The Citadel Logo

Social media can throw up some unexpected events, and though uncommon, these events are not unheard of on the Oldhammer Facebook page. Recently, a rather interesting conversation played out between several members that I felt was worthy of developing into an article, largely due to the need to preserve these stories and ensure they don't become lost in a long, long thread of eventual oblivion.

The topic of conversation? The creation of the famous Citadel logo. These days its an almost universally known brand, albeit one that has merged somewhat with Games Workshop. They are now interchangable. They have been one and the same for a long time. However, once back in the mists of the late 1970s, Citadel were one against many. Just another miniature manufacturer but a manufacturer with the support of the successful GW chain itself. For a time, they were separate companies, though Citadel effectively owned and ran the GW line roughly between the years 1986 and 1991 until the entire group of companies were sold (and ultimately merged) into what we know today.

Despite being (probably) the most famous and well known logo in the world of wargaming, I couldn't actually find out much about its creation for other websites. There were a few threads to pull, but nothing definate. I am glad to be able to draw these together and organise them in this way so many more of you are able to have access to the facts.

The discussion sprang from Zhu's question about who designed the early Rogue Trader Imperial Eagle image and eventually spread to the Citadel logo itself. Tony Ackland was initially blamed for its creation but later popped up, as people can due to the wonders of modern technology, to put the matter straight. 

"Though the (Citadel logo) has undergone some changes over time. The original logo and the image came from Albie Fiore. Where he got (the idea) from I have no idea. I redrew it because the original was so small and its use became somewhat limited." 

Tony Ackland. Facebook. 2014.

So who was Albie Fiore you will probably be wondering? Sadly, he is no longer with us, having died in 2009 following complications involving a lung tumour. But British newspaper, The Guardian, was kind enough to run an obituary on him that is available online.

Here is an except.

(He was known to many) through his work in the field of architecture, as a contributor to the television show The Crystal Maze, a production designer for Games Workshop, an antiques dealer specialising in slot machines, an adviser in the development of Erno Rubik's puzzles, the editor of the magazine Games & Puzzles, a writer of storylines for children's comic characters such as Scooby Doo and a chef on private yachts. Residents of the Bloomsbury area of central London, too, while not necessarily having known Albie, will have been familiar with the sight of the Tom-Baker-as-the Doctor-like figure cycling around on his butcher's bike on the way to and from various marketplaces.

Albie was born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and educated at Southend high school for boys, Southend School of Architecture, and the Architectural Association in London. Even in childhood he was fascinated by puzzles, whether literal, numerical, logical or mechanical, so it was no surprise that in the early 1960s a bank holiday double puzzle, almost certainly by Araucaria, spawned his interest in cryptic crosswords.

In the 1970s, Albie was on the editorial team of Games & Puzzles, a magazine run from a small office near Tottenham Court Road in central London. While largely concerned with board games, the magazine offered the opportunity for specialist crosswords and articles about crosswords. At first, Albie oversaw the crossword pages, but in the late 1970s took over the editorship of the whole magazine.

Albie later established himself as a setter of crosswords – a characteristic clue, of which he was justly proud, was "No can do (6,5)". He joined the Guardian team in 1992, adopting his nom de plume Taupi from a nickname he was given as a student working on a French farm, that translates as "Moley". His pseudonym in the Financial Times, Satori, in Zen Buddhism "sudden enlightenment", is based on the Basque word for "mole". Satori was first published in 2002. His puzzles for both papers were on the hard side, but always fair – the solution to "No can do" is "Bottle Party".

John Henderson. The Guardian. 2009.

So all in all, not your run-of-the-mill designer of fantasy products. And his name is certainly not one that had really registered in my mind when thinking of Citadel company history. The Grand Master of Chaos went on to explain further what he could recall.

"(I am) not sure whether Albie created it or whether it was a bit of clip art. It was pretty crude, and was reminiscent of some American '50s, early '60s pseudo Gothic imagery. In fact the internal image found in the US movie monster magazine Castle of Frankenstein was a much more elaborate image in that style. But the shadow of Neuschwanstein hangs over then all. The Citadel logo was made up from a US type face that came as a paper cutout. Made Letraset look hi-tec by comparison. I did a revised version of the castle when we were at Victoria St. Mainly so that it could be use larger on the postal stuff we put out. "

Tony Ackland. Facebook. 2014.

Now the internet is full of photographic examples of the Citadel log. A quick Google search will throw them up, though I pinched these from the Oldhammer Facebook thread (thanks Don Slater) but studying them, its clear that there were several different versions throughout the 1980s. 

Changes through the '80s. Here is an earlier version of the famous Citadel logo. 

This painting can also be found in White Dwarf.

Luckily for us, one Bryan Ansell also popped up to share his recollections on the creation of the famous Citadel logo. 

Steve Jackson, Ian Livingston, Albie and me gathered in the upstairs room above the first GW shop to talk about the name of the new company and its logo. I don't think it took us very long. Albie had been to an exhibition of the mad King Ludwig of Baravia's castles. He chose the one that became the logo. It was a castle that was never built (I think). But you can see bits of it in the finished ones I think Albie did the art. Round about the time we moved to Eastwood, Dave Andrews did another version to go on our blister packs.

One of Ludwig's of Baravia's castles. Note the similarity.

The Citadel name was me. I thought it was solid, dependable sort of name. I think I then went back to Arnold and bought the sheet of cut out letters for the logo. It may have been called Stonehenge: though my memory of that is blured now. I expect that I cut the letters out and pasted them down. I do clearly remember going to the same stationer a couple years before and buying the sheet for the Asgard logo. Paul Sully did the pasting for that and drew the Thor logo though.

Bryan Ansell. Facebook. 2014

And so ends the story, for now anyway, as there may be more to this tale than has already been revealed. Perhaps you know something of import and are willing to share it with the readership. If so, please do share.

And if you haven't already, go join the Oldhammer Facebook group!

Orlygg.