IHMN: The Forces of the British Empire during the War of the Witches, Part 1

"In times of war and not before, God and the soldier we adore. But in times of peace and all things righted, God is forgotten and the soldier slighted." - Rudyard Kipling

The British Empire has been blessed with wealth, scientific achievement and adventurous men and women. Though society is stratified and many leaders slow to adapt to new technology and tactics, the British are formidable in the War against the Witches.  Here are the governmental forces involved:

1. The village of North Piddle. In 1795, a large stony meteorite was observed during its fall to Earth at a cottage near Wold Newton in Yorkshire, England and a piece of it, known as the Wold Cottage meteorite, was carefully analyzed by both British and French authorities and they concluded that an extraterrestrial origin was likely. 

The meteor strike near North Piddle

The village of North Piddle is a small civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England.  North Piddle was named after Piddle Brook, on which it stands, and has approximately 200 inhabitants. On December 17, 1896 there was an earthquake in the region that "exceeded in violence any previous instance of seismic energy there within the present century".  The earthquake was preceded by a loud roar "as of thunder" or "a rushing mighty wind", and residents whose windows were facing north saw a "great light", which some attributed to a large meteor . . .

 The Ruins of the North Piddle Manor

Though North Piddle is tucked away in a remote corner of England, many famous dignitaries have been spotted there recently and there are rumors of an attempted robbery of the British Museum Warehouse annex located in North Piddle that was foiled by Scotland Yard.  For some unexplained reason, North Piddle is a focal point of the War of the Witches.

The British Museum Annex in North Piddle 

2. Scotland Yard. Another name for the Metropolitan Police Service, and is also the name of the building where it has its headquarters. The name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London, which is the responsibility of the City of London Police. Recently, more and more of the Metropolitan Police has seen itself on detached duty . . .

Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson and members of Scotland Yard. 

 Sergeant Ridgewell Hawkes of the North Piddle Constabulary with Inspector Stanley Hopkins

3. Department H (there is no Department H).  Department H (there is no Department H) was formed by Mycroft Holmes for direct action against threats to the British Empire outside of the British Isles.  Though the Prince of Wales's Extraordinary Company is more than capable in handling most threats, they've been engaged in protecting the home islands.  When Mycroft activated Department H (there is no Department H) he chose Colonel Dugald Armstrong, VC, DSO, etc., to lead Department H (there is no Department H). So far Department H (there is no Department H) has failed spectacularly in the stopping the Witch King of Sokur and in fact they lost the famous Professor Nightengale.

Department H (there is no Department H)

4. The Gordan Highlanders.  What more could be said of the Heroes of the Battle of the Lost City of Opar and the Roopkund Lake Incident with Chinese Imperial Forces? Bydand!

 Captain Anderson, Sergeant McDuff and Piper Kidd lead the Gordon Highlanders 

5. The 14th Sikhs. Without the 14th Sikhs, victory against the Imperial Chinese Army's "Special" units would not have been possible.  Plus machine guns are cool.

The "Wand of Automatic Missile Fire"; known in the ancient Elvish as the Maxim Machine Gun.

6. The Queen's Own African Rifles.

One of the most famous units in the British Army . . . and they like loud explosions. It's men like these that forged an Empire.

When you positively, absolutely, have to take the target out!

Next Up: Non-Governmental Forces of the British Army - "God Save the Queen!"