The Regimental files of the 1st Bn North Durham Rifles.
A BLOOD & STEEL CAMPAIGN
A 30-year officer career campaign beginning in 1884.
My 30 Wolseley-helmet regulars represent the 1st Battalion, 89th Foot, The North Durham Rifles on overseas service.
Four young lieutenants join in 1884.
One may rise to Colonel by 1914.
One may die obscurely.
One may disgrace the regiment.
One may become a VC winning legend.
If any are killed we get a new draft.
🎖 1884 – The Officers Join
I Rolled for background and personalities.
1️⃣ Lt. Arthur Blackwood
- Son of a Durham industrialist
- Bookish but ambitious
- +1 Tactical planning
- −1 Personal bravery
Hidden trait: Political climber
2️⃣ Lt. Edward “Ned” Collingwood
- Minor gentry
- Popular with the men
- +1 Morale
- −1 Discipline
Hidden trait: Gambling debts
3️⃣ Lt. Henry Ashcroft
- Frontier-obsessed romantic
- +1 Skirmish combat
- Reckless in charges
Hidden trait: Seeks glory
4️⃣ Lt. Thomas Wycliffe
- Quiet, calculating
- +1 Logistics
- No natural charisma
Hidden trait: Cold ambition
📜 CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE (30 YEARS IN 6 VOLUMES)
Each Volume = 4–6 linked games.
Officers:
- Gain promotion rolls
- Gain wounds
- Gain reputation
- Risk scandal
VOLUME I – Sudan, 1884–85
Opponents: Tribal waves (use Matabele or Afghans)
Scenarios:
- Desert convoy
- River column landing
- Fort defence
- Set-piece battle
Survival test: Roll for heatstroke, dysentery, wounds.
Promotion possible if:
- Officer wins a decisive engagement
- Saves colours
- Survives last scenario unwounded
🧠 OFFICER PROGRESSION SYSTEM (Simple)
After each Volume:
Roll 1d6 per surviving officer:
1 – Wounded (permanent −1 stat)
2 – Stagnant (no promotion)
3–4 – Steady progress
5 – Promoted
6 – Decorated (extra influence in next theatre)
If scandal event drawn: Re-roll and take worse result.
⚔️ REGIMENTAL CHRONICLE
The Queen’s North Durham Rifles (89th Foot)
1884–1914
📖 VOLUME I
The Desert Posting, 1884–1885
“The Battalion first smelt powder beneath a white sun and upon a waste of sand. There the boys became officers.”
— From the unpublished memoir of 2nd Lt. H. Ashcroft, 1913
The Embarkation
In September 1884 the 1st Battalion, 89th Foot, received orders for service in the Sudan theatre of the ongoing .
Four newly joined subalterns reported to the Colours only weeks before embarkation from England.
They had scarcely learned the mess seating plan.
They would learn other things quickly.
The Four Subalterns (As Recorded in the Battalion Ledger)
Each begins the Volume as Second Lieutenant.
Lt. Arthur Blackwood
Methodical. Industrious. Keeps detailed field notes.
The men are uncertain of him.
Lt. Edward Collingwood
Well-liked. Overconfident. Laughs too loudly.
Lt. Henry Ashcroft
Earnest. Romantic about war.
Speaks of “glory” before the first shot is fired.
Lt. Thomas Wycliffe
Quiet. Observant. Already studies the Colonel’s habits.
📖 The Queen’s North Durham Rifles
The deep archives: (notes for my solo campaigning)
Biographical Files of Officers Joining, 1884
2nd Lieutenant Arthur Henry Blackwood
Born 1862 – Durham
Son of Edmund Blackwood, coal owner and Justice of the Peace. Educated at Durham School; commissioned by purchase following an unremarkable but respectable academic record.
Blackwood arrived at the Depot with immaculate kit, polished boots, and a leather-bound notebook in which he recorded everything: distances marched, rounds expended, remarks made by senior officers. He was quiet in mess, deferential to superiors, and notably stiff with the men.
It was widely understood that his commission had been expected, not earned.
Blackwood himself understood this better than anyone.
He sought not glory, but proof — and feared deeply the moment when it might be demanded.
Private remark recorded by the Adjutant:
“Blackwood is anxious to do right. Whether he can do so under fire remains to be seen.”
Unspoken burden: terror of public failure
Hidden virtue: iron steadiness when plans collapse
Career fault-line: may hesitate when decisiveness is required
2nd Lieutenant Edward James Collingwood
Born 1861 – Northumberland
Second son of a declining county family. Too little money, too much charm. Commissioned through connections rather than means.
Collingwood was instantly popular — with officers, with NCOs, with the men. He laughed easily, drank too freely, and possessed the dangerous confidence of someone who had never yet been tested.
He talked openly of war as “the making of a man”, and privately assumed it would make him.
There were rumours — debts, cards, a discreet loan from a senior cousin — but nothing proven.
Mess note:
“A good fellow. Perhaps too much so.”
Unspoken burden: fear of mediocrity
Hidden vice: gambling, recklessness
Career fault-line: bravery may shade into foolishness
2nd Lieutenant Henry Charles Ashcroft
Born 1863 – Surrey
Educated at a minor public school. A devoted reader of Napier, Oman, and accounts of the Indian Mutiny. Ashcroft had wanted the Army since boyhood and spoke of it in terms usually reserved for religion.
He requested foreign service immediately upon joining.
He requested danger without irony.
Ashcroft believed utterly in courage, sacrifice, and the moral purpose of empire. He expected to distinguish himself quickly — and to be judged harshly if he did not.
From Ashcroft’s own diary, 1884:
“I pray I shall not disgrace myself when the moment comes.”
Unspoken burden: romantic idealism
Hidden danger: contempt for caution
Career fault-line: glory-seeking under fire
2nd Lieutenant Thomas Edward Wycliffe
Born 1860 – Yorkshire
Son of a clergyman. No wealth. No connections. Commissioned through diligence, recommendation, and sheer persistence.
Wycliffe spoke little, listened much, and observed everything. He learned regimental routine quickly and mastered paperwork without complaint. Senior officers found him “useful” — a word that, in time, may become either compliment or curse.
He did not speak of honour.
He spoke of duty.
Colonel’s marginal note:
“Wycliffe sees things.”
Unspoken burden: ambition without patronage
Hidden strength: clarity under pressure
Career fault-line: moral flexibility in pursuit of command.
Subsequent Volumes
VOLUME II – Frontier War, 1890s
Opponents: Pathans, Afghans
Add:
- Ambush mechanics
- Night attacks
- Convoy escorts
By now:
- One lieutenant may be Captain.
- One may have a limp.
- One may be dead.
VOLUME III – The Capaihn against the Mullah, Somaliland Crisis.
Opponents:
- Tribals
Political consequence: A defeat may stall promotion for 4 campaign years.
VOLUME IV The Boxer Rebellion
Opponents:
- Boxers
- Boxer regulars
- Possibly USA & French allies
Urban warfare: Machine guns brutal.
This Volume often kills reckless officers.
VOLUME V – The Great Power Crisis (1910–12)
Choose:
- War with USA (Canada)
- German clash in Africa
- Russian clash in Afghanistan
Now: The senior surviving officer is Major or Lt-Colonel.
This is where reputations are cemented.
VOLUME VI – 1914
If one officer survives from 1884:
He may now be:
- Colonel commanding the battalion
- Brigadier
- Or broken and sidelined
Final scenario: A major battle. Win = honoured regiment entering the Great War. Lose = scandal, parliamentary inquiry.
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