Donald Featherstone was a man who left a beautifully lasting image on the wargaming hobby. People who never heard his name are playing games that can only exist because of the life that Mr. Featherstone lived.
Few individuals can legitimately say they wrote the book on any given subject. When it comes to wargaming, Donald literally wrote the book. In 1962 the pivotal title War Games was released and the wargaming world has never been the same.
H.G. Wells may have gotten things started with Little Wars. But, Mr. Featherstone brought wargaming to a level beyond anything imagined at the time. Looking at gaming certain names stand the test of time. People like Wells, Gygax, Arneson, Grant, and Featherstone were the creative geniuses of their day.
Mr. Featherstone was a titan on whose shoulders we stand in our hopes and dreams to achieve the best wargaming experiences we can. He encouraged, inspired, and gave hope to many a gamer.
The English poet John Donne famously wrote “no man is an island, entire of itself;…any man’s death diminishes me; because I am involved in mankind.”
The entire tabletop gaming community suffers Donald Featherstone’s death. His connection to each of us goes beyond his prolific writing. At the root of it all is the intrinsic nature of people to come together for mutual enjoyment and support. We are all connected to one another in this thing we call the wargaming hobby.
As Gary Gygax said “The final word, then, is the game.”
RIP Donald Featherstone, 1918-2013
To honor Donald Featherstone’s memory we created a project with FirstGiving to donate funds to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Donald served in the British armed forces during WWII and cared, deeply, about those in uniform.
Please consider making a donation to the Wounded Warrior Project (or your favorite charity) in memory of Donald Featherstone.
