Early days: Origins of the Trumpeter club
Hutch Got The Dice Rolling in 1964
By Walter Melnyk and Ed Beauregard H. G. Wells started the hobby of wargaming on his playroom floor. The man they called “Hutch” brought it to the Lower Mainland from his Burnaby basement. Jack Hutchings discovered tabletop wargaming during his travels in the early 1960s and began introducing the pastime to a small circle of friends. Fortunately, Hutch also had a coveted day job. He worked in promotions for the Vancouver Sun newspaper and was well known for his “Sun Ray Club” column for kids on the black and white comics page. On Friday, June 7, 1968, Jack’s intense visage – framed by painted Airfix soldiers – stared out from the cover of “Leisure”, the Sun’s weekly entertainment supplement. Under the headline “This Means War!”, Jack’s entertaining cover story introduced wargaming to a huge local readership. |
An excerpt from his 1968 Vancouver Sun newspaper article:
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Indeed. For hundreds of us, that story was the first step into a lifelong addiction to plastic and pewter
Ever the active promotions man, Jack followed up by organizing and hosting display games at the Pacific National Exhibition’s old Hobby Show. The displays allowed visitors to meet the man behind the news article, try a game and, significantly, sign up for his group named the “Trumpeter’s Club”.
Soon increasing numbers of devotees were descending on Hutch’s basement gaming mecca on Brentlawn Street for weekly Friday game nights. “Around the back,” Jack always reminded his guests. With so many hobby recruits, Hutch also organized a “Tyro” tournament with newcomers battling each other over American Civil War (ACW) battlefields. ACW was the dominant game of the Trumpeter’s early days with armies of Airfix plastics which cost 60 cents for 48 figures . |
“Hutch was really devoted to spreading the word about the hobby. My high school, Britannia, was holding a large open house – and he agreed to bring out his collection and stage a display game. Hutch really held court, not just playing but explaining the hobby and history to visitors,” recalls North Shore Gamer Walter Melnyk. “The game attracted a good crowd. Later we were able to start our own school gaming club and a few of us are still rolling dice.”
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Gary Greer of the White Rock Games also remembered Hutchings’ enthusiasm for the game:
“I used to go to Jack's basement beside Brentwood mall and play games with plastics from Airfix. Damn paint used to crack on them all of the time. My memory is that he devoted a lot of time to the hobby,” said Greer. “He was very warm and welcoming and really enjoyed the games.
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Hutchings was the driving force behind organizing the Vancon Military Fair in 1973 – the first weekend convention organized by the Trumpeters and the first in a history of conventions extending beyond 45 years.
He was also a key organizer of semi-annual international tournaments between B.C. wargamers and the Western Washington Wargamers (3W) in Washington State. When Jack passed away in 1978, Lynn Bodin of the Washington group wrote:
He was also a key organizer of semi-annual international tournaments between B.C. wargamers and the Western Washington Wargamers (3W) in Washington State. When Jack passed away in 1978, Lynn Bodin of the Washington group wrote:
“Hutch was an instigator – an organizer – and an ambassador. He will always be known as one of the ‘fathers’ of wargaming in the great Pacific Northwest. He was also instrumental in establishing the series of friendly International Tournaments.”
“Above and beyond everything else, however, Hutch was an ambassador of goodwill. He was a promoter of fun and enjoyment among individuals. I have had some of my happiest times as a wargamer when I was in the company of Jack Hutchings. “Perhaps Jack’s greatest contribution to the hobby of wargaming was his unselfish devotion to youth. Jack seemed at times to be inexhaustible when working with Greater Vancouver’s youngsters who were interested in fighting battles with miniature soldiers.” |
Eric Hotz's memories of Hutch:
"I arrived early once to a Friday Game Night at Hutch's place only to be told, "No one arrives early", but because I had been dropped off by my father, I had no where else to go, so Hutch allowed me into his house. I had the rare privilege of being invited upstairs to have tea in his kitchen with himself and his nephew. The three of us talked for about 45 minutes, mostly about the club. It was then I learned that Hutch had founded the club in 1964. Hutch actually put small adverts, that he had printed onto postcard sizes sheets of paper, into history books at various local libraries in hopes that they would help recruit new members to the club. This actually worked. I spoke to a few members who first learned about the club after finding a postcard size ad stuffed between the pages of history books that they had loaned out from their local libraries. I wonder sometimes, just how many of these did Hutch distribute, and would this work in our library system today?"
"I used to get phone calls from Hutch in July of each year asking for help at the PNE, where the Trumpeters Club put on wargames during the summer months. Hutch shut down his basement group during the summer months, July-August because most people were away on holidays. To be asked to play wargames at the PNE with Hutch was a privilege I always jumped at. I would bring my American Civil War figs to the PNE in a box, by bus, and then combine them with Hutch's collection, usually starting the day at 11am and playing until the building closed at 10pm. Long, but fun days! Often this would be repeated four or five times during the course of the PNE. Some of these games are my fondest memories, playing in the Roller Rink at the PNE, intermixed with the smell of cotton candy, popcorn, the distinct odour of Coca-Cola syrup from outside vendors, and the sounds of a live outdoor band playing "Summer in the City" fifty times a day (at least they played it well). "I remember arriving just after 7:30pm with my cousin for a Friday Game Night in June 1976 at Hutch's place. My friend Tim put on his Sci-Fi ship-to-ship combat game, while a 25mm scale medieval miniatures game was being played next to us. Hutch was playing a Napoleonics game in his main gaming room. It was a packed night with around 35 people crowded into his basement. Five games were in progress -- there could have been more, but Hutch's basement was only so big. The average age of the gamers present was around 22, and it felt like there was electricity in the air. I have rarely seen so much enthusiasm displayed at a game night anywhere at anytime. A few people were sitting about in sofa chairs reading books from Hutch's personal library. These were fun, memorable nights." "The Punk Rock Band: In the summer of 1981 I found myself at a party. I was taking Archaeology at a local college and had just finished Archaeology field school that ran through the summer months, May-July. One of the students, Barb, was putting on the party. The entire field school class was there including our instructors. I spoke with Barb and discovered that her boyfriend was not at the party, but was expected soon. He had just flown in from the UK after touring with his punk rock band. Around 10pm he showed up, looking very much like the member of a punk band (I went to art school, many of my fellow students were punk rockers). I was introduced to him and I pointed out that I saw that he had some American Civil War 54mm figs on the windowsill of his kitchen, but they were painted incorrectly. They were infantry, but had red stripes indicating they were artillery. He said he noticed the same thing. He had bought them while he was in Mexico on holiday. He thought it was funny. He then pointed out that he used to play tabletop games using miniatures and loved the American Civil War period. I asked him if he had ever heard of the Trumpeters and he said that was the club he belonged to back in the early 1970s. He went on and on about Hutch and his fellow gamers, some of whom I knew personally. He stated that belonging to the Trumpeters in his teens probably saved him because it kept him off the street and out of trouble. It was then that I realized just how many kids Hutch must have influenced in his lifetime. I have run into many people who used to belong to the Trumpeters and all have spoken fondly of their experiences, especially having had known Hutch. In the middle of the party, the punk rocker took me to his storage closet and pulled out two large boxes, labeled: Canadian Civil War 1837. Hutch had loaned him books to read on the subject and he put together an impressive collection of painted and based 25mm Minifigs. He was obviously proud of his collection, a relic of his youth, despite having not used them in over 7 years." "Dress Code: I only saw Hutch get angry twice in the years I knew him. The first was when a player was complaining bitterly about losing a game while in the middle of the game. Hutch reprimanded him for displaying unsportsmanlike behaviour. The second time was in the month of June, during a particularly hot week, a club member showed up at Hutch's basement wearing only a pair of skimpy red Speedo shorts, without a shirt or shoes. Hutch stated he was "naked!" and sent him home. Hutch could be strict with the club rules. BTW: The club rules were posted on the back of the door to Hutch's main game room, which also had a two page brochure/ad for Scruby 30mm Scale miniatures." |
The modest club started in Jack’s basement in 1964 has now grown to the Trumpeter Tabletop Games Society with over 125 active members. To those of us interested in history, painting, model and terrain building, or just a great social outlet, Hutch’s legacy remains strong. As he said in concluding his article:
“There is no doubt among many young men, and men who think young, wargaming does provide a mentally stimulating and satisfying hobby".
Jack Hutchings 1911-1978
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