practically any form of military training was a form of wargaming. It went on to argue that wargames were not just amusing, they taught valuable military lessons such as methods of war, the value of reserves and taking the enemy by surprise. Brigadier Young then cited the example of the great German victory of Tannenburg (26-30 August 1914), as based on a plan developed during wargames played by the German General Staff in 1912. The foreword also added to Featherstone’s initial credibility by referring to the advantage that active military service in World War II had given Featherstone as the author.
Donald Featherstone at his type writer in his study in Southampton, England. His literary persistence was a key part of success.
The book was tremendously successful and was followed by further books on naval wargaming, air wargaming, wargaming campaigns, etc. (Featherstone 1965, 1966 and 1970). These contained many practical ideas for readers to incorporate into their own wargames to increase their historical accuracy and introduce some of the problems of commanding troops in battle or on campaign. Featherstone’s writing connected isolated individuals and groups across the world into the hobby of wargaming. Featherstone, along with others such as Jack Scruby, Joseph Morschauser, Charles Grant, Charlie Wesencraft and Tony Bath, developed the basic concepts of using miniature figures and equipment to represent tactical warfare from various periods of history. The various, initially largely British, innovators understood the need to balance realism against playability. Featherstone’s enthusiastic efforts complimented his exceptional turn of phrase on paper. Featherstone’s books had a friendly, informal conversational style of writing that was easy to follow and, combining them with an eloquent lecture style, he spread these ideas widely.
Individual American, British and other NATO countries soldiers and sailors started to take note of the new developments in wargaming. Some of these civilian wargames, although simplified versions of the 19th century wargames, were clearly accurate enough for professional purposes. Donald Featherstone’s Tank Battles series of books included wargaming rules to simulate the battles in the North African Desert 1940-1943 (Featherstone, 1973). These rules were the conceptual basis for more detailed developments such as the WRG WARGAMING RULES FOR MODERN WARFARE and several board games by SPI that sold to the hobby as well as training tools to the US military (Allen, 1987).
One of Donald Featherstone moments; public, TV Crews and the press assembled to see the Battle of Waterloo fought 150 years later in the Duke of York’s Headquarters, Chelsea, London, 1965. This was probably the first televised wargame and was a key moment in the growth of the hobby in the UK and Commonwealth.
By the 1970’s, most military officers saw wargames as challenging exercises to develop their war fighting skills. The classic example was two junior officers who played hobby wargames, Captain Dunn and Captain Kempf. They wrote a set of miniature rules that became a standard American Army training tool for much of the latter part of the Cold War (Curry, 2011a). By 1980, wargaming had returned as a legitimate professional tool for military training and operational analysis. Featherstone had helped turn the subject of wargaming, often derided as a childish hobby pretending to be an adult pastime, into a respectable game and even a legitimate tool for military research.
Donald Featherstone (right) explaining tactics to the actress Annette Whitely and Major York of the Middlesex Yeomanry.
Featherstone periodically wrote in the Wargamer’s Newsletter that any resemblance between events on the wargame table and real battles was entirely coincidental; this suggested that he did NOT regard his personal style of game as either a military-historical simulation or potential military training. In one sense this was accurate; his own memory of war showed that looking down on the table top, with the helicopter view of the enemy and terrain was not realistic. Real war is characterised by fear, which is not easily replicated in any simulation. This public stance was a business decision to side-step the anti-wargame criticism that was levelled at the hobby as inappropriate militarism and glorification of war. By stating the wargames in his books were not simulations or having any potential for military training he could continue to develop the maximum market possible for his writing. At the same time, he was aware that others were taking his work as the starting point for early board wargames and military training games. Irrespective of whether the reader of his many wargaming books actually used the rules from within the book, his books were full of what the military refer to as operational analysis, detailed investigation of how to turn military history into simulations. The sections of what should be codified into rule systems and what should not, were good examples of the key issues of serious game design; abstraction and generalisation. This material was invaluable to those starting to create games for the hobby and for military professionals.
Covers of copies of old Wargames Newlsetter, dating back to the early 60s.
Donald Featherstone’s emergence as one of the major influences in the development of modern hobby and professional wargaming was the result of a complex series of factors that conspired to put him in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills.
Featherstone’s father first introduced the young Donald to toy soldiers and his first wargames in the 1920’s. With Britain’s lead soldiers and a substantial toy fort (which Don still had in his attic), he enacted his first battles and sieges. The figures were used as representations for soldiers of many periods and nationalities.
When World War II commenced, Featherstone followed the advice of the World War I veterans he knew from his childhood year – “avoid joining the infantry” - and so he became the first volunteer in the Royal Tank Regiment. While in a largely empty camp early in the war, he then ignored the veteran’s advice and volunteered when a corporal asked if anyone could type. This breach of the veteran’s code never to volunteer probably saved his life. He landed in a responsible position in the squadron headquarters within the 51st Royal Tank Regiment; then he was promoted to the battalion HQ and, near the end of the war, to a brigade HQ. This gave him the opportunity to observe war at first hand, while having a reasonable chance of survival.
Featherstone saw war closely, in the North African Desert and the Italian campaign. As an eyewitness, he helped his commanding officer write the citation for Captain Hollands’ gallant action at Steam-roller Farm in October 1943. Featherstone used to tease Captain Hollands in a good humoured way after by the war, by saying if he had written a better citation, the captain would have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British award for gallantry, instead of a DSO medal he actually received. Featherstone was almost killed in October 1944 near the Verona River in Italy, when he was the only one in the bivouac not to be killed or invalided out of the army by a massive enemy shell from a railway gun. On another occasion, he dispensed with modesty and took cover in a trench wearing only his underpants. He emerged to find a mortar round had destroyed his clothes and an officer emerging from a cellar commented that Featherstone looked as white as a sheet. One can only imagine the sort of reply that must have entered Featherstone’s mind, but he only responded, “I’m not surprised.” As part of his duties, he assisted with recovery of broken down tanks. In one desert battle a tank was damaged and Featherstone was in the recovery team winding their way through the battle in only a soft-skinned truck. They repaired the tank, replaced the casualties and headed back to the friendly lines. Before they had got back, the tank they had assisted was hit again and so they had to creep through the battle to render assistance again to the same tank.
Talking to him in later years, I became aware that he was given many opportunities to practise his writing skills with the many reports, returns, memoranda and records that were essential to keep an armoured battalion in battle. Featherstone acknowledged the formative nature of his war experiences and said, “Everything I have ever done since came from my time in the army” (Featherstone, 2007).
After the war, Featherstone developed his literary skills by writing successful books on a variety of medical subjects, such as his profession of physiotherapy. When he wrote his classic book War Games in 1962 it was his tenth book. He never expected it to sell around the world, appearing on the shelves of libraries from the Library of Congress to local schools. One can speculate that, if he had not been so successful with his writing on wargaming, he might have been even better known for his medical books.
After the success of his first wargaming book, he combined the editorship of what became a very influential magazine for the key wargaming innovators of its time. His editorship of the Wargamer’s Newsletter stretched some eighteen years, 1962-1980, a respectable length of time for any magazine editor. Along with a prolific output of books on wargaming, military history and even military fiction, the Newsletter spread the techniques of wargaming around the world. Featherstone’s editorship was characterised by encouragement for new wargamers to develop their ideas. Many important wargamers, such as Phil Barker and Paddy Griffith, first started to develop their ideas in the Newsletter. He also used the pages of the Newsletter to review the work of other wargaming authors such as Terry Wise, Charlie Wesencraft and Stuart Asquith, who Featherstone admiringly noted were helping to develop the hobby.
Some covers of Feathertone’s books.
The end of his editorship of the Newsletter is an interesting example of commercial interests. The subscription base was growing and Featherstone successfully sought a publisher to assist in the print and the global distribution. However, the Newsletter, guided by Featherstone, focussed on individuals and clubs writing their own rules and making their own terrain; Featherstone enjoyed the craft aspects of the hobby. Some publishers were unhappy with this focus, as they wanted new wargaming magazines that focussed on the professionally-produced commercial rules and equipment that were being produced by the growing wargaming industry. The Wargamer’s Newsletter was taken over by a new publisher and promptly discontinued. Featherstone was not unhappy with this arrangement as he received a financial incentive not to start a new version of the Wargamer’s Newsletter; he also wanted to focus on other writing projects.
Contributing to the spread of wargaming and the success of Featherstone’s books was the 1960 launch of a range of 1/72 scale (20mm) figures and kits by the toy manufacturer Airfix. These soldiers could be used on terrain boards with scenery commandeered for military use from the proliferating model railway hobby. The model railway enthusiasts had also pioneered techniques for making realistic terrain at home and these methods helped keep the entry barrier of cost down for new wargamers.
Photo taken from: Wargaming.info (http://wargaming.info/2014/don-featherstone-memorial-trophy/).
As a result of his military experience, writing and ability in delivering after dinner speeches, Featherstone was regularly invited to speak at military events in Britain and America. Phil Barker said at the professional wargaming event Connections (UK) Conference that “Donald Featherstone was the finest of after dinner speakers” (Barker 2013). Featherstone used the opportunity of wargaming to travel widely, touring battlefields across the world and to talk to veterans of conflicts. He also spent time each week reading original source material, such as the Journal of Army Historical Research and The London Gazette. As he built up a considerable understanding of tactical matters in military history and the experience of the ordinary soldier, his reputation grew as a public speaker. He spoke at many great military venues, including the American Military Academy at West Point, where he talked about the bravery of the British Tommy. During these tours, he seized the opportunity to ask others about their own experiences; figures such a General Collin Powell and General Norman Schwarzkopf.
Featherstone was fortunate to number many of the great military writers in the late 20th century amongst his friends. His wargaming books were a composite of much of this experience. In Britain, he was friends with many of the key military historians of his era, including Brigadier Peter Young, David Chandler, Paddy Griffith and Richard Holmes. Featherstone’s writing was key in portraying the miniature figures used by wargamers not as toys, but as tools to develop a deeper understanding of warfare.
Picture by Steve Jackson, “Featherstone seen rolling dice in his game room in 2001.”
Mention must also be made of his perseverance. Not all his books were accepted; editors and publishers required rewrites, amendments, new chapters etc. Keeping up the publishing rate of one or two books a year (plus countless journal articles) took a rare level of dedication that meant many lonely hours at his typewriter, often late into the night.
In the 1970’s, much of hobby wargaming moved away from the Featherstone style of well-written straightforward rules down the route of seeking realism with ever-growing complexity. It is interesting to note that many modern wargame rules, such as BLACK POWDER (Warlord Games), have now largely reverted to the conceptual ideas of Featherstone and the other early wargame pioneers; straightforward rules with clever game mechanics. WARHAMMER and WARHAMMER 40K fantasy combat games by Games Workshop, which have been popular with children and teenagers since 1983, have rules with very similar mechanisms to those found in Donald Featherstone’s books.
On a personal note, as editor of the History of Wargaming Project, I worked with Don closely for over a decade. He provided invaluable assistance in helping to document various aspects of the hobby of wargaming. He was generous with his time and effort, quick to praise and modest with any criticism. In public, Don had a reputation for talking, but in private I remember him as someone who listened more than he talked. He came across as always interested and respectful of other’s views; this must have been invaluable skill in a lifetime’s experience of dealing with military officers, sometimes very senior, and the many military historians he encountered. Part of his success was his ability to engage with those from almost any background who shared a common interest in military history. A good film of Don being interviewed can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GNfOhnQvMI
Don Featherstone next to his sergeants battledress. He used to say that everything he had achieved was as a result of his wartime experiences. After the war he became a physiotherapist out of desire to help injured people recover and worked at Southampton Football club well into his eighties.
Summary
In conclusion, Featherstone became the iconic wargaming writer of the 20th century due to his military experience, his study of history, his eloquent turn of phrase on the written page and his willingness to put in the hard work necessary to write more than forty published books on wargaming and military history.
An interview for the Daily Telegraph in 1995 summed up Featherstone’s attitude to wargaming, The criteria of Don Featherstone’s wargaming are two basic rules, he explained. One, the rules must be simple. And two, we’ve got to be able to finish the game by quarter to ten so we can get down to the pub before it closes.
As the most senior academic wargamer in Britain, Professor of War Studies Phil Sabin (King’s College, London) said, “His many books will continue to inspire us.” (Sabin, 2013).
Footnotes
Appendices
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge the over 1,000 people who took time to post memories of Donald Featherstone in various online forums.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Author Biography
, which aims to capture and make available key material in the development of the hobby and professional wargaming. This wargaming ‘archaeology’ has included a number of wargames that have never been in the public domain. He has edited/written over sixty books including new works that aim to capture current applications of wargaming type methods as used for training, analysis and decision support.
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