Long time part of the Bristol wargaming scene, our club is dedicated to providing a welcoming space for wargamers of all kinds and all systems. We hold weekly Thursday club nights, monthly AOS nights, and several weekend events throughout the year.

Join our Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/443039589093536

Join our Discord here. https://discord.gg/FGc4N2V3vT

But where did our club begin?

This is the history of Bristol Vanguard Wargaming Club.  

Bristol Vanguard Wargaming Club was set up in 2005 by Jay Goldfinch and Alan Cameron. Originally meeting in Redland Village Hall. Paul Clarridge was also heavily involved in building scenery. Paul later went on to build terrain and dioramas at Games Workshop itself. It was £3 a game, which at the time caused consternation as it seemed a lot to many! If you think 2005 seemed a long time ago it was when a video sharing site called YouTube was set up.

2008 saw the election of Barack Obama, America’s first black President, and more importantly, the launch of Vanquish the Uks longest running GT size event. Around 40 players took part in the first year. It was originally run at Henbury school and then Oasis Academy in Shirehampton before moving to our current home at BIG.

It started as tournaments were starting to become a ‘thing’, especially independently run ones. Jay and Paul felt there was a gap in the market for a higher quality event as they felt that a lot of events then running were either badly organised, encouraged ‘gamey’ attitudes or had terrible scenery, or often all of the above. This is also the reason Vanguard has high-quality unique gaming boards. 

Vanquish peaked in around 2013/14 with 100 players (and we could have sold more that year!) but quite frankly that was an insane amount of work and we deliberately dialled it back after that. Bear in mind BCP didn’t launch until 2016 so list submission was done via email and all lists were checked manually against paper codices. In those early days round pairings were printed out and pinned up on the wall!  

Spoils of War a 40k narrative campaign weekend started in 2010 and was an early forerunner of 40k teams’ events. Combining narrative gaming as part of a team with custom missions and often terrain too.

In 2011, Bristol Vanguard was briefly operating out of Cut ‘n’ Thrust Wargaming, a short-lived independent shop in Old Market. By end of 2012, Cut ‘n’ Thrust ceased trading and Vanguard was homeless. Matt Woodsmith took over as Chairman in the summer of 2012 to keep the club running.

Like with many gaming clubs’ terrain storage was an issue for finding a new home. Fortunately, Vanguard Wargaming shop opened in Hotwells and became the new home for the club. The first club night here was Thursday December 13th, 2012.

By the start of 2014, Vanguard Wargaming had ceased trading and we were homeless again. Most gamers were operating out of a clandestine arrangement above the Old Duke pub in King Street. Gaming, pub and jazz music it was a match made in gaming heaven. Transporting terrain from the Old Duke to events at Shirehampton school were painful!

Bristol Independent Gaming (BIG) opened in Brislington at the end of 2014. Our first event there was Vae Victis in February 2015. All Vanguard events were run at BIG at this point, due to the plethora of space and gaming tables and a handy shop for those wishing to add to their pile of shame. Many gamers were still playing at the Old Duke particularly those without transport.

Vae Victis ran for the first time in 2015 at BIG, whilst the points size has iterated due to edition changes it has always stayed true to its origins of a small  skirmish event of around 600 pts on half size boards with fast and furious game play. It makes an interesting rock, scissors, paper type game as you don’t have enough points to cover all the bases. It has proven to be a great intro event for new players whilst also providing an interesting tactical challenge for more experienced players.

By this point 7th edition 40k was in a bad place. Other games proliferate at the club. Chiefly Horus Heresy, Warmachine and X wing. We keep running Vanquish and Spoils at BIG.

In 2017 40k explodes back with 8th edition. Leading to a massive upswing in players at BIG and the Old Duke.

Almost everything shuts down in 2020 due to COVID. Although we were still able to run a much reduced Vanquish event with players organised into pods of four in line with social distancing guidelines.

Matt Woodsmith stood down as Chairman in 2021 and was replaced by current Chairman Iain Durham. In 2021 BIG moved to its current venue in Bishopton and Vanguard has been running our Thursday club nights and regular events there ever since.

Vanguardians Assemble a four player 40k teams event started in 2022. Originally a 10-team event it has now expanded to 12 teams which is the capacity of the venue. A popular event which has sold out in 36 hours in the last two years.

Tempest of War …

Moons of Memlok…

I’ve not included Grimdark Gauntlet or AOS as they feel too new but happy to add some wording if we desire.