Abraham Pike —-
Played by the amiable Mike Newman
The character of Abraham Pike was based on an actual riding officer who lived in Christchurch in the early 1800 's. He was not particularly successful^ in his work but he did have one redeeming feature, he was incorruptible!
In this scenario Mike was Chief riding Officer for the county of Padforshire and the near total absence of government troops made things difficult for him right from the start.
Mike had 30 revenue men at his disposal and not only did he have to try to control the smuggling gangs, he also had to watch over the loading and unloading of Merchant ships, record their cargo and destinations and give them the odd occasional 'rummage'. Mike also had 4 riding officers who acted as his ears and eyes gathering information on smuggling activities.
Mikes only military assistance came in the guise of 10 Dragoons lead by the rather intimidating cardboard character of Captain John Woods, but we shall hear more about him later.
Mike knew that there were many small smuggling gangs operating in the area but the main threat to the county came from the Carter Brothers. Being a large and well-organised gang, the dragoons had not been strong enough to take the Carters on, so at the beginning they kept to harassing the smaller gangs. However, Mike was determined to close the Carters and their gang down.
Mikes objectives
1. Accumulate enough evidence to bring the Carters to court and put them behind bars.
2. Ensure that the Carters operation is closed down for good, either by the above method or by using more ruthless tactics.
3. Recover as much contraband as possible.
4. Disrupt the Carters operation so that their clientele looses faith in their ability to meet demand.
5. Transport all captured contraband to the bonded store in the city of Whitehaven in the
Captain John Woods -
Played by that versatile thespian, Umpire Steve Cast!
Captain John Woods was Mike’s cardboard Character and oh boy, did he cause Mike some problems! Colonel Wood was formerly of the 2nd Royal North Dragoons (Scots Greys). He served with them for many years and purchased a Colonels commission a few yearn before he retired at the age of 52. Selling his commission for a substantial sum he settled down to retirement until his wife died unexpectedly some 5 years later.
He decided to found the Padfordshire Yeomanry and moved to Port Knappwell to take up his post as their Captain. His command was made up of old comrades in arms and their collective age was 550 but what they lacked in sinew they made up for in experience.
Nominally under the command of Mike, Woods was his own man and didn't take to being ordered around by a "scribe ". He had a tendency, like any good British cavalry officer should, to be hot headed and reckless. On many occasion he ordered his men to ransack the house of a suspect whether he was guilty or not. This stemmed from the "good old days " in Ireland where a heavy hand was the only thing the peasantry understood. Seeing all smugglers as peasants, he vowed to bring them to heel as he did "with them in Ireland".
Nicknaming him "Bloody Jack" the smuggling gangs of Padfordshire trembled with fear when they knew Woods was on their trail.
He had only one objective, to have some fun.
The Carters - Played by John, Andy and Dave
Based on an actual smuggling gang, "The Kings of Prussia Cove ", the Carters operated out of Prussia Cove in Cornwall, and had an empire that stretched over three counties.
In this scenario the Carters came from a poor fishing family. Their father, David Carter, started the family "Business" some 20 years before to ensure his family's future and prosperity. While he was by no means alone in pursuing this trade, it was the county's close geographical and cultural ties with the French ports that gave him and others like him a unique advantage. Therefore, their father had all the necessary credentials for exploiting this dangerous but lucrative activity. Since his death, some five years before, the three brothers had taken over the business and doubled it in size, taking full advantage of the fact that the revenue were thin on the ground because of the war that the British Government was waging with France.
Objectives
1. To satisfy demand for both their local and national markets
2. Successfully land and distribute 10 shipments of contraband
2.1. Three of these shipments had to be sent to Bassingham
2.2. Three of them had to go to Whitehaven
2.3. Two had to go to Newchapel.
2.4. The other two had to be sold locally.
2.4.1. One had to be sold through their open market, and the rest had to be sold to local contacts that would divulge themselves during the campaign.
Captain James Herriot Nash of the Newchapel Militia — Played by the indomitable Mike Whiteford
Mikes Character was devious, dishonest and short of cash!
An owner of several wool mills, Nash had built himself a small but successful empire over a period of 10 years. However, he 'd squandered his fortune on lavish balls, social events and large properties in London to seek the approval of his peers and secure his reputation as a Gentleman. To elevate himself even further Nash had purchased a Captains commission in the Newchapel Militia. Over the past two years he had found himself in ever-increasing debt and the call to come and help fight the French in Padfordshire could not have come at a better time. He would use this opportunity to spin a web of deceit and con the customs into giving him their captured contraband for "safekeeping".
Objective
1. Obtain 4 loads of contraband to prop up his flagging wool mills and pay off his creditors
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Lieutenant Robert Paterson at his best, Entertaining
the ladies with tales of bravery and heroism |
Lieutenant Robert Paterson - Again played by that darling of the stage, Umpire Steve Cast!
This was Mikes Cardboard character but unfortunately for the umpire he died at the battle of Prussia Cove, which was far to soon for my liking. Oh what fun I could have had. Ooooh, my acting career is in tatters darling!
Formerly a Captain in the regular army, 38 year old Lieutenant Paterson is a long serving officer and a veteran of the Seven years war and the wars in the Americas so he has a vast amount of experience. After taking a near fatal wound during the battle of Bunker Hill he fully recovered only to find that he had been invalided out of the Regular army and having no other means of support he was forced to join the Militia as a Lieutenant. Un-married, he has a reputation as a womaniser, and gentlemen of worth have to watch their wives when he is around. Even though he is stereotyped as a rouge by many of the female middle and upper classes, most have a secret desire to bed with him.
Paterson resented Nash and thought of him more as an Epaulette Officer, or one who is better qualified to quaff large amounts of port back at the Officers mess than take command in the field.
His objective was to take away command of the Militia from Mike Whiteford by proving Mike was unfit for command. He would question and object to all of Mikes orders. Lucky for Mike that he died so early on in the campaign!
Farmer Pickles - Oh at last, my career is back on track darlings, kissy kissy!
Another cardboard Character, Farmer Pickles was, to those who came across him, a simple farmer. However, there was more to him than met the eye, for he was in fact a go between for a mysterious organisation known as the "Quadrangle ". Though only very few of the players came across the "Quadrangle " during the campaign, none of them actually knew who they were. However, we shall find out more about them later.
Jack Sparrow — Played by that man about town, Rupert Worral
Rupert was an unwitting pawn in a dangerous game. Hired by the "Quadrangle " he was to act as their lander and was responsible for their beach landing party. As far as "Sparrow" was concerned the "Quadrangle" was a "legitimate" smuggling organisation backed by merchant bankers in Bossingham, Whitehaven, Port Knappwell and Newchapel. He was told that due to the effects of the war with France gold had been devalued. However, the French were willing to pay as much as £1.1Os for every gold guinea they received which was far and above the current selling price. Sparrow's role was to see that this gold got safely to the coast and then onto France. However, there was an underlying truth that "Sparrow" was unaware of.
Sir Percy Stanmoor - Another cardboard character. Oh, how my public love me!
Who was Sir Percy Stanmoor and why did the French show so much interest in him? Stanmoore was one of the political elite and was the up and coming member of Pitt's government. However, Stanmoore had become quietly opposed to Pitts foreign policy and saw France as an allie in a much bigger picture, the downfall of the European monarchies and the bringing together of a disaffected Europe into one European state. To accomplish this he begun to communicate with the French via a spy that, lucky for Mike Newman, was to be discovered very early on in the campaign. However, the connection between this spy and Sir Percy was never established and Mike carried on oblivious to this fact.
The previous year Sir Percy had established the "Quandrangle ". This was a cartel of .Jacobins based in Bossingham, Whitehaven, Port Knappwell and Newchapel who were dedicated to bring French revolutionary ideals to Britain. With rumour of an intended invasion of Britain by Napoleon the "Quadrangle " saw this as a superb opportunity to help Napoleon in his hour of need. As the French landed they would co-ordinate an uprising to frustrate the intended plans for Britain's defence. To accomplish this they would smuggle gold to France and buy guns and ammunition to arm their insurgents. Using "Jack Sparrow" and the Carters as their unwitting accomplices they would smuggle the weapons back to Britain in the Carters ships. The Carters and Jack Sparrow would be none the wiser.
Sir Percy then hatched an ingenuous plan to get himself over to France without being suspected so that he could co-ordinate his uprising with the French invasion and return to Padforshire after "escaping" from a French prison. He invited the French to "invade " Padfordshire and "capture " him. Phil played the numerous French roles given to him with gusto and achieved his objective and more. Not only did he ,r capture Sir Percy, but he also managed to wreck the Carters smuggling operation beyond repair. This played into the "Quadrangles " hands as they could now employ the Carters under their terms instead of the other way round. Without any ships the Carters smuggling operation was all washed up and the only way to continue it was to work for the "Quadrangle ". Drawn in hook line and sinker by their tempting offer, the Carters became unsuspecting accomplices in a treasonable act. In their last shipment they unwittingly smuggled the first batch of guns and ammunition into England. Had the campaign continued and Abraham Pike (Mike Newman) found out about this and captured the Carters, they would have been hung as traitors.
Now, I hear you say, why did I only mentioned Abraham Pikes name in this last sentence, what about Captain Nash (Mike Whiteford), isn't he a government man? Well, unfortunately, Captain Nash had turned to the "dark rum side " and had fallen in with the Carters. He was taking a 25% cut from the Carters that ensured the Carters would remain unmolested. He also had eyes on Abraham's overland convoy of captured contraband that was being transported to Whitehaven at the end of the Month. Nash had plans to "escort" it to a "safer" place. However, had Abraham found out about Nash's activities and a connection had been made between Nash, the Carters and the "Quadrangle ", Nash too could also have found himself swinging from a gibbet!
So, there we have it, "Five and Twenty Ponies " more than just a smuggling
campaign!
How did everyone fair in terms of their objectives? Well, turn the page and you will see, and I think you 'II be surprised at the results.
