Battleground 2024!

[Leon]

This year's Battleground will be taking place on Saturday 23rd November and this year we're moving to a NEW VENUE!  Middlesbrough Sports Village (TS4 3AE) is only about 6 miles away from our previous home and will give us a bit more space to spread out, along with free parking, a cafe and nearby train and bus routes.  The show is open 10am until 3pm and entry is completely FREE!

We've got 33 Traders booked in and you can see all of these on the Battleground website here: https://www.battlegroundshow.co.uk/traders  There are a few new faces this year too, including 5 Dice Games, 7th City Collectables, Crescent Creations 3D, Mardav Miniatures, Novo Cast Miniatures, Oberon Auctions, Ontos Games, Test of Resolve and War-Drobe!

We've also got 23 Games booked in with our usual mix of Display and Participation, so head over and check those out here: https://www.battlegroundshow.co.uk/games  We're still waiting to hear from a couple more and we'll update those as soon as we receive the bookings.

We'll be joined by 4 Living History groups, with Lonestar (ACW), La Columna (SCW), East India (19th C.) and Hawtin's Military Anecdotes (WWII) all attending this year.

The Tabletop Sale is always massively popular and we're almost fully booked already.  There are only a few slots available so get in touch asap if you'd like one!  We've switched things up a little for this year, so we're now offering Morning and Afternoon slots, each being 2hrs long at a cost of £6.  Grab the opportunity to sell off any unwanted goodies you might have, dealing with the customers directly to offload some kit, and then go buy something new from the traders!

Our Historical Talks have been a great addition to the event and this year we've got 3 on offer:

10:45am: Rory Pratt - Armoured Warfare during the Spanish Civil War
12pm: John Wilson - Gallipoli 1915: A Campaign Doomed to Failure or a Campaign Almost Won?
1:15pm: Sean and Lorrain McCartney - The Percy family and the Civil Wars


All of the show info can be found on either the Battleground website here: http://www.battlegroundshow.co.uk/ or our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/879025427526537/  If you've got any questions about the event, just let us know.

So, don't forget to tell your friends about the NEW VENUE (and the FREE ENTRY) and we'll see you there!

[Leon]

Our Traders have been confirmed for this year:

1   5 Dice Games   http://www.fivedicegames.com
2   7th City Collectibles   http://www.7thcitycollectables.com
3   ABC Brushes   http://www.abcbrushes.com/
4   Baccus 6mm   http://www.baccus6mm.com
5   Beanie Games   http://www.beaniegames.co.uk
6   Bow and Blade   http://www.bowandblade.co.uk
7   Colonel Bill's   http://www.colonelbills.com/
8   Cozzmic Cakes   http://www.facebook.com/CozzmicCakes
9   Crescent Creations 3D   https://www.facebook.com/p/Crescent-Creations-3D-100093257327674
10   Dave Thomas   http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/The-Dave-T-Shop
11   Galloping Major   http://www.gallopingmajorwargames.co.uk
12   Gaming Figures   http://www.gamingfigures.com
13   Gelatinous Cute   http://www.gelatinouscute.etsy.com
14   Graham's Wuerkshoppe   
15   Grubby Tanks/Britannia   http://www.grubbytanks.com
16   Iron Gate Scenery   http://www.irongatescenery.co.uk/
17   Ironclad Miniatures   http://www.ironcladminiatures.co.uk
18   Keelmen Miniatures   http://www.keelmenminiatures.co.uk
19   Last Valley   http://www.worgaimz.karoo.net/gbsd/
20   MarDav Miniatures   http://www.mdminis.co.uk
21   Novo Cast Miniatures   http://www.novocastminiatures.co.uk
22   Oberon Auctions   http://www.oberonauctions.com
23   Ontos Games   http://www.ontosgames.co.uk
24   Pendraken   http://www.pendraken.co.uk/
25   Phoenix Games Studio   http://www.pgstudio.co.uk
26   Sarissa Precision   http://www.sarissa-precision.com
27   Sheppey Models   http://www.sheppeymodels.co.uk
28   Test of Resolve   https://testofresolve.com/
29   The Pit/KR/Eagle   http://www.thepitgamingshop.co.uk/
30   Vixens Miniatures   http://www.vixensminiatures.etsy.com
31   War-Drobe   http://www.war-drobe.co.uk
32   Warbases   http://www.warbases.co.uk/
33   Warlord Games   http://www.warlordgames.com

[sultanbev]

Well there's a thing, I can actually get there from Burnley on a mere 2 trains, assuming Thornaby is the nearest stop, a return ticket £71.60! Total travel time 5.5 hours. Ouch....

[Gwydion]

3 Trains there, 3 trains back. Total travel time 11hrs 30mins + to and from stations. Cost £202.
Sorry Leon, another time?   

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

3Hrs drive or 4 3/4 hrs on a train with Bus additions. Think no in this case.

[jimduncanuk]

3 hours driving from Edinburgh with a car load of Scots.

Nae problem!

[Leon]

This year we've got 3 talks booked in:

Talks in 2024

​​10:45am - Rory Pratt - Armoured Warfare during the Spanish Civil War
Rory Pratt is a long time member of the Spanish Civil War living history group La Columna as well as being a keen wargamer of the period. He will be giving a talk in conjunction with a participation game that will be running throughout the day. The talk will centre on armoured warfare during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939, the equipment used by the factions during the conflict, as well as the lessons learnt and missed by the nations supporting them. Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany as well as the Soviet Union were actively involved in the war so this talk will appeal to anyone interested in tank warfare in the Second World War as well as those interested in the Spanish Civil War itself.

12pm - John Wilson - Gallipoli 1915 - A Campaign Doomed to Failure or a Campaign Almost Won?
John Wilson is a well respected historian, he has published extensively through Gosling Press, a small publisher specialising in books about the First World War. 

The Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16 was an Allied attempt to shorten the war by eliminating Turkey, creating a Balkan alliance against the Central Powers, and securing a sea route to Russia. It has since become the basis of a number of myths and half-truths, the massed machine guns covering the beaches. The incompetence of the navy in landing the Australians in the wrong place and how on the heights of Sari Bair we almost won the peninsula.

Without a doubt Gallipoli was the scene of great bravery, horrendous privations, bad command decisions and missed opportunities. Given the small geographic area that the campaign took place in, it's a good way to get to grips with some of the issue of the early part of the first World War. The talk will give a good overview of the campaign as well as bust a number of myths. It will also include a number of first hand accounts so that people really understand what life on the peninsula was like.

1:15pm - Sean and Lorrain McCartney The Newcastle Garrison Living History group - The Percy family and the Civil Wars

Sean and Lorrain McCartney are time served historical reenactors, concentrating on the period of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639-1651).  They are founding members of Newcastle Garrison Living History Group and take the field as members of the Earl of Loudoun's Regiment of Foote.

In 2019 Newcastle Garrison were asked to provide a living history display at Alnwick Castle, seat of the Percy family.  Upon looking into the Percy's involvement in the Civil Wars of the 17th Century, something they knew very little about at the time, they discovered a true tale of a family split by differing allegiances.

[paulr]

Those talks look very interesting

Any chance they could be videoed for those of us that can't attend?

[Leon]

Those talks look very interesting

Any chance they could be videoed for those of us that can't attend?

I'll have a chat with the guy who organises those for us and see.  It might depend on the individual presenters though and whether they're happy for their stuff to be put online?