Bruce Quarrie

Bruce Quarrie (1947 in London – September 4, 2004) was an English author and historian. He studied English at Peterhouse College, Cambridge University and graduated with honours in 1968. He became a journalist with the Financial Times and then in 1972 joined Patrick Stephens Limited, a Cambridge specialist publisher, as editor of Airfix magazine, which PSL produced. He wrote the first of his many books about wargaming in 1974 and in 1986 he became a (prolific) full-time writer on this and military subjects generally. He wrote over 40 titles, mainly on Second World War history, and edited many more.

Quarrie had a reputation for painstaking research and attention to detail, reflected in the high prices many of his out-of-print works still fetch on the second-hand market. His definitive Encyclopedia of the German Army was even published in German. Historian and novelist Len Deighton described him as "one of our most meticulous and well-informed historians."

Bruce Quarrie was an active wargamer and a member of clubs in, successively, north-east London, Cambridge, and Wellingborough. His 1974 book Napoleonic Wargaming, based on the north-east London club's house rules, brought the hobby to wide attention. Quarrie owned a large miniature army of wargames figures, including the entire Westphalian army of the Napoleonic era, scaled down in size as set out in his own published rules.

He was married with two daughters, and lived in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. and has 4 grandsons.

Partial list of Bruce Quarrie's works

• Airfix Magazine Guide 4: Napoleonic Wargaming, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1974
• Airfix Magazine Guide 12: Afrika Korps, 1975
• Tank Battles in Miniature 2: Wargamers' Guide to the Russian campaign 1941-1945, 1975
• Tank Battles in Miniature 3: Wargamers' Guide to the north-west European campaign 1944-1945, ISBN 0850592569, 1976
• World War 2 Wargaming (Airfix Magazine Guide No. 15), 1976
• Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1977 - 1992 (5 editions)
• Panzergrenadier Division 'Grossdeutschland', 1977
• Fallschirmpanzer Division 'Hermann Goring', 1978
• Tank Battles in Miniature 5: Wargamers' Guide to the Arab-Israeli Wars since 1948, 1978
• Second S.S.Panzer Division 'Das Reich', 1979
• World War II Photo Album 9 Panzers in Russia 1941-43, 1979
• PSL Guide to Wargaming [ed.], Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1980, ISBN 0850594138
• Fantasy Wargaming [contributor], Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1981, ISBN 0850598060
• Panzers in the Balkans and Italy, 1981
• Hitler's Samurai: Waffen-SS in Action, Arco, 1983, ISBN 0850598060
• German Airborne Troops, 1939-45, 1983
• Secret Police Forces of the World, 1986
• Hitler's Teutonic Knights: SS Panzers in action, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1986
• Firepower, Chartwell Books, 1988
• Beginner's Guide to Wargaming, 1987
• An Illustrated Guide to Tank Busters (with Mike Spick), 1987
• The World's Elite Forces: The Men, Weapons and Operations in the War Against Terrorism, 1985
• Armoured Wargaming, Wildside, 1988
• Fire Power, 1988, ISBN 1-55521-294-8
• Hitler: the victory that nearly was, David & Charles, London 1988, ISBN
• Encyclopaedia of the German Army in the 20th Century, Harper Collins, 1989
• Special Forces, 1990
• Weapons of the Waffen-SS: From Small Arms to Tanks, 1990
• Lightning Death: the story of the Waffen-SS, Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1991, ISBN 1852600756
• Airborne Assault: Parachute Forces in Action, 1940-91, 1991
• SAS and Elite Forces (with James Lawrence), 1995
• Waffen-SS Soldier, 1940-45, 1999
• The Ardennes Offensive (V US Corps & XVIII US Airborne Corps), 1999
• The Ardennes Offensive (VI Panzer Armee), 1999
• The Ardennes Offensive: Central Sector: V Panzer Armee, 2000
• The Ardennes Offensive: Central Sector: VII US Corps and VIII US Corps, 2000
• The Ardennes Offensive: Southern Sector, 2001
• Fallschirmjager: German Paratrooper 1935-45, 2001
• German Airborne Divisions: Blitzkrieg 1940-41, 2004
• German Airborne Divisions: Mediterranean Theatre 1942-45, 2005