Last week (November 11) Rudi Geudens passed away.
Although I didn't know Rudi very well personally, I always had a chat with him during our many encounters at the various wargaming conventions in Belgium when we met each other.
Rudi's influence on the wargaming hobby in Belgium was very significant. The story of how he started wargaming, and the founding of his wargaming shop "The Tin Soldier" in Sint-Niklaas is nicely detailed on his webpages he wrote many years ago.
It is because of The Tin Soldier I first came into contact with wargaming as a hobby. It must have been in 1980 or 1981 when I saw a large display of games of the wargaming club in Sint-Niklaas held in the local shopping mall. It piqued my interest immediately, and when I came back home, I tried to recreate my own wargame using cheap plastic toy soldiers and some components from war-themed boardgames I had lying around.
The shop in Sint-Niklaas was a mecca for me. Living in Leuven (my grandparents lived in Sint-Niklaas), I didn't belong to the local club, but I tried to visit the shop as often as I could. I bought several board wargames there, I bought my first miniatures there, I bought my first miniature ruleset there (Warhammer 1st edition, no less), my first polyhedral dice, and so many more things. As a teenager, I even once made the trip from Leuven to Sint-Niklaas (50 km one way) by bicycle, so money for the train ticket could be saved for buying wargame stuff.
Later on, during the late 90s, when my Leuven wargaming group became regular visitors and game organizers of the CRISIS wargames show in Antwerp, I bumped into Rudi again. It was always inspiring to have a chat with him, about wargaming, life, the universe.
During our last chat (before Corona), he told me he was ill, but he was positive and told me prospects were good. We didn't meet again due to the Corona crisis.
Rudi showed the way for many wargamers in Belgium. He really was the godfather of Belgian wargaming. We will miss him.
Amazing there already was organized wargaming in Belgium in the early 80s!
ReplyDeleteConsidering how difficult it can be even today to find others to play with, that must have been a major achievement, just as much a running an actual wargaming shop.
Yes, there was some organized wargaming, although probably not as extensive as today. But of course, hearing stories of those who were involved also includes a selection bias.
DeleteIn 1982 kwam ik als jonge snotter in aanraking met wargaming en was onmiddellijk verkocht. De NMBS had juist zijn IC/IR plan geïntroduceerd en er was een directe trein-verbinding tussen Leuven en Sint-Niklaas. Zakgeld werd opgespaard en om de paar maanden maakte ik dan ook de trip naar de Kokkelbeekstraat waar ik Rudi en anderen leerde kennen. Ik keek naar hem op en hij was altijd vriendelijk en had tijd om op domme vragen te antwoorden. Van de Light Brigade heb ik nog altijd de Napoleontische regels liggen. Op Crisis zag ik hem nog wel eens maar ik heb hem (denk ik) nooit verteld hoe hij de grondlegger was van mijn levenslange hobby en daar heb ik een beetje spijt van. RIP.
ReplyDeleteVery sorry to hear of his passing , a dynamic wargamer will be sadly missed . Tony
ReplyDeleteSad news indeed, he was a most enthusiastic and talented gamer.
ReplyDeleteVery sad news. I only knew him from the internet and reading things he wrote but he was definitely a positive force for the hobby with an impact beyond Belgium. We are losing more and more of the Old Guard.
ReplyDeleteVery sad to hear: I also only knew of him via the digital community and various pieces that I would glean that he had produced. It does feel like a loss, regardless.
ReplyDeleteThat's sad to hear he passed. I first came across his site after reading up on Bath's Hyboria campaign whilst looking for an upload of the campaign diary. He had a fantastic array of old school armies that can;t help but inspire.
ReplyDeleteI wonder where that Bath memorabilia is now?
Rudi was well connected in the Belgian wargaming community, so some of his closest friends probably are taking care of all that.
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