Alf's Imperial Army
Alf's Imperial Army, founded in 1972, by Ian Brackenbury Channell is New Zealand's longest-running and largest pacifist warfare organisation. Organised loosely along 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. The Army therefore is strongly monarchist 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, and meths mortars armed with soft or rotten fruit are also used. '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 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" or "elixirs".
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 organisation 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 The Battle for Oamaru, which 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".Alf's Imperial Army has battled against many different groups, including political parties, the NZ Police, student clubs and student hostels, The Outward Bound organisation, community organisations, Sea Cadets, schools, TV stations, nudists, and of course other pacifist warfare groups. One of their major rivals was the McGillicuddy Highland Army, 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. Pacifist warfare was brought to New Zealand in 1973 when Colonel Catford, a follower of the Wizard, moved to New Zealand and founded The 1st Canterbury Crusaders Regiment in Christchurch and organised the first pacifist battle at the city's University of Canterbury. Colonel Catford later moved to Wellington and took the name 'Duke of Wellington', which title was confirmed by mayor Michael Fowler in 1981. Colonel Catford died in November 2014 after a long battle with cancer. Below is a list of Alf's Imperial Army regiments; those still active are bolded.| Regiment | City | Year Founded | Notes |
| 0th Melbourne Regt | Melbourne | 1972 | The 0th number was given later. |
| 1st Canterbury Light Infantry | Christchurch * | 1973 | Rarely active |
| 2nd Duke of Wellington's Own Regt | Wellington | 1975 | Disbanded in 1999, Reformed as a "Messing" Regiment 2006, active again |
| 3rd New Edinburgh Highland Regt | Dunedin | 1977 | formed in the late 1970s and reformed in 1981 when the Scottish themed originals became the Highland Co, and the Arrows Musical Appreciation and Drinking Society under Alan Larsen became the Grenadier Co. Larsen is credited with bringing formal uniform to Alfs Army. The 3rd Regt is no longer active. |
| The Auckland Regiment | Auckland | 1979 | Never formally numbered, disbanded. |
| The Hawke's Bay Militia | Hawke's Bay | 1979 | Never formally numbered, no longer active |
| 4th Lady Massey's Volunteers | Palmerston North | 1980 | no longer active |
| 5th Waikato Cavalry | Hamilton | 1980 | Disbanded 1982 |
| 5th Waikato Dragoons | Hamilton | 1985 | Actively battling every 4–5 weeks |
| 6th Irish Light Infantry | Gisborne | 1986 | no longer active |
| 7th Cargill Dragoons | Invercargill | 1987 | Left Alf's Army |
| 7th Whitestone Grenadiers | Oamaru | 1988 | Inactive for a time. Re-established as 8th Rgt. |
| 8th Bombay Grenadiers | Auckland | 1988 | no longer active |
| 10th Auckland Grenadiers | Auckland | 1989 | Merged with 8th Bombay Grenadiers |
| 10th Podian Phoenix Regt | London, England | 1990 | no longer active |
| 12th New Plymouth Regt of Foot | New Plymouth | 1991 | no longer active |
| 16th Wellington Wegiment | Wellington | 2004 | — |
| KNUTS Artillery Regiment | Christchurch | 2008 | — |
| 17th Cotswold Volunteers | Auckland | 2011 | — |
- The 1st Canterbury Light Infantry Regt has a 'B Company' in Takaka.
On 31 December 2007 Alf's Imperial Army won a victory in a battle in Oamaru against the Clan McGillicuddy and their "Martian" allies, thus saving the world from conquest. There is a video clip of this battle on YouTube.
Related links
The Generalissimo of Alf's Imperial Army- , Killing As Organised Sport
- McGillicuddy Highland Army
- Legion d'Etranger Franglais