Stand by Your Man

No, not a post regarding the vocal talents of Tennessee’s favourite daughter, but more a gentle nod to the bravery and loyalty of a small group of ladies that were imprisoned in the Castle during the siege; the Wives and Girlfriends!   It seems incredulous to believe that some, as in the case of Augusta Bruchlen, had done all in their power to follow their men to the Schloss, wanting to be by their side as support in what must have been an uncertain time.  Others, like Charles de Gaulle’s Sister, Marie-Agnès Cailliau (seen below), found themselves incarcerated simply because of their family ties.

As with the gentlemen, I have not looked to represent individual characters or personalities, but felt that it was important that they were acknowledged as being there, in some way.  Although there are seemingly no accounts of them taking an active part in the battle, Capt. Jack Lee suggesting that they should be taken down to the cellar storerooms when the shooting started, they were clearly there and I have no doubt faced just the same level of anxiety and strain over the situation as the menfolk.  

When trying to find suitable miniatures to fit the bill, I recalled a New Year’s post from one of the many splendid weblogs that I follow* that, along with the usual promises to play more games and reduce the lead pile, had pledged to try and use more independent retailers in their pursuit of all things shiny.  There was something about the sincerity of this that struck a chord and so decided to cast my net a little further and duly stumbled across the Women’s Home Defence pack over at ‘Bad Squiddo Games’.  

*Sadly, I can’t remember which one!

I have bought items from Annie before, more often than not the exquisite terrain pieces that really are superb, and once again I am glad to report that the service was second to none.  There is also a playfulness that pervades Bad Squiddo, which helps lift the spirits, after all who doesn’t want to be visited by the Guinea Pig of good luck?  So Bad Squiddo games are now listed in the ‘Links of Interest’ sidebar; quality products and superb service.

Returning to the job in hand, I selected a couple of likely candidates that were suitably armed to represent the beleaguered wives of the Schloss.  I am afraid I couldn’t resit a bit of fun in the conversion of the young lady with a pitchfork and managed to swap that for the mother of all carpet beaters!  The colour palette was deliberately muted with the exception of the purple suited lady, who’s outfit is a homage to a former colleague, a French lady of impeccable style, who would always be seen sporting her favourite colour. 

Another three to the tally of castle defenders and I envisage that these will be swapped into the units on the day, allowing the wives to rewrite history and fight alongside their men after all.

Click button for related posts