Bruce Quarrie (1947 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

– 4 September 2004) was an English writer and author on wargaming and

militaria Militaria, also known as military memorabilia, are military equipment which are collected for their historical significance. Such items include firearms, swords, sabres, knives, bayonets, helmets and other equipment such as uniforms, military ...

topics.

Career

Quarrie studied English at

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and graduated in 1968. He became a journalist with the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' and then in 1972 joined Patrick Stephens Limited, a Cambridge specialist publisher, as editor of '' Airfix Magazine'', which PSL produced. He wrote the first of his many books about

wargaming A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

in 1974 and in 1986 he became a full-time writer. He wrote over 40 titles, mainly on the Second World War

. Quarrie was an active wargamer. His 1974 book ''Napoleonic Wargaming'' brought the hobby to wide attention. Quarrie owned a large miniature army of wargames figures, including the entire Westphalian army of the Napoleonic era.

Criticism about his choice of subject

In his 1997 book 'Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach' (described as "too flawed to be recommended as an undergraduate text"), historian S.P. MacKenzie describing Quarrie's works on the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

mentions him as a popular author who suggested that the elite Waffen SS units demonstrated toughness, innovation and courage, which along with focused aggression, changed the course of the war. Mackenzie writes that "as older generation of Waffen-SS scribes has died off, a new, post-war cadre of writers has done much to perpetuate the image of the force as a revolutionary European army" and includes Quarrie in this group.

Personal life

Quarrie was married, with two daughters and 9 grandchildren, and lived in

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Selected works

* ''Panzers in the desert, 1980 * '' Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature: War Gamers' Guide to the Napoleonic Wars, 1796-1815'', ', 4 Editions * ''Tank Battles in Miniature 2: A Wargamer's Guide to the Russian Campaign 1941-45'', * ''Tank Battles in Miniature 3: Wargamers' Guide to the North-West European campaign 1944-1945'', ', 1976 * ''Napoleonic Wargaming (Airfix Magazine Guide No. 4)'', 1974, ' * ''World War 2 Wargaming (Airfix Magazine Guide No. 15)'', 1976 * ''Panzergrenadier Division 'Grossdeutschland, 1977 * ''Fallschirmpanzer Division 'Hermann Göring, 1978 * ''Tank Battles in Miniature 5: Wargamers' Guide to the Arab-Israeli Wars since 1948'', 1978 * ''Second SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich, 1979 * ''World War II Photo Album 9 Panzers in Russia 1941-43'', 1979 * ''PSL Guide to Wargaming'' d. Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1980, ' * ''Fantasy Wargaming'' ontributor Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1981, ' * ''Panzers in the Balkans and Italy'', 1981 * ''Hitler's Samurai: Waffen-SS in Action'', Arco, 1983, ' * ''German Airborne Troops, 1939-45'', 1983 * ''Secret Police Forces of the World'', 1986 * ''Hitler's Teutonic Knights: SS Panzers in action'', Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1986 * ''Beginner's Guide to Wargaming'', 1987 * ''The World's Elite Forces: The Men, Weapons and Operations in the War Against Terrorism'', 1985 * ''Armoured Wargaming'', Wildside, 1988 * ''Hitler: the victory that nearly was'', David & Charles, London 1988, ISBN * ''Encyclopaedia of the German Army in the 20th Century'', Harper Collins, 1989 * ''Special Forces'', 1990 * ''Weapons of the Waffen-SS: From Small Arms to Tanks'', 1990 * ''Lightning Death: the story of the Waffen-SS,'' Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1991, ' * ''Waffen-SS Soldier, 1940-45'', 1999 * ''The Ardennes Offensive: Central Sector: V Panzer Armee'', 2000 * ''The Ardennes Offensive: Central Sector: VII US Corps and VIII US Corps'', 2000 * ''Fallschirmjäger: German Paratrooper 1935-45'', 2001

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quarrie, Bruce 1947 births 2004 deaths People from Wellingborough 20th-century English historians