Movie Stars Medals

[Nigel Marshall]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for that, I was very surprised. He could have passed for a Boer War veteran too!

Cheers,

Nigel

[Andrew Upton]

Thanks for that, I was very surprised. He could have passed for a Boer War veteran too!

I was too when I first heard it on one of the recent programmes on Steptoe and Son - another one that makes me smile is the fact that Lionel Jeffries plays Dick Van Dykes father in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - despite the fact DVD is one year older than LJ (being born in 1925 and 1926 respectively) .

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420383/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001813/

[At Home Dad]

To bring the thread back on track

(and away from revelations about

Michael Caine being a sniper in Korea!)

It would be great if details of some of these film stars was filled out a bit,

Medal Card details, Citations etc, or location of wounding, or even if the list

is merely added to. I have C&P'd much of this, so cannot vouch for the accuracy.

Some I have grabbed from earlier GWF posts to try and round it all up.

I was going to pitch this to the BBC as a very cheap 50min documentary using

archive footage from movies and of the War but after chatting to some people

dont think the time is available now for it to happen, sadly.

Anyway, on with the list

Basil Rathbone

In 1916 Philip St. John Basil Rathbone enlisted for the remaining duration of World War I, joining the London Scottish Regiment as a Private, serving alongside his future successful acting contemporaries Claude Rains, Herbert Marshall and Ronald Colman.

He later transferred with a commission as a Lieutenant to the Liverpool Scottish, 2nd Battalion, where he served as an intelligence officer and eventually attained the rank of Captain. During the war, Rathbone displayed a penchant for disguise (a skill which he ironically shared with what would become perhaps his most memorable character, Sherlock Holmes) when on one occasion, in order to have better visibility, Rathbone convinced his superiors to allow him to scout enemy positions during daylight hours instead of during the night, as was the usual practice in order to minimize the chance of detection by the enemy. Rathbone completed the mission successfully through his skilful use of camouflage, which allowed him to escape detection by the enemy.

In September 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross. His younger brother John was killed in action during the war while also serving Britain.

“LG 7-11-1918

Military cross

Lt. Phillip St. John Basil Rathbone, L'pool Rgt.

For conspicuous daring and resource on patrol. On one occasion, while inside the hostile wire, he came face to face with one of the enemy, whom he at once shot. This raised the alarm, and an intense fire was opened, but he crept through the entanglements with his three men and got safely back. The result of his patrolling was a thorough knowledge of the locality and strength of all enemy posts in the vicinity.”

Nigel Bruce

William Nigel Ernle Bruce served in France from 1914 as a Lieutenant in the 10th (Service) Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, and then the Honourable Artillery Company. He was severely wounded at Cambrai in 1915, with eleven bullets removed from his left leg, and spent most of the remainder of the war in a wheelchair.

Claude Rains

William Claude Rains served in the First World War with the London Scottish Regiment, alongside fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall. Rains was involved in a gas attack [WHERE?] that left him almost blind in one eye for the rest of his life. However, the war did aid his social advancement. By its end, he had risen incredibly from the rank of Private to Captain.

Ronald Colman

Colman joined the 14/Londons ,"the London Scottish" Regiment in 1909 and was among the first of the Territorial Army to fight in World War I. He was seriously wounded (badly fractured his ankle) by shrapnel (possibly a shell shard) at the Battle of Messines on October 31, 1914, whilst attacking the advancing Germans head on between Wytschaete and Messines (not far from the London Scottish memorial). This was the first time that a territorial unit had met the enemy. His injury forced him to return to "Blighty" and eventually got him invalided out of the army in May 1915, causing him to acquire a limp that he would attempt to hide throughout the rest of his acting career.

"I loathe war. I'm inclined to be bitter about the politics of munitions and real estate which are the reasons of war. It certainly taught me to value the quiet life and strengthened my conviction that to keep as far out of range of vision as possible is to be as safe as possible."

Herbert Marshall

Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall was shot in the knee by a sniper [MORE] while serving in the 14th London Scottish Regiment in World War I. After a succession of operations, doctors had amputated his leg near the hip, and fitted him with a prosthesis

Leslie Banks

He served in the Essex Regiment and then the Royal Engineers during the First World War, in which he received injuries [WHERE] that left his face partially scarred and paralysed [MORE] In his acting career he would use this injury to good effect, by showing the unblemished side of his face when playing comedy or romance, and the scarred, paralysed side of his face when playing drama or tragedy.

Charles Laughton

He was a member of the Huntingdonshire Cyclists Battalion serving on coastal watch duties on the Yorkshire Coast before serving with the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment in France in the later period of the war, via the Bedfordshire Regiment. Went ‘Over the Top’ in 1918, was gassed and perhaps had to kill an enemy soldier with a bayonet. Prior to this he was also a sometime French Translator.

Stanley Holloway

He planned a career as a singer and went to Milan to train his voice, but the outbreak of war in 1914 changed his plans. Although a Londoner Stanley Holloway, was a Private in a Lancashire regiment, enlisting in the Connaught Rangers Infantry Regiment. His experiences soldiering with Lancashire soldiers were passed on via his monologues Albert and of course Sam “pick up thee musket“. After the war he joined the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1920 as a Temporary Constable but left by the beginning of 1921.

Bud Flanagan

born Chaim Reuben Weintrop in Whitechapel 1896. His parents, Wolf and Yetta (Kitty) Weintrop were Polish Jews who fled to London in the mid 1870s as a result of Eastern European pogroms. They had ten children all born in London. In 1881 they lived in Brick Lane and by 1891 had moved on to 12 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields. At the time of the 1901 census the family were still at Hanbury Street, with Reuben aged 4 living with six of his siblings and his parents over a Fried Fish shop. They later owned a barber shop and tobacconist in Whitechapel. Flanagan attended school in Petticoat Lane, and by the age of 10 was working as call-boy at the Cambridge Music Hall. In 1908, he made his début in a talent contest at the London Music Hall in Shoreditch, performing conjuring tricks as Fargo, The Boy Wizard. In 1910, he sailed with the SS Majestic to New York, where he had a variety of jobs before returning to England in 1915 and joining the Royal Field Artillery, in France under the alias ROBERT WEINTROP 1126/845852. Weintrop was an NCO in the Royal Field Artillery and here he met the unpopular Sergeant Major from whom he later adopted his stage name.

In 1919 he formed a comedy double act, Flanagan and Roy. He first met Chesney Allen on active service in Flanders, but they didn’t work together until 1926, touring with a Florrie Forde show. They established a reputation and were booked by Val Parnell at the Holborn Empire.

Chesney Allen

Born William E. Allen, he was an Officer in the Royal Artillery and first met Weintrop when they were both recovering from wounds in Flanders.

Jack Warner

Warner (born Horace John Waters in Bromley-by-Bow on 24 October 1896) and was in the Royal Flying Corps in WW1 and later flew a Camel airplane in the RAF in 1918(?).

He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal of which he said was "his proudest possession."

Max Miller

The 'cheeky chappie' (Thomas Henry Sargent) left school at 12 and, after drifting from job to job, was called up by the army to serve in the First World War. During the war he acquired a taste of entertaining whilst performing to his fellow soldiers and, after the war, he pursued his show-business ambition starting with the occasional gig in pubs and halls.

In real life, he was completely unlike his stage persona, quite bourgeois, almost puritan, not allowing any bad language in the dressing-rooms. At home, he lived in deep privacy, devoted to his surprisingly posh wife, and fond of keeping parrots. He was also famously mean, except for his donations to blind charities. (He’d been temporarily blinded serving in Mesopotamia during the First World War and never knew if he’d recover his sight.) But these were kept strictly secret. Apart from that, his only act of generosity would be an occasional sixpence to a lad in the street, to fetch him some more parrot-food.

Possible ID - Sargent, Thomas H Corps: Royal Field Artillery Regiment No: L/45421 Rank: Driver

Arthur Askey,

When he was sixteen Askey went to work at the Liverpool corporation education office at a salary of £10 a month. After the outbreak of war in 1914 he was often asked to sing to wounded soldiers and as well as solos he sometimes sang duets with Tommy Handley, another Liverpudlian destined for show business stardom. In June 1918 he became a private in the Welch regiment. His army career was short-lived because when peace came in November he was demobilized and returned to the education office.

Felix Aylmer

Felix Edward Aylmer Jones (February 21, 1889–September 2, 1979), served in the Royal Navy.

Moore Marriott

George Thomas Moore Marriott b. West Drayton, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England. (1885 - 1949)

Donald Crisp

While pursuing a dual career in acting and directing, Crisp managed to serve in the war effort against Germany and her allies during the First World War (1914-1918). Between working for Griffith, other producers, and his many acting roles, Crisp managed to return to England where he served in the army intelligence section.

Herbert Mundin

joined the Royal Navy during World War I.

H.G. Stoker

H.G. Stoker was a submarine commander during the First World War and started his acting career while in Turkish prisoner-of-war camps, he and his crew had been captured after the sinking of their vessel, the Australian submarine AE2. On his return to London at the war's end he continued his interest in the stage.

http://www.awm.gov.au/people/1076732.asp

Victor McLaglen

'McLaglen, Victor Andrew de Bier (1886-1959), film actor, was born on 10 December 1886 at 505 Commercial Road, Mile End, London, the eldest of the eight sons of an Anglican clergyman, Andrew Charles Alfred McLaglen, later bishop of Clermont, South Africa, and his wife, Lily Marian Adcock. Several of his brothers also appeared in films, with varying success. In 1900, lying about his age but impressing with his size, he joined the Life Guards, hoping to fight in the Second South African War. He did serve for some time but without leaving England, even becoming regimental boxing champion, before his father bought his release. He went to Canada where he worked as a labourer, a wrestler, a railroad policeman, and a professional prize-fighter. McLaglen graduated to exhibition boxing in circuses, vaudeville, and Wild West shows when touring in the United States—once going six rounds with world heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. He went to Australia and joined the Kalgoorlie gold rush, travelled to Tahiti, Fiji, and Ceylon, and was physical training instructor to the raja of Akola in India. Early in 1914 he went to South Africa where his father was bishop of Clermont, near Durban. At the outbreak of war he returned to Britain and joined the Irish fusiliers. With a lieutenant's commission he served in the Middle East. McLaglen was wounded twice, led the British espionage organization in Baghdad, and became the city's assistant provost marshal. He was demobbed with the rank of captain.'

“And from the MIC Kew this is your man with a different regiment, probably the reason for the problem. An MIC mistake or is the DNB wrong?”

More info. from the London Gazette - Victor Andrew De Bier Mclaglen gazetted as 2/Lieutenant 10th Btn. Middlesex Regiment, 19th June 1915.

Gazetted Lieutenant 1st July 1917 - Dep. Asst. Prov. Marshal (Cl. FF)- Lt V.A. de B. Mclaglen, 10th Midd’x. R., T.F., and relinquishes the temp. rank of Capt, 4th March 1919.

Medal card for Mclaglen, V.A. de B. says temporary Captain in the Middlesex regiment and that he arrived in Basrah 10.8.1916.

“I think this proves it the same Victor Mclaglen and he went straight into the Middlesex' as an officer, if he was promoted from the ranks it would have stated this in the gazette. My guess is the Irish Fusiliers is a slight bit of embellishment to boost his Irish credentials in Hollywood and that the Everleigh name is a mistake.”

Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke, KBE (February 19, 1893 - August 6, 1964)

From 1914 to 1921 he served with the British Army in France.

DENNIS HOEY born Samuel Hyams in 1893

He went to America in 1940, appearing as Inspector Lestrade in Universal's 'Sherlock Holmes' series. Also worked in Australia. Died 1960 aged 67.

Basil Radford

Born 25 June 1897, Chester,

Cheshire, England, UK

Halliwell Hobbes

AKA Herbert Halliwell Hobbes

Born: 16-Nov-1877

Birthplace: Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England

BRANDON HURST

Born in London, England on November 30th 1866.

Finlay Currie

AKA Finlay Jefferson Currie

Born:20-Jan-1878

Birthplace:Edinburgh, Scotland

Sydney Greenstreet

AKA Sydney Hughes Greenstreet

Born: 27-Dec-1879

Birthplace: Sandwich, Kent, England

E.E. CLIVE

Born Edward E. Clive in Monmouthshire, Wales in 1878

Alan Mowbray

the American film actor who was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild, was born Ernest Allen on August 18, 1896, in London, England, to a non-theatrical family. He served in the British army during World War I and received the Military Medal and the French Croix De Guerre for bravery in action. He began as a stage actor in England, and in some accounts he gave of his life, claimed he was a provincial actor in England before his naval service. In other versions, he claimed he turned to acting after The Great War, as World War I was then known, as he was broke and had no other skills.

[ItemCo16527]

Actor Sterling Hayden served in World War II under the name John Hamilton. He was a Captain in the US Marine Corps assigned to the OSS, and was assigned to help deliver arms to the Yugoslavian resistance. For his services, he was awarded the Silver Star for heroism and a decoration from Yugoslavia whose name escapes me at the moment (the Order of the White Lion or some such?).

[David Filsell]

Re Michael Caine I think he was in the film "A Hill in Korea" - if not his first then one of his first films. As to the claim that John Wayne didn't serve in the forces it cannot be true. I saw him in lots of war films, since he could only play himself, his "performances" must have been based on what he had actually done!

[ItemCo16527]

Re Michael Caine I think he was in the film "A Hill in Korea" - if not his first then one of his first films. As to the claim that John Wayne didn't serve in the forces it cannot be true. I saw him in lots of war films, since he could only play himself, his "performances" must have been based on what he had actually done!

I'm afraid it's true, John Wayne never served in the armed forces. I believe he'd tried to join up during WWII but was disallowed due to back problems.

[Tinhat47]

Wow ... I had no idea "Saki" was killed in the war.

[PBI]

Michael Caine{Maurice Micklewight} was in Korea~ Not a Lot of People know that!

And He was Wounded in the Backside..not a lot of People know that..

[zippy.72]

Burgess Meredith (trainer in Rocky films) rose to rank of captain in US Army Air Force. He was put on a black list in 1950s due to being a suspected communist.

[Gibbo]

Esmond Knght was a RNVR officer on HMS Prince of Wales. When her bridge was struck by a shell in the action with Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, Knight was blinded and most of the others present, apart from Captain Leach, killed. Knight recovered a small degree of sight and resumed his acting career after the war. His many parts included Captain of the Prince of Wales in Sink the Bismarck. The film recreated the incident in which Knight was wounded.

[John(txic)]

The Fleet Air Arm had the services of Ralph Richardson as a pilot: second-line duties only. Also, Michael Hordern served therein as a Fighter Director.

[Gibbo]

There's a review of a book about men who served in WWI and were or became famous for something else in the thread linked here. Basil Rathbone is one of those mentioned.

[MACRAE]

Great thread guy's lets have more on the Dad's army cast Pte Godfrey has any one a picture of him in his WW1 uniform ?.

Dan

[zippy.72]

Great thread guy's lets have more on the Dad's army cast Pte Godfrey has any one a picture of him in his WW1 uniform ?.

Dan

There is a picture in the book 'Famous' by Van Emden/Puik. I would scan a copy but fear I would breach copyright. You would never believe it was him!

[JOSTURM]

Did Alfred Hitchcock serve in WW1 ? What about other early Movie Directors like Louis Mayer, John Ford, John Barrymore. did Fritz Lang serve for the Kaiser ?

I know WW2 saw service from Jimmy Stewart, both of them inc Stewart Granger,

[sw63]

Can I just correct some statements in post 103?

Basil Rathbone served in the 2/10th (Scottish) Btn King's Liverpool Regiment not the 2nd Btn Liverpool Scottish.

Stanley Holloway served in the London Rifle Brigade and was commissioned into the Connaught Rangers. He was stationed in Cork in 1916 and fought against the Irish Volunteers / IRB during the Easter Rising. Later that year he was sent to France and fought alongside Michael O'Leary VC. He did not serve in a Lancashire regiment.

De-mobbed on 1 May 1919, Stanley Holloway resumed his stage career as Captain Wentworth in "Kissing Time" 20 May - 30 July 1919 and Rene in "A Night Out" from 18 September 1920 - 18 June 1921 - both at the Winter Garden Theatre, London.

When did he have time / inclination to become a Black & Tan?

Simon

[sw63]

I seem to recall somewhere that Johnnie Weismuller the Tarzan actor served as a paratrooper WW2 - I know he was some sort of competition swimmer.

He won 5 Olympic gold medals! 3 gold + 1 bronze in 1924 Paris, 2 gold in 1928 Amsterdam.

He made seven Tarzan films during the War years so could not have been a regular paratrooper (I doubt that MGM & RKO would have been happy with their star actor jumping out of aeroplanes!)

Simon

[Ron da Valli]

Arnold Ridley ( Private Godfrey in Dad's Army) was a lance Corporal in the 6th Somerset Light Infantry. He was severely wounded during the Battle of the Somme, being bayonetted in both the groin and hand.

[Guest exuser1]

i assume mentioned else where but Bring On The Empty Horses has a chapter to do with 11th 11th partys held by the British expats in Hollywood if i recall they would hold a cricket match ?

[Moonraker]

It took me a little time for the penny to drop that "11th 11th"refers to the anniversary day for the Armistice. Bring On The Empty Horses was one of the memoirs of his life published by the actor David Niven, who is now regarded as embellishing many of his recollections. But certainly there was a strong British presence in Hollywood leading up to WWII and during the war itself, with several members apparently being encouraged by the British Government to remain in the States during the hostilities - rather than return home - so they could promote British interests. The doyen of the community was the magnificent C Aubrey Smith, known to many as "Round-the-Corner Smith" from the way he bowled at cricket. He was knighted in 1944. Memorable for his role as the heroine's formidable father in "The Four Feathers", especially when he threw open the French doors to let out the stench of cowardice he perceived in the hero (who went on to redeem himself, of course. his final achievement being to dare to challenge Smith's version of a particular battle).

Which is probably as far off topic as this thread should go. Apologies for my straying.

Moonraker