Books published by Paddy Griffith Associates

    Paddy Griffith Associates began with a short and hyper-specialised pamphlet written by me, 'How to Play Historical War Council Games' (Nuneaton 1991: no ISBN). Although this contains ideas and information of the very highest interest to thinking wargamers, it has sold only about thirty copies.

    Operations became much more effective in 1995, although there are still several problems of distribution, not least to USA.

    Please note that I can accept orders by e-mail, but I cannot accept credit- or debit- card payments - only cheques, please (payable to 'Paddy Griffith Associates').   Allow 30 days after receipt of payment for delivery in Europe, or 60 days in USA or elsewhere. Postage & packing included in the price.

So far, five titles have been released:-

'The Battle of Blore Heath, 1459' Edited by Paddy Griffith, 1995 (retailing at $12.95 in USA; �4.95 in UK. This is a 60 page booklet, incl. 8 b/w maps / illustrations. Glossy full colour cover in card. Height 21 cm. ISBN 0-9521488-1)
    The battle of Blore Heath in 1459 was the first major fight in the Wars of the Roses. At Blore an outnumbered but veteran Yorkist force completely defeated the Cheshire levies sent to intercept it, on ground near Market Drayton that we can identify today with considerable accuracy.

    In this book all the available evidence of just what happened at Blore Heath is presented in full. The main text consists of Col.Twemlow's study of the battle, first published in 1912 but now considerably expanded and up-dated by the researches and discoveries of Rev Brian Swynnerton and Will Swinnerton, who live close to the battlefield.

    Apart from a full narrative, the book contains maps, original documents and suggestions for a tour of the battlefield today.

'"A Widow-making War" - the life and death of a British officer in Zululand, 1879' Edited by Howard Whitehouse, 1995 (Alas no longer in print. Glossy full colour board cover. Height 21.5 cm., 152 pp. with 11 b/w maps, diagrams and photos. ISBN: 0-9521488-0-3)
    'A Widow-Making War' presents the fascinating letters and diaries written by brevet major Warren Wynne during his service as a Royal Engineer in the Zulu War. They trace his journey to the theatre of war in Pearson's column, and his participation in the battle of Nyezane (Inyezane) - the often-unnoticed British victory fought out on the same day as Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift. They then show him at Eshowe, where he designed, built and energetically supervised one of the most elaborate fortifications seen in the whole campaign. That Pearson was able to hold out there for three long months was very largely due to Wynne's energy and expertise, and it was a particularly cruel stroke of fate that carried him away - a victim of typhoid fever - just as the war was ending.

    In this completely new edition of Wynne's writings his achievement is extensively explained by Howard Whitehouse in a manner that is both pleasing and illuminating to military specialists and general readers alike.

 

'"Buckle for your Dust" - Vietnam Wargame Rules, 1965-73', written by Greg McCauley, 1995 (retailing at � 6.50 in UK, $ 15.0 in USA. Glossy full colour card cover in A4 format. About 60 pp. with many b/w diagrams, tables and illustrations. ISBN: 0-9521488 2 X)
    Includes full details and rules for playing the game with miniatures, as well as copious details of the soldiers, weapons, aircraft &c., and notes on how to construct realistic scenarios with a 'maximum frustration factor' for Freeworld players who have all the firepower but have not necessarily won all the hearts and minds, just yet.

    Came second in Robert L Haworth's review of six available Vietnam rule sets in the Midwest Wargamer's Association Newsletter (MWAN) #89, Sept-Oct '97. Haworth particularly praised the supporting text (historical details) and said 'The Rules of Engagement (ROE) subsystem is top-notch, illustrating the game's deliberate and welcome focus on "the human factor" instead of technology'.

    Also includes a simplified 'one brain cell' set of rules by Andy Callan, and a set of rules for riverine operations by Paddy Griffith.

'With the Rank and Pay of a Sapper- a history of the Nuneaton 216th (Army Troops) Company, Royal Engineers', by Professor James Sambrook (to be published by Paddy Griffith Associates, Nuneaton, 1998: ISBN 0 9521488 3 8; price �20 in UK, $30 in USA). Detailed history of the 216 Royal Engineers Fortress Company (locally raised in Nuneaton), 1914-18.

    This highly readable, fully-illustrated and important book gives a uniquely detailed view of a unit as small as a Company, using memoirs, documents and diaries from a wide variety of its members, through many 1915-18 adventures in England and France, in estaminet and fire-trench alike. This unit helped stop the Kaiser's offensive outside Villers-Bretonneux in late March 1918, as well as building many of the bridges for Fourth Army's counter-attack in the Hundred Days. Peter Simkins of the Imperial War Museum says of Professor Sambrook's book that 'It should serve as a timely reminder of the massive, and well-organised, support that the fighting divisions were given by the rear echelons... The fact that it is extremely well-written is a bonus.'

   

Arthur Sambrook's eyewitness drawing of Germans advancing on the Amiens Defence Line, 30 March 1918

'"The Battle of Worcester, 1651" written by Tony Spicer, 2002 (retailing at � 5.95 in UK, $ 13.50 in USA. The format is uniform with my 'Blore Heath', ie 60 pages, incl. 10 b/w maps & 13 photos. Glossy full colour cover in card. Height 21 cm. ISBN 0-9521488-5-4)
This is an excellent modern interpretation of the last battle of the English Civil Wars, which secured Cromwell precisely seven years of personal power. Among other features, Tony Spicer has provided interesting new explanations of the location of the bridge of boats, and of the Royalist artillery train. The book is already selling very well in the area of the battlefield.

Previous
Home Page
Next