On the morning of Friday 25 June, I was shocked to hear that my very dear friend Paddy Griffith had died.
As most will know, Paddy Griffith was an accomplished military historian, a serious academic with an unfashionable interest in wargaming as a means of understanding war and warriours.
I was delighted to discover eight years ago that Paddy lived close by and held monthly meetings at his home in a reinstatement of Charles Oman's Amateur Tactical Society. Since then, Monday evening SMATS has been an important event in my diary.
People have had a lot to say about Paddy, at his funeral on Friday 9 July; also in a long obituary in The Times that same day. My abiding memories of him will be his enormous generosity and his fabulous sense of humour. Also, my first meeting with him. Sitting in the kitchen of this distinguished historian, sketching out my ideas for what was to be my first published book, I found him treating me as an equal. This was of course deeply flattering, but also the best encouragement I could have been given to carry on with the task.
Paddy's funeral was conducted - most ably - by a representative of the British Humanist Association. Nevertheless, if Paddy passes through St Peter's gate, the dice will shortly be rolling in Heaven.
