Holiday Interlude: National War Museum, Scotland

One of the places I visited on my recent holiday in Northumbria was the Scottish National War Museum, located within Edinburgh Castle. This has been by first visit to Edinburgh in about ten years, and I’m at a loss to explain why I’ve stayed away as long.

The museum is absolutely excellent. The displays are well lit, carefully labelled and take the visitor through the proud and long tradition of Scottish soldering from the 17th Century to the present day. There are several very well-known items, including the iconic painting of the Thin Red Line at Balaclava, accompanied by a host of military weaponry, uniforms and paraphernalia.

I loved the 17th century material, much of which I’d not seen at first hand, including a copy of Sir James Turner’s Pallas Armata. 

The collection of swords and pistols, including several Highland “dags”, was wonderful  ... 

... as were the displays of Scottish 19th century uniforms, which became steadily more eccentric in Queen Victoria’s “Balmoral” phase.

Of direct relevance to painting Highlanders from the Great War was a set of uniforms and kit from a Highland regiment (in which the webbing looked a lot more green than I had expected).  Does that mean I should start repainting ?  Oh, Lordy....

The selection of field surgical cases from South Africa in the Second Boer War was remarkable, as was coming face to face with the portrait of Piper George Findlater, awarded the Victoria Cross in Afghanistan for piping his battalion forward despite being wounded several times.

Here’s some more photos, which say much more than I ever could.

I visited with my wife and two children (12 and 8). There’s more than enough for a wargaming or historically minded visitor to spend three or four hours, but also enough to keep my kids and Mrs Roundwood happy for a good couple of hours. The remainder of Edinburgh Castle (including the Scottish Hall of Remembrance) is an excellent day out. I certainly recommend that the National War Museum is firmly on the list for any visit to Edinburgh.

Paris and the Musée d’Armée

I always enjoy visiting battlefields which I'm trying to wargame. For various reasons, I’ve not yet been to Verdun. My wife felt that it was not really a very “child friendly” location, and on balance I think she might be right. So, in February this year, I took the family to Paris for a few days. Not Verdun, but splendidly French all the same.

By way of posting some lovely shots of a wintry Paris on this blog – which are always pretty easy on the eye – here’s some memories of a wonderful trip earlier this year.

Paris … city of lights, champagne and the destination of choice for the German Army for close on one hundred years…

I’ve always liked the statue of Louis XIV in front of the Louvre. It’s the perfect classical image of the baroque monarch – energetic, dynamic, exemplary, self-conscious, triumphant. All qualities which made it so easy for his enemies to portray the great French monarch as arrogant and tyrannical as they assembled their Grand Alliances against him.

Gazing on the wonders of nineteenth century French art is a fine way to pass any afternoon…

…although some of the images being mounted in front of construction sites in Paris are equally distracting.

The children enjoyed to Montmartre where they were slightly bemused by what on earth was going on….

….before heading to the Tomb of Napoleon and the Musée d’Armée.

Probably the most photographed FT-17 in the world….

....some wonderful paintings of the Franco-Prussian War...

Le Soixante-Quinze....reminding me that I have to finish my 28mm versions.....

Mobile warfare 1914 style...

Some excellent French tank crew helmets which I hadn't seen before...

A great example of what a French field telephone should look like...

...Little Toads....(or corguettes)...

...and here's one for Padre Mike Petersen - an excellent French priest's uniform, complete with a very fine Holy Communion valise. If only someone would make one of these in 28mm....please.....it would make the perfect scenario complement to the Homme Soupes on many a wargames table!!

Some excellent uniforms for the Tirailleurs Senegalais...

...and some troubling examples of Horizon Bleu...which did, indeed, look very very blue!

Here were hundreds of other photos, but my guess if that the last thing you want to see if pictures of my children behaving badly on French open-topped tour buses. So I'll leave you with this quite pleasant one of an evening sky in Paris in February, 2014.