Club nights
Welcome to the South East London Wargames Group, we are a friendly wargamming club based in Catford, South East London. We meet every friday evening, starting at 7pm and finishing at around 10:30pm at St Laurence Church hall, 37 Bromley road, SE6 2TS.
We are always looking for new members to join us, if you are interested then please contact us or come along to club night and say hi.
If you would like to contact us you can reach us through Facebook (click here), Instagram (search for selwg_club) the contact me page of the website or on selwg.club@gmail.com
Chris Hurren
On Saturday the 20th of July I had the sad news that our founder and President for many years Chris Hurren had died, Chris was 87, he had been fighting bravely for many months of invasive tumours. He died peacefully at his home with his wife Iris and family by his side.
Having known Chris for some 53 years, I have been asked to say a few words;
In the 60’s Chris was living in Dover when he caught the wargaming bug and spent that decade gaming with such wargaming and modelling pioneers, as Charles Grant and Lyn Sangster (Historex). Chris loved his wargaming and military modelling in equal measure.
In 1969 Chris and his family moved to Southeast London and while Chris, who was working as a youth club leader at Marvels Lane Youth Club in SE12, the beginnings of an idea took shape.
In 1970, he founded the South East London Wargame Club. He advertised locally and received an overwhelming response to the first Friday-night meeting, (which was then held once a month). He wrote a basic constitution, formed a committee from the hundred or so new members, and SELWG was born.
Chris especially loved ancient wargaming and played with Persian and Greek armies, but he also encouraged every form of the hobby and eagerly embraced new ideas. Who could forget his whoops of delight when his Chicago Bears won at American football?
When I asked Chris why, after some 30 odd years, he had resigned as president and largely stopped wargaming, his reply was typical of him: “When I wrote the constitution, the first line stated,
“To promote in every way possible wargaming, roleplaying, military modelling and associated interests”. He said "I’ve done my part and I’m now leaving the club in excellent hands".
For those club members thinking Chris who? I would like to say that your membership of SELWG is a testament to Chris’s ideals of some 50 years ago ie to give you a club and a venue to play wargaming and make lasting friendships.
His last visit to our club was at our 50th anniversary Open Day. I know both Chris and Iris were overjoyed to receive the invitation from the committee and he was so happy to meet current members and how the club had evolved.
To conclude those who knew Chris will have your own thoughts and memories as will I, he was a great friend, always helpful, and full of enthusiasm for our hobby.
I hope his legacy of SELWG will last for many years to come
Thank you for everything, Chris. Rest in peace.
About SELWG
SELWG have been promoting Wargames in South East London since 1971. We are now one of London's largest Wargames clubs, providing a friendly and inclusive environment for our members to enjoy a wide range of activities and games. Our club is open members of all ages, and if there's a game you want to try, its almost a certainty that one of our members will either want to play it, or give it a go.
We play a wide range of games including Historical, Science Fiction and Fantasy. We have a large player base for games such as Warhammer 40,000, and Warhammer Fantasy, and our members enjoy participating in our two annual tournaments for both games. Other Games Workhop games including Blood Bowl and Necromunda have regular leagues running to.
Our club has a long and varied tradition of historical gaming, and our members enjoy a wide range of different games and eras, with particular favorites being Bolt Action and ADLAG. We regularly host large historical participation games, and host club tournaments and campaigns for our members too.