Peter Gilder, how it all started?

                                       Peter Gilder, how it all started?

  Peter Gilder clearly enjoyed risking his life by the fact he flew planes rode motorcycles which in the early 1960’s was a lot more dangerous than nowadays. No racing leathers, boots or crash helmets was the standard position for any rider.He was also an accomplished water polo player and keen racing cyclist. It was because of one of his hobbies that he discovered wargaming.

  Gilder managed to break his leg following a cycling accident in early 1962 and whilst in hospital he  was reading a copy of one of his wife's magazines in which a certain Donald Featherstone had written an article about wargaming. No Kerry Catona in those days, thank heavens.
As a result Gilder obtained a copy of the newly published book called Wargames by the late great Donald Featherstone.The rest was history, as they say.
 Gilder began buying, converting and painting the boxes of Airfix toy soldiers that had emerged in the early 1960's.

1962-1963.

 Peter Gilder didn’t mess about and contacted Feathersone sometime in 1962 and arranged to meet his idol, they became firm friends.He subsequently threw himself into his newly found hobby.

By July 1963 he was advertising his services to wargamers of converting Airfix figures, a must back then and also offering to create Napoleonic artillery for would be gamers.

By August 1963 Gilder was inundated with commissions and was complaining of having too many to handle.

1964-1965.

Such were the abilities of Peter Gilder that he became the sculptor for one of the very few wargame figure producers in the United Kingdom. Alberken sold a small range of 20mm wargames figures and Gilder was employed to create a new range titled Battles of Yesteryear, which was a series of Gilder figures painted and boxed for collection or wargaming.
This was to be a very short collaboration for Gilder and Alberken who parted company in August 1965.One gets the impression that Peter Gilder could be a difficult person to deal with.

20^th March 1965.

The Military Festival, Duke of York Headquarters Chelsea.

A lot of the more mature wargamers will remember the images of many well dressed wargamers surrounding a beautiful terrain where they were re fighting the Battle of Waterloo. The table would be surrounded by a packed audience of people struggling to understand what was going on. A total of 1500 20mm Alberken figures were used for the refight, the vast majority supplied by Peter Gilder who also made the 16.0’ by 6.0’ terrain for the battle. It was to be the first of many models he would make of the battle.  

18^th-19^th June 1965.

The British Military Modelling Society staged their Battle of Waterloo convention to commemorate the anniversary of the battle using the Gilder terrain and figures. Peter Gilder in the guise of the Duke of Wellington was to win the battle and the BMSS Napoleonic tournament.

1965 was to be a very important year for Peter Gilder and wargaming as he went into business with Neville Dickenson to purchase Alberken Miniatures. Trading initially under the name Military Miniatures before changing the name once more to become the famous Miniature Figurines. Wargaming appeared to be progressing.

Again, the partnership was a short and troubled one, with missed deadlines and accusations of pirating figures.


1971.
 Peter Gilder was to be hired? by Frank Hinchliffe and commissioned to produce wargames figures and help promote the new business venture. He would be seen at the few wargames shows that had begun to appear across the country and most importnatly his terrain and figures would invariably feature in the wargames books that had begun to be published regularly.
Below is an interview with Donald Featherstone written for the Battle Magazine in March 1978.

Wargamers Newsletter February 1964

 Part of my latest search for anything associated with Peter Gilder, an article he wrote and submitted re The Spencer Rifle. It is unusual for the fact that Gilder rarely wrote about actual factual militaria and concentrated on wargames and campaigns. Still Im pleased to have located the actual submission.

Wargamers Newsletter April 1964.

A new mention re Peter Gilder and his early wargaming exploits, including the iconic photograph of him and Donald Featherstone wargaming together at Peter's home in Lincolnshire.After the game, Peter gave Donald Featherstone the sculpted hill.

Sadly the photograph of the figures Gilder had modified are had to distinguish.

Wargamers Newsletter July 1963.

I have been lucky enough to trace and purchase some really old wargames magazines these last few months. Most weren't cheap a lot were in a poor condition but the actual text I have found very interesting.
My latest purchases contained two references to Peter Gilder.
 One is dated July 1963 and is a small piece from Donald Featherstone in the fledgling Wargamers Newsletter. Now considering Peter Gilder had only taken up the wargaming mantle a matter of months before this mention by Featherstone it shows just how gifted he was and how enthusiastic in advancing the hobby.

The second is an article by Peter Gilder, again from the Wargamers Newsletter September 1963

I can only apologise for the poor scanning, but given their age and the cheap printing process that Featherstone would have used its frankly amazing the pages are legible at all. One can see that Peter Gilder was already looking to create some sort off sculpting/ terrain/wargaming enterprise after only a matter of months of discovering wargaming.I hope these are of interest to some wargamers.

Wargames Terrain circa 1965/1966.

The tribute to Peter Gilder was never going to be a series of regularly created posts especially given the paucity of information re the late great man. Im pleased to say I very recently purchased some Donald Featherstone ephemera and amongst the magazines was the following;

This was published around 1965/1966 and was an attempt to help the wargamers create some half decent terrain. Naturally Featherstone enlisted the help of Gilder who had introduced himself to Featherstone and had also made a gift of a finely crafted hill that was shown in several articles by  Featherstone and in a couple of his books. 
 Fresh from his triumph that was the 1965 demonstration of the Battle of Waterloo Peter Gilder was starting to make a name for himself as not only a skilled figure sculptor, but also a skilled terrain maker and fine figure painter.

I can only apologise for the poor quality text and photograph but one should remember that these are originals pages now some fifty five years old!!! I am however pleased that I was able to obtain this piece of wargaming history that I feel needs sharing with any interested wargamers.

Figures from Miniature Wargames 29.

 The late Peter Gilder was a master sculptor and painter but also had an ability to get some of the best painters in the UK to paint figures for him. These included Mark Allen, Tony Runkee, Mark Moon, Phil Robinson, Dave Thomas and many others. He also seemed to be able to obtain beautiful painted wargames figures from other collectors.

 One of these was John Blanche who in the early 1980's was the best painter [my opinion] Citadel Miniatures and later Games Workshop possessed.When Gilder and Duncan Macfarlane started Miniature Wargames all the early images were of the famous Peter Gilder units from his Wargames Holiday Centre painted by his group of willing painters.

 Somehow he obtained some units from John Blanche which appeared in issue 29 of Miniature Wargames. This week by serendipitous means I was able to spot and buy some causality markers from E Bay that were from Peter Gilder's collection. Now rebased I am the very proud owner of some of the figures that appeared in issue 29.

 The flag now carried by this rider was thrown in by the seller and now carried by a lovely painted Lamming conversion.The intricate skill is there for all to see.I have based them individually to use as various eye candy for my renaissance armies.

The 1972 Hinchliffe Catalogue.

In 1972 Frank Hinchliffe was employing Peter Gilder as his figure sculptor. They were producing a minimum of one new figure per day and in order to advertise the rapidly growing ranges he produced this catalogue. I was very kindly given this by Jim Sweeney at the Partizan Show this year. It was also at this show that I turned down the offer of buying from Jim the original unit of British Napoleonic Household cavalry painted by the great man! I still cant believe I didn't buy them. 

Contained in the catalogue was a couple of articles by Peter regarding the organisation of his Napoleonic units for his developing rules that would finally see light of day as In the Grand Manner.

He also produced a small article about how he painted his figures which is truly informative, well for me it is.

Please excuse the small amount of graffiti on some of the pages. The booklet is over 40 years old.

Peter Gilder and Frank Hinchliffe admiring their latest offerings.One was allowed to smoke inside in those days. No health and safety nazis back then.