Above is a pic of Lt. Colonel James Galbraith, Regimental Colour in hand, alongside Bobbie the regimental dog and some of the other "Last Eleven" survivors of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment, making their last stand in one of the walled gardens just South of Khig village, a few miles West of the Afghan town of Maiwand.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Lending a hand to Larry Brom...

It's been a rough year for the Historical Wargaming hobby, which has lost several "Grand Old Men", most recently the legendary Pat Condray, long-time champion of the wonders of gaming both the War of Spanish Succession and the Spanish Civil War.  Today I, and probably at least a few readers of this blog, learned that Larry Brom -- author of "The Sword And The Flame" set of colonial wargame rules, first published in 1979, and the force to be reckoned with in colonial miniature wargaming here in the USA ever since then -- is in need of assistance in order to pay for additional medical care and physical therapy to help in recovering from a pair of injuries he suffered this past Summer and Fall.



Ever since reading TSATF as a 14 year-old boy back in 1979, I've felt like I owed Larry Brom.  I loved and continue to love those rules so much, and over the years they have allowed me to enjoy so many games with so many other players in so many places across this country, playing with everyone from fellow colonial history-aficionados to little kids who didn't know the difference between a Martini-Henry and a Jezail -- when we started that is, by the time we finished they knew well, believe me! (And needless to say, they had also had a lot of fun!)

Larry has written rules sets for a wide variety of eras and theaters of war, mostly covering the 19th and 20th Centuries.  Before taking up the hobby, he served as a combat Marine in the Korean War.



One of the high points of my many years in the hobby was finally meeting Larry in person for the first time at the first ever all-TSATF "Colonial Barracks" convention in Metarie, Louisiana, right outside New Orleans, where I was able to present him with a miniature porcelain Maiwand Lion souvenir statue from Forbury Gardens in Reading, to commemorate bringing my "Maiwand Day" TSATF game all the way from Los Angeles to Louisiana to attend the con -- largely in order to meet him!


I made a donation to the fund, which was set up by Larry's two adult daughters, Lori and Christy Brom, pictured alongside him above.  I would ask humbly anyone visiting this blog, if they are in a position to do so responsibly, without putting themselves in any financial distress, to consider donating as well.  The donation can be very small, as I don't think there is a minimum dollar amount.  I'm just glad I'm in a position where I was able to help out a little bit.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and here's a link directly to the fundraising campaign to help Larry with his ongoing healthcare expenses:

GoFundMe campaign for Larry Brom


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4 comments:

  1. BedfordApril 5, 2015 at 12:10 AM

    Very moving and touching MG.

    I've had my own fair share of sorrow over the past couple of years so can offer both sympathy and empathy for Larry's plight.

    Darrell.

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  2. Sgt. GuinnessApril 5, 2015 at 12:51 PM

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  3. Sgt. GuinnessApril 5, 2015 at 12:52 PM

    Ethan,

    Great Blog entry, I'm going to log on and do what I can….

    I made a post on my blog too, an excerpt from it is below. I have also forwarded her request onto the HMGS-South page, The SMG club page and will on other forums I belong.

    http://sgtguinness.blogspot.com

    I for one will be assisting as I owe Larry and his daughters for the many wonderful times I've had since the early 1980's with his rules TSATF, the awesome people I have met and have become so close to, and for fueling the fire of Victorian Colonial Wargaming for so many years.

    I had first met Larry and Lori at a Historicon in Harrisburg PA, very possibly the same con I had met another friend of mine, Pat Condray who has sadly just passed away from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. Larry was running a TSATF game with the Brits fighting the Egyptians. Lori was playing and was explaining the rules to me as we went along and provided tactical assistance with these rules as well. That fateful day started a 30+ year love of colonial gaming and collecting. Later that day I found and purchased my first copy of TSATF and my first colonial figs. I've not looked back since.

    Over the years I've had the pleasure to play in quite a few games run by Larry, or played in games that he was also playing. I was able to help him field play test Kaybar and Bayonet at one of the HMGS-South cons in Orlando, Fl. He's a true gentleman and a pleasure to spend time with.

    Cheers,
    JB

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  4. Mad GuruApril 7, 2015 at 1:20 PM

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts Darrell & Jeff.

    Let's hope the fund--raising campaign succeeds, and more importantly let's hope & pray (if we're praying types) that Larry is able to attend Colonial Barracks V in November.

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