Alf's Imperial Army

[
McGillicuddy Highland Army in 1989.]

Founded in 1972 [ [http://www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html Origins of Alf's Imperial Army - Wizard of New Zealand ] ] , Alf's Imperial Army is New Zealand's longest-running and largest pacifist warfare organisation. Organised loosely on military lines, it has Regiments in several New Zealand towns and cities. As a self declared "army" it exists to do "battle" using strictly non-harmful weapons, following the rules and conventions of the pastime known as "pacifist warfare". Alf's have held many highly publicised battles against a wide range of New Zealand organisations and community groups.

Mythos and Uniform

The mythos and uniform of Alf's Imperial Army is that of 19th century Victorian British soldiers [ [http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~serpent/alfs/structure.html ALF's Imperial Army: Style and Structure ] ] . The Army therefore is strongly monarchist [ [http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~serpent/alfs/index.html ALF's Imperial Army: Introduction ] ] and does battle in the name of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of New Zealand. Accordingly, their costumes closely resemble the uniforms of the British Army, in particular the redcoats circa 1881.

Pacifist Warfare

Alf's Imperial Army is a proponent of "pacifist warfare" and fights its battles using strictly non-harmful weapons, such as newspaper swords and cardboard shields for personal duelling. 'Mass effect' weapons such as water bombs, flour bombs, porridge bombs, funnelators (huge slingshots), and meths mortars armed with soft or rotten fruit are also used (though water or flour bombs are the most common). 'Psychological Weapons' such as the dreaded Can-Can charge, heavy duty assault poetry, mass singing and vicious taunting are also permissible.

Aside from being a soldier, participants in a pacifist battle (usually organized into "armies") may have roles such as scout, magician, witch, official scribe, photographer, or whatever other roles may be called for by the mythos of a particular group or particular battle. The most indispensable role however is that of nurses/medics/surgeons who bring the "dead" back to life by dispensing "medicine" (often candy) or "elixirs" (usually port wine, but may be simply water).

Battles usually take place in public places and are intended as a kind of theatrical event that is fun for the participants and exciting and funny for the audience. As such, there is no fixed way of determining who won a pacifist battle, and often two sides may agree to disagree so as to have an excuse to have another battle. Often who "won" may depend upon who tells the best story afterward, who writes the best history afterward, who the audience best remembers afterward, or sometimes the entire story and organization of the battle may have been pre-scripted beforehand.

Pacifist Warfare is not a form of historical re-enactment. The armies' uniforms and weapons are not historically accurate, nor are battles any attempt to re-enact any past event.

Pacifist Warfare originated before Live Roleplaying. Participants in a pacifist battle are not playing a particular character, rather they are playing a role in a performance. They also do not have hit-points.

Enemies

Being monarchist, Alf's Imperial Army often battles groups of self-proclaimed Republicans. One example is [http://www.greens.org.nz/docs/greenhive/gh0011.htm#article03 The Battle for Oamaru] that took place in October 2000, when the Army fought against a motley but determined band of about 40 New Zealand Green Party members calling themselves "Green Republicans" who assembled in Oamaru under Field Marshal Keith Locke, their Commander in Chief. According to the Greens all those on the Alf side committed suicide (sic).

Alf's Imperial Army has battled against many different groups [ [http://www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html Origins of Alf's Imperial Army - Wizard of New Zealand ] ] , including political parties [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20031210142330/www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html Origins of Alf's Imperial Army - Wizard of New Zealand ] ] [ "Time Marches On" "Christchurch Press" 25 August 2003 ] , the NZ Police [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20031210142330/www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html Origins of Alf's Imperial Army - Wizard of New Zealand ] ] , student clubs [ "Mock Battle" "Chaff" 27 July 1988 ] and student hostels [ "Annual Pacifist Warfare" "Otago Daily Times" 10 May 2007 ] , The Outward Bound organisation [ "Wizcorp Eyes Cosmic School" "Evening Post" (Wellington) October 1987 ] , community organisations [ "Army Gathers in Defence of Naseby" "Otago Daily Times" 28 April 2003 ] [ "Coast Prepares for War" "Daily News" (Taranaki) 7 March 1990 ] , Sea Cadets [ "Humour Wins in Battle of Pacifists" "Waikato Times" 20 May 2002 ] , schools [ "Paper-cut and Thrust of War" "Nelson Mail" 17 October 2007 ] , TV stations, nudists [ "Zany Holiday Capers at Mapua" "Christchurch Star" 27 December 1988 ] , and of course other pacifist warfare groups [ "Militia Battle Imperial Army" "Hawkes Bay Herald Tribune" 23 October 1989 ] [ "Mock Battle Display of Flour Power" "Nelson Mail" 4 November 2002 ] . One of their major rivals was the McGillicuddy Highland Army [ "Angry Clan Wages War on Alf's Army" "Evening Post" (Wellington)3 June 1988 ] , and as such Alf's also performed the vital role of preventing the Jacobite McGillicuddy Serious Party from gaining power.

Since the inception of Alf's Imperial Army, other similar pacifist warfare groups — many of them unaffiliated to Alf's — have sprung up around New Zealand. Notable among them are the McGillicuddy Highland Army, the Waitati Militia, and the Czarist Russian influenced First Lindskii Regiment.

Brief History

Alf's Imperial Army, along with the concept of pacifist warfare, was created by The Wizard of New Zealand in 1972 at the University of Melbourne in Australia [ [http://www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html Origins of Alf's Imperial Army - Wizard of New Zealand ] ] . Pacifist warfare was brought to New Zealand in 1973 when Colonel Catford, a follower of the Wizard, moved to New Zealand and founded the The 1st Canterbury Crusaders Regiment (later renamed the 1st Canterbury Light Infantry) in Christchurch and organised the first pacifist battle at the city's University of Canterbury.

Regiments were later founded in Wellington, Dunedin, Auckland, Palmerston North, Hawke's Bay, Hamilton, Oamaru, New Plymouth, Gisborne, and a company in Takaka.

As of late 2007 the Army continues in a reduced and somewhat less public manner and is now largely based off-campuses. Active regiments are still fighting the good fight in Christchurch, Hamilton, Oamaru and Wellington, with detachments in Dunedin and Takaka. The Wizard of New Zealand still performs the role of Generalissimo of Alf's Imperial Army, and is its Supreme Commander.

On December 31st 2007 Alf's Imperial Army won a victory in a battle in Oamaru against the Clan McGillicuddy and their "Martian" allies [ "Alf's beat Martians in Battle" "Otago Daily Times" Wednesday January 2 2008 Page 15 ] thus saving the world from conquest. There is video clip of this battle on youtube.

References

Related links

The Generalissimo (and Founder) of Alf's Imperial Army
* [http://www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html Wizard of New Zealand]
* [http://www.wizard.gen.nz/alfsarmy.html About Alf's Imperial Army, from the Wizard's website]
* [http://library.christchurch.org.nz/Heritage/LocalHistory/Wizard/ History page from Christchurch Library website]

Alf's Imperial Army Regimental Websites
* [http://paradise.gen.nz/~simeon/alfs/index.html 1st Canterbury Light Infantry Regiment] (Christchurch)
* [http://www.alfs.hnpl.net 5th Waikato Dragoons Regiment] (Hamilton)

Rivals
* [http://lindskiinz.tripod.com/ First Lindskii Regiment]
* [http://www.kaos.org.nz KAOS] , Killing As Organised Sport
* McGillicuddy Highland Army

Videos on the Web
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IugKi9BEcZ4 "Martian" battle Oamaru December 31st 2007. On youtube]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHlXnwm36Tc 30th Anniversary battle vs Chthulu Cultists, Christchurch August 2003. on youtube]
* [http://audiovisual.archives.govt.nz/wiki/index.php/FESTIVAL "Wellington Festival" battle Wellington 1976. See Part Two. From the National Archive of New Zealand]
* [http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grPZxGMiBFE Battle vs hosts of Spot On TV show in Dunedin (late 1970s). On youtube]