Want to buy a Bunker?

The BBC news site has revealed that a WWII bunker is up for sale. The Capel Battery site is on the cliffs at Capel-le-Ferne, Kent, overlooking the English Channel. The auction is due to take place in September and the guide price is £90,000-£100,000. (Source: Subterranean Exploration)

The site used to have several buildings on the surface but now all that remains is the battery and the tunnels below.

(Source: Battle Of Britain Memorial Org)

I found this YouTube video which presents a series of pictures of the sites construction in 1942.

Zombies just won't stay dead

I have to say Zombies are scary. I can watch most horror films and enjoy them like the next man... but Zombies give me 'the willies'. I watched most of 28 Days Later from behind the sofa. It was like being a kid again.

So what is it that makes Zombies so compelling? There seem to be shed loads of games out there (such as the game I saw at Salute 09) in this horror sub genre and hundreds of films (I mentioned my mates film in a recent article When Zombies Attack). I guess for me it was watching Bruce Campbell tackling the undead hoards in the Evil Dead trilogy.Last year my gaming group took an evening off from D&D to play the board game Zombies!. We had a great time and now I'm looking for something in a a similar vein (no pun intended) for our group to play when the normal campaign can't be run. In my own D&D campaign I set up an encounter between my players and a large number of zombies. For me this was one of the most enjoyable encounters I ran, but maybe that was beciase I managed to kill a PC for a change...Since then I've been looking at the game All Flesh Must be Eaten which looks ideal for short duration games. It's an RPG with Zombies in it. Little more needs to be said rearly. Any game that gives everyone an excuse to moan "braaainns!" must be fun.

Royal Engineers Museum

Yesterday I took a trip to the Royal Engineers Museum in Chatham. Unfortunately no photography is allowed in the exhibit halls so the pictures here are from outside in the grounds.

The Museum tells the story of the Corp of Engineers from its roots right up to the modern day. Some of the highlights (for me) include Wellingtons Map of the field of Waterloo - complete with bloodstains from Sir William DeLancy who received a mortal wound in the battle. Another highlight is the revolver and sword used by Lieutenant John Chard who commanded at Rorke's Drift in the Zulu Wars.

The exhibits are chronological in order and take the visitor through the period of the Kings Engineers (1066 to 1790), the French Wars (1793-1815), the Victorian Wars (South Africa, the Crimea, China), the First World War (1914-18) and the Second World War (1939-45). The latter exhibit also includes a fascinating section on the Mulberry Harbours and Bomb Disposal. The last exhibit looks at the Royal Engineers role in the Post War years. There is also a side exhibition of medals although I was rather disappointed to find that the promised 25 Victoria Crosses on display were actually replicas.

Outside in the ground there are several interesting vehicles that can be viewed close up. These include a rather impressive Churchill 6.5 AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers). This was one of "Hobarts Funnies" which saw extensive use on the beaches of Normandy. This vehicle was designed to fire a demolition charge for destroying buildings and fortifications.

I'd definitely recommend a visit to this museum as there is lots to interest the gamer. Plus this weekend (5-6th Sept) the Medway Modelling Club is having a Model Show amongst the exhibits.

WWII Allied Spotter Plane

During the WWII reenactment that took place at Military Odyssey over the weekend they had an L-4 Piper Grasshopper spotter plane buzzing the battlefield. I managed to get a few seconds of video and thought it worth sharing.

The Piper Grasshopper was a well established civil airplane at the outbreak of the war and was ideal for service as a reconnaissance plane. It had a wingspan of 35 feet and weighed a measly 553kg. It could take off from a very small runway and cruised at a maximum speed of 85mp and maximum ceiling of 9300 ft (with a crew of two). The Grasshopper saw extensive service in Normandy but they were also used in North Africa and the Pacific.