From TMP: http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=318455 (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=318455)
Sad news from Christopher Scott in England: "I am sorry to be the bearer of sad news but I have just heard that Don Featherstone passed away. I saw him a few weeks ago for one of his military dining club dinners and he was in good spirits but very frail. Unfortunately he had a fall and was discovered collapsed by a neighbour. He was taken into Southampton hospital and had been there a while but his general condition deteriorated. I have no other details only that he died yesterday. As I said I am so sorry to have to give you this news but thought you'd like to know."
:(
Truly, this is a moment to be remembered.
Don Featherstone was one of the instigators of the golden age of wargaming. His book "War Games" opened my eyes to the the possibility of rule based playing with model soldiers, and the possibilities of periods other than WWII. I think for a generation of (now very old) wargamers, Featherstone was the face of the hobby. There was a simplicity to his gaming that was accessible. You might aspire to be Charles Grant with his beautifully painted and regimented Horse and Musket figures, but you could definitely be Don Featherstone using Airfix figures and Matchbox tanks.
Thank you, Don.
I am very, very sad. Like so many, I entered the hobby as a direct result of his wonderfully accessible books. Books which didn't patronise, but which showed simple enthusiasm to communicate. I also then subscribed to Wargamers Newsletter, and remember the excitement of opening the envelope and seeing those typewritten, stapled sheets with fuzzy photographs which opened a new world to me. A lot of people will mourn his passing around the world, and what better epitaph could you have than that?
Mollinary
I didn't know he was still alive but a sad loss. Like many I entered into wargaming via his and the Airfix manuals in the early '70s.
Sad loss.
IanS
As a young teenager i read every one of his books that I could get my hands on. His inspiration and enthusiasm was one of the main reasons I got into wargaming. He was truly one of the main instigators of what we see today in the wargaming community.
Sad passing ...Like others he introduced me to wargaming through his books...A true great for both wargaming and Southampton FC
Sad loss indeed. Without his book 'Wargames' I
would never have become interested in the hobby.
Chad
Like so may others here my journey into wargaming was through his 'tomes'. RIP Mr F and thankyou for your vast input into the hobby :)
sad news indeed. As a kid my local library had the Wargaming Airborne Operations book which i had on almost permanent loan
Dashed fine writer, a loss. :(
Sad news indeed. The wargaming world owes him a huge debt.
Sorry to hear this. I'm pretty much here because of him.
Also, another icon of my youth passes - Intimations of Mortality :(
Sad news indeed :( ,
I knew his late son, RIP Don
Last of the great pioneers. Sad to hear.
Very sad news, he will be missed.
Sad news. Rest in peace and thank You for all.
I'm one of many who got into our wonderful hobby through his books. I borrowed them from the local library then bought my own, and they're still on my shelves today. He founded our modern hobby and lived to see the golden age we're in. RIP, Don, and thanks. :(
Much the same as everyone, sad news.
As a lad borrowed his books from the library,
Last year managed to buy a copy of solo games and it took me right back to those days.
Thank you Don.
As with so many others, I was introduced into the hobby by his writing. A great loss.
Quote from: sunjester on 04 September 2013, 09:56:34 PM
As with so many others, I was introduced into the hobby by his writing. A great loss.
Indeed :(
A sad loss to the hobby, it was his books that inspired me to take up this hobby of ours. He will be missed
A very sad loss. This was the man who got me into wargaming all those years ago (1968) when I was loaned a copy of 'Wargames' by a school friend who became my first wargames opponent. First game was ACW using Don's rules and then I became a subscriber to 'Wargamers Newsletter'. I was later inspired by his following books. Strangely I was in a bookshop in Hexham yesterday and there was an old signed copy of Don's 'Solo Wargaming'.
Very sad news. It takes me back a long way to a time when a book shop would let a raggedy student virtually memorise a book that he couldn't afford :). Alas those times are well and truly behind us now.
Incidentally I did buy his books when I could eventually afford them. Some of my first influences, and not only in wargaming.
Victor/GrumpyOldMan