Building the Borsetshire Brigade - The Fencibles (05.11.24 VBCW)

[Doug ex-em4]

Excellent work, Doug. I really like this section and a great fire engine.

I recognised straight away your depictions of Captain Flack, Fireman Pugh (one half of the Pugh twins), Fireman Pugh (the other half of the Pugh twins), Fireman Barney McGrew, Fireman Cuthbert, Fireman Dibble and Fireman Grubb!

Cheers, Martin

I really like the Borsetshire Fire Brigade - a potentially dangerous force - my great grandfather (and great great uncle) were RM/Chatham Lights through the early 1900’s until the ‘22 demob and then joined the Fire Brigade. I now need to find a similar squad in 15mm (having seen yours) for my smaller VBCW.

Andrew
BeneathALeadMountain

Thanks, Andrew - I’d like to see what you can do in 15mm. I have a family connection to the Fire Service also - my dad was in the National Fire Brigade in Liverpool during the war. He saw a lot of intense action and also returned from duty early one morning to find his own house destroyed by bombing and no-one about. Luckily my mother and brother escaped but he didn’t find out for several hours. So this section is a nod to him.

Lovely work there.  I like the truck.  Perhaps the Borsetshire Fire Brigade in on the cutting edge of fire-fighting technology, or maybe they are just ahead of their time.  Most importantly though, and I ask this as a tactical matter, does that thing have a water cannon at the end of that ladder?  I can think of a number of uses for something like that, in both anti-personnel and anti-barricade roles...particularly if it has on-board water storage.

Thanks Jim and thanks for the idea which I hadn’t thought of. I’m pretty sure they did carry onboard water but I’ll check that. Adding a hose to the ladder won’t be difficult.


Doug

[BeneathALeadMountain]

Thanks, Andrew - I’d like to see what you can do in 15mm. I have a family connection to the Fire Service also - my dad was in the National Fire Brigade in Liverpool during the war. He saw a lot of intense action and also returned from duty early one morning to find his own house destroyed by bombing and no-one about. Luckily my mother and brother escaped but he didn’t find out for several hours. So this section is a nod to him.

Doug

Doug that must have been an awful moment for him, thank god they were OK.

My great grandmother and grandma were also members of the NFB during the war in Birmingham (sadly my great grandfather died in ‘29 rescuing children from a particularly nasty fire in Brum - he got them all out but didn’t make it himself as a wall collapsed onto him). My Grandma was a renowned tender driver, known to be fast and daring. Unfortunately she also had a nasty habit of not caring about low bridges if it was the quickest route and was moved to down south and a place with less height restrictions (I want to say Portsmouth or Plymouth).

Just have to try and find suitable 15mm heads…….. maybe I can ask Martin at Peter Pig if he doesn’t already do them. I’ve recently found someone that actually wants to play VBCW so that’s help motivate me to give it another go.

Thank you again for the inspiration.

Andrew
BeneathALeadMountain

[CapnJim]

Thanks Jim and thanks for the idea which I hadn’t thought of. I’m pretty sure they did carry onboard water but I’ll check that. Adding a hose to the ladder won’t be difficult.

Glad to be of service!  That engine can be their secret weapon!  The other guys' response to seeing it can go from "Oh look.  They brought a fire truck..." to "Oh shit, they brought a fire truck!"...

[Doug ex-em4]

Members of the disbanded Borsetshire Regiment “The Fencibles” have formed a volunteer section within Sir Rufus Pitt-Bulstrode’s Borchester Defence Brigade.


Sir Eufus has shaken the moth balls out of his Great War uniform and here, astride his charger Ramilies, he reviews the new section - gnarled veterans to a man.




Later, in a demonstration of democratic bonding, he dismounts and joins "the chaps" on foot.


With the core of his force now assembled, Sir Rufus is ready to march north to face the Socialist Alliance, reported to be on the brink of a full-scale invasion of Borsetshire.


If all goes to plan, this titanic clash of arms will take place at the end of the month at Snapcase Hall with His Lordship in person taking the rôle of Sir Rufus whilst Vagabond, the Yorkshire Superhero, leads the Socialists, in the guise of Trotskyist firebrand, Bessie Braddock.


Doug.

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Really looking forward to this one.

As Sir Rufus (and proud to be so), I don't know what effect these men will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me!

As for this dreadful Braddock person and her work-shy lackeys, we have a saying in Borchester, 'better dead than red'!

[syrinx0]

Looking forward to the battle report.  They never fail to amaze and entertain. 

[CapnJim]

The Fencibles at least look like they know their business.  And they are quite dapper, in a martial kind of way, as well.  But how will they perform when they again see the proverbial elephant?  I guess we will all find out in due time.   I await news of any developments that, well, develop.

[Legionnaire]

BUILDING THE BORSETSHIRE BRIGADE

Truth in Advertising Statement: This won’t be a brigade, more like a reinforced platoon or at most, a weak company. I just liked the alliteration.

Following on from the Field Trial where Sir Rufus Pitt-Bulstrode commanded a scratch platoon against elements of the Wiltshire Police Flying Column, it was obvious that there was an urgent need for a bigger, better organised and trained force to protect the county from external threats. After the exercise, the support troops that Sir Gilbert Hill had seconded to Pitt-Bulstrode returned to Herefordshire, leaving Sir Rufus with two sections, one made up of tenants and staff and the other mainly petty criminals from Felpersham. These units desperately needed proper training and his first thought was to put his wife, Lady Ferocity Pitt-Bulstrode, in charge of that task but on reflection decided against on the grounds that any training régime she set up would certainly be too harsh for the city boys in the Felpersham section. He settled for putting his son Freddie in charge. Freddie had recently returned from Spain where he had been fighting in the International Brigade and was a battle-hardened veteran.

Next, Sir Rufus had a brainwave. He contacted Colonel (Retd.) Crispin Pringle, MFH of the Little Wynkey Hunt. He’d remembered that before the Great War, the MFH of the time had organised a volunteer troop of cavalry to serve as a honorary guard to the Lord Lieutenant at official functions. Being a very rich man, he’d equipped them in imitation of the Life Guards. It was well known that all that equipment was stored in the cellar of County Hall in Borchester. Sir Rufus asked Colonel Pringle if he thought it likely that a troop of ten could be formed from volunteers from amongst the bestriders in the hunt. The colonel was delighted by the idea and the thing was done in record time. Sir Rufus had acquired a valuable support weapon - a troop of heavy cavalry.





Sir Rufus, in the scarlet tunic of his Lord-Lieutenant’s ceremonial uniform, and accompanied by his house-guest, Grand-Duke Ivor Nastikoff, exiled ruler of Bulimia. Nastikoff is Colonel of his own regiment of infantry (now disbanded) and called (confusingly) the Nastikoff Hussars, for reasons long forgotten. He is a distant relative of another of Sir Rufus’ house-guests, Baron Dietrich von Strepsil. The event was captured by a film crew from British Movietone News



This was a good start but much more was required. He began to look round for additions. One appeared almost immediately.

Late to the (tea) party, but as a humble peasant bred person, I am in simple AWE of these fine, weak chinned gentlemen striding (riding) forth in their well shoned (shined?) boots and uniforms!! I am delighted that all of this has been captured for posterity on film and I'm sure 80 years from now  , it will still be much talked about  .

What an lovely little vignette, an excellent execution to capture all that on photograph in Technicolour  .

[Michi]

The moisture and low temperatures in Borsetshire surely made many of those brave and fine riders catch a nasty cough…
I‘ll get my coat.