Wednesday, September 1

RIP Don...

I've had this newspaper clipping floating around on my desk for ages now, and thought it was high time I saved it for posterity before it eventually gets lost, or becomes unreadable..

On this, the anniversary of his death, I for one recognise completely what a huge (huge) impact his books and writings had on a young impressionable mind, and which lead in the end to a hobby that I have enjoyed and pursued for what must be almost 50 years now.. 
 
Happily, I did get to meet him..  just the once, at the COLOURS wargaming show as I was leaving he was coming in, or vice versa - I forget, as I was reduced to a gibbering wreck, but I got to shake his hand, and I got to tell him (in not enough words) how much I appreciated his work..
 
Cheers, Don, RIP..



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18 comments:

  1. The Good Soldier Svjek02/09/2021, 05:41

    The chap that got me into wargaming 50 years ago , I still use his rules from his first book even now .

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    1. Steve-the-Wargamer02/09/2021, 12:03

      Me too, Svjek.. never really got the "Charge!" thing (was a little too twee for me at the time I guess), but Don's 'can do' approach, coupled with good explanation just chimed..

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  2. marinergrim02/09/2021, 05:52

    Just doesn't seem enough to simply say "Thanks Don" does it?

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  3. Norm02/09/2021, 06:07

    Indeed, a wargames giant.

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    1. David02/09/2021, 06:43

      Spot on Norm.

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    2. Steve-the-Wargamer02/09/2021, 12:05

      Norm/David - I reckon so.. I am continually gob smacked at his amazing output and capacity for work!

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  4. Mark, Man of TIN02/09/2021, 07:21

    Thanks for sharing this obituary tribute - oddly today I posted a belated birthday tribute about his friend Jack Alexander of Jacklex figure fame which acknowledges their debt to each other. https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2021/09/02/jacklex-birthday-mexicans/

    I usually mark or celebrate Don's birthday such as with these Southampton FC Airfix footballers and physio - although I doubt he wore a tracksuit? https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/20/donald-featherstones-centenary/

    I never met him but the joy of his writing style is that you feel that you know him ...

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    1. Steve-the-Wargamer02/09/2021, 12:05

      Hiya Mark - yes - the writing style, and the editorials of his Newsletter's... :o)

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  5. Prufrock02/09/2021, 09:08

    Comparable in our hobby to that other Don, Bradman.

    Good post.

    Cheers,
    Aaron

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    1. Steve-the-Wargamer02/09/2021, 12:06

      Aaron - not a cricket fan, but I'll take that comparison..

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  6. Rob02/09/2021, 10:54

    You were lucky to have met him - by coincidence I acquired another of his books only a week or so ago - still full of useful ideas and suggestions.

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    1. Steve-the-Wargamer02/09/2021, 12:06

      Cheers Rob - yes - absolutely... buzzed all the way home!

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    2. Rob04/09/2021, 12:57

      I don't understand your not getting the 'CHARGE!' thing - I love the rules and the game, finding a copy in a second-hand bookshop some time ago really rejuvenated my gaming and has fired me up for all things retro.

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    3. Steve-the-Wargamer04/09/2021, 15:31

      Hi Rob... I think it was a timing thing, by the time I found 'Charge' I was already mentally attuned to the Featherstone approach...

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  7. Matt02/09/2021, 21:47

    Strangely enough I have been tidying the Hobby Room (alright the attic but that sounds better) and yesterday found all the old wargamer's Newsletter I have collected over the years. Suffice to say that I lost a few hours tidying up time.

    As Paul says "Thanks Don" just doesn't come close to the joy his work has brought to my life.

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    1. Steve-the-Wargamer04/09/2021, 15:30

      Matt - damn right.. have you seen the online resource of all the Newsletters, by the way?? You could lose hours there! http://www.fourcats.co.uk/mags/

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  8. David Morfitt08/12/2021, 00:06

    Thank you for that. Like so many, it was finding his books in my local library in the 1960s that started me off. I never met him, sadly, but did have some correspondence with him. What a generous and helpful man he was. RIP.

    David.

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