A Scotsman, a Welshman…

With our Bolt Action rules on the way later this year, Warlord Supremo John Stallard has been enthused to paint up troops from the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division (being a Taff himself and his best mate’s dad was a gunner mentioned in despatches in that division too). The metal ‘Figure Heads’ We have available on our webstore means that he can also add a few supporting Jocks, from the 51st (Highland) Division, as he lived in Glasgow as a young lad (when Dinosaurs stalked the earth…)

The 53rd Division was called many names and had as its symbol a red Welsh crown and a dragon. They were called ‘Monty’s darlings’ by other jealous troops, “Monty’s butchers” by sullen German troops and “The Fairy Godmother Division” by some of the concentration camp inmates whom they rescued. They fought in Belgium, Holland the Battle of the Bulge, fighting all the way to Hamburg. They had little trouble with the Axis forces listening in on their Communications, they simply spoke Welsh – baffling to all but another Taff!

The 51st (Highland) Division had a colourful war too. They fought in the BEF early in the war and went on to land in Normandy in 1944. They initially did not perform as well as Montgomery had wished, but with retraining and new leadership they went on to make a real name for themselvs as only Scottish troops can. They had a habit of painting any captured bridge building or tank with their divisional markings and a large ‘HD’, earning themselves the sarcastic nickname of “The Highway Decorators”.

Between these two forces, John is getting a lot of stuff done now using the Army Painter style and using their awesome basing scenics.

No-one can resist adding vehicles to their Second World War force and John is no exception! He has started with an evil-looking flame thrower armed Carrier, the Wasp. He’s added a few back packs on the side as stowage and a captured MP40 sub-machine gun next to the gunner for those close quarter encounters. He has heavily weathered the carrier with a lot of mud and dust common to all tanks and vehicles in WWII.

For taming the Tigers, an Achilles 17 pdr self-propelled gun is just the ticket and an M24 Chaffee for reconnaissance duties. A Bedford OY 3-ton lorry is a must for British troops and work is well underway on his first Churchill to really shoot in his infantry assaults.

The Highland Tam o’shanters give an unusual twist to the regular Tommies. In Normandy their Colonel once ordered the Jocks to take off their helmets and wear their caps so the enemy “know they are being killed by Scotsmen!”. Heavy stuff indeed…

More from John in the future as he adds yet more to his army…