Uncle George Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 13 hours ago, David Ridgus said: Lovely to dip back into my favourite thread and see it still steaming ahead with the mix of wit and wisdom that has always been it's trademark. Half term coming up so hope to get involved in the action a bit (although haven't had a clue about any of the folk over the last few pages so I may be being a tad optimistic!) David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 17 hours ago, voltaire60 said: Don't you worry- We are searching the records of Bulgarian,Serbian and Roumanian battalion commanders to find one with a connection to Berkshire.... And if there is one the inmates of this thread will find him! 6 hours ago, Uncle George said: UG - I just wish I could be sure all my colleagues would see the joke here. I am afraid some would not realise there was anything wrong, and on the other side would be the pedants who would point out that a misplaced apostrophe is not actually a grammatical error but one of spelling! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 This chap is said to have served at the front as a private soldier, aged 13 or so. But I have me doubts ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 (edited) And by popular demand........ By the look of him, he was doing impersonations of Kaiser Bill on the Northern club circuit. For some inexplicable reason, his Elvis take off didn't work with that moustache. Edited 21 May , 2018 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 34 minutes ago, David Ridgus said: Don't you worry- We are searching the records of Bulgarian,Serbian and Roumanian battalion commanders to find one with a connection to Berkshire.... And if there is one the inmates of this thread will find him! In the words of the great sage and philospop filosof phillopp thinker of Little Hulton*1, Sean Ryder - because we're 24 Hour Party People*2. Pete. *1 Little Hulton is on the northern club circuit. *2 Written by Frank Cotterell-Boyce - who shops at our local Sainsbury's (now I know what you are thinking - Pete, you are a terrible name dropper, and your right, in fact the Duchess of Cambridge said exactly the same thing to me a couple of weeks ago...... MV, your last looks like my idea of Roderick Spode, it isn't of course but it should be........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 5 minutes ago, voltaire60 said: And by popular demand........ By the look of him, he was doing impersonations of Kaiser Bill on the Northern club circuit. For some inexplicable reason, his Elvis take off didn't work with that moustache. He is Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar, from that 'Abdul the Bulbul Emir' advert for Whitbread Best (seen here on YouTube): https://youtu.be/HyRtk92gPdU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 13 minutes ago, Fattyowls said: MV, your last looks like my idea of Roderick Spode, it isn't of course but it should be...... Not wearing shorts. Nor any known connection with large amounts of ladies lingerie. 11 minutes ago, Uncle George said: Alas no- though you are a bit closer. That song was a popular ballad at the time of Crimean War. So apart from wrong country and wrong war- and out by a minimum of 58 years, it was a perfect answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, voltaire60 said: And by popular demand........ By the look of him, he was doing impersonations of Kaiser Bill on the Northern club circuit. For some inexplicable reason, his Elvis take off didn't work with that moustache. He is soldier and historian Nikola Nedev - he wrote of Bulgaria's role in the war, including the Battles of Horseshoe Hill and Doiran, in which a battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment distinguished itself. Edited 21 May , 2018 by Uncle George Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 6 minutes ago, Uncle George said: He is soldier and historian Nikola Nedev - he wrote of Bulgaria's role in the war, including the Battles of Horseshoe Hill and Doiran, in which a battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment distinguished itself. Not for the first time, I tip my hat to you UG - you are truly the Wizard of WIT David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 3 hours ago, Uncle George said: This chap is said to have served at the front as a private soldier, aged 13 or so. It is Prince Leopold later King Leopold III of Belgium, born in 1901 he was 13 at the outbreak of war, allegedly with the 12th Regiment of the Line but at 14 he was sent to Eton for his education in preparation for when he became King. http://madmonarchist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/monarch-profile-king-leopold-iii-of.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III_of_Belgium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 2 hours ago, Uncle George said: He is soldier and historian Nikola Nedev - he wrote of Bulgaria's role in the war, including the Battles of Horseshoe Hill and Doiran, in which a battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment distinguished itself. Exactly so- Young Ridgus had to be worried-though a search of Mr.W.I.Kipedia's Erudition Machine shows that pictures of Bulgarian officers of the Great War are somewhat limited. And they all seem to be related to one another. Obviously a Kaiser Bill lookalike moustache-growing competition was a staple of family reunions. And, yes, the Berkshire connection is there- 7th Berkshires, New Armies, served in Macedonia. CWGC has 204 casualties of the battalion listed, the greatest number being at Karasouli War Cemetery with 56. It was close to the casualty clearing stations at Doiran and has a number of graves concentrated from other "soldiers plots" after the war. I doubt that war cemeteries for the British involvement in Macedonia are either as well-known and or visited as any on the Western Front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 21 May , 2018 Share Posted 21 May , 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, David Ridgus said: And if there is one the inmates of this thread will find him! UG - I just wish I could be sure all my colleagues would see the joke here. I am afraid some would not realise there was anything wrong, and on the other side would be the pedants who would point out that a misplaced apostrophe is not actually a grammatical error but one of spelling! David Yes, I have fallen foul of it on GWF. It has subsequently provided good fodder for spoken pub quiz questions set by Your Humble- where the apostrophe comes in useful eg What links the following Underground stations- Gants Hill, Arnos Grove and Golders Green- but excludes Earl's Court. A list of all Undergorund stations can keep a pure pedant busy for days. Edited 21 May , 2018 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 And this chap........ You want clues as well? Spoilt children. Badly wounded 1917 serving with a Service, New Armies battalion of a county regiment. He played a significant, if tangential role, in the evacuation from Dunkirk in the next Friday Night Punch-Up. And was especially selected by Asquith for an important morale-boosting war job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 10 hours ago, Knotty said: It is Prince Leopold later King Leopold III of Belgium, born in 1901 he was 13 at the outbreak of war, allegedly with the 12th Regiment of the Line but at 14 he was sent to Eton for his education in preparation for when he became King. http://madmonarchist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/monarch-profile-king-leopold-iii-of.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III_of_Belgium Yes indeed; and you have posted the source of the photograph. He was unfairly taken apart following the defeats of 1940, by Ll.G: "You can rummage in vain through the black annals of the most reprobate Kings of the earth to find a blacker and more squalid sample of perfidy and poltroonery than that perpetuated by the King of the Belgians.” and by WSC: “At the last moment, when Belgium was already invaded, King Leopold called upon us to come to his aid, and even at the last moment we came. He and his brave, efficient Army, nearly half a million strong, guarded our left flank and thus kept open our only line of retreat to the sea. Suddenly, without prior consultation, with the least possible notice, without the advice of his Ministers and upon his own personal act, he sent a plenipotentiary to the German Command, surrendered his Army, and exposed our whole flank and means of retreat." Alone among the crowned heads of Europe, he was not invited to Elizabeth's wedding in 1947. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 6 hours ago, voltaire60 said: And this chap........ You want clues as well? Spoilt children. Badly wounded 1917 serving with a Service, New Armies battalion of a county regiment. He played a significant, if tangential role, in the evacuation from Dunkirk in the next Friday Night Punch-Up. And was especially selected by Asquith for an important morale-boosting war job. Blimey! It's Alfred Marks! (Seen here on IMDb): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 21 minutes ago, Uncle George said: Blimey! It's Alfred Marks! (Seen here on IMDb): Alas, No - UG- You have been watching the dog episode from "The Sweeney" again on JunkoTV haven't you? That Alfred Marks was born after the Great War may,possibly, just-on a technicality-rule him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 9 hours ago, voltaire60 said: What links the following Underground stations- Gants Hill, Arnos Grove and Golders Green- but excludes Earl's Court. A list of all Undergorund stations can keep a pure pedant busy for days. Is it correct that there is only one London Underground station whose name uses only one vowel, but more than once? (I thought of Bank as I was typing this, hence the further qualification.) There is a seasonal reference here. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 18 minutes ago, voltaire60 said: That Alfred Marks was born after the Great War may,possibly, just-on a technicality-rule him out. One must guard against a pedantic over-concern for accuracy. Remember WSC's advice to Ismay: "You should forget these outmoded Staff College shibboleths!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 14 minutes ago, Uncle George said: One must guard against a pedantic over-concern for accuracy And as well as "The Sweeney", you've been watching the truth v myth debate with James Stewart in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" Our man was born in Wandsworth- though the county regiment he served with does not border Wandsworth at all (ie not any of the London Regiment, Royal Fusiliers, West Surrey or Middlesex) . And he really was in Acacia Avenue!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 17 minutes ago, Ron Clifton said: Is it correct that there is only one London Underground station whose name uses only one vowel, but more than once? (I thought of Bank as I was typing this, hence the further qualification.) There is a seasonal reference here. Ron Alas, Ron-I have forgotten what the answer is to that one- There is one Tube station that uses all vowels once only..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 (edited) 15 hours ago, voltaire60 said: He played a significant, if tangential role, in the evacuation from Dunkirk in the next Friday Night Punch-Up. Would that be the 1940 Channel Incident by junior Asquith? If so I think I have identified him at last! Edited 22 May , 2018 by Knotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepper Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, voltaire60 said: 13 hours ago, Ron Clifton said: Is it correct that there is only one London Underground station whose name uses only one vowel, but more than once? (I thought of Bank as I was typing this, hence the further qualification.) There is a seasonal reference here. Ron Alas, Ron-I have forgotten what the answer is to that one- There is one Tube station that uses all vowels once only..... The following only have one vowel but multiple uses of same:- Archway, Balham, Canary Wharf, Chalk Farm, Debden, Holborn, Northolt, Northwood, St. John's Wood, Stepney Green, Temple, Woodford. The only station name using all five once only is South Ealing (Mansion House also uses all five but has two O's) Edited 22 May , 2018 by Nepper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 5 hours ago, Knotty said: Would that be the 1940 Channel Incident by junior Asquith? If so I think I have identified him at last! Might be- so who is it? And explain the references in the clues,if you would Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knotty Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 It is Gordon Harker, a comedic/actor active from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. He had several smaller parts until he had a staring role in the 1935 Wil Hay comedy film “Boys will be Boys”. The Dunkirk reference was to a part played by him in a short 1940 Ministry propaganda film the “Channel Incident” , about a woman (played by Dame Peggy Ashcroft) taking a motor yacht, named “Wanderer”, across the Channel to search and pick up soldiers from the beaches at the same time searching for her husband. Anthony Asquith was not only the son of the former Prime Minister, he was also the director of the above film. Harker served with the 1/8th Hampshire’s in Gallipoli and Palestine and in 1917 was severely wounded in the leg, which left him with a permanent limp.(A condition exploited in his film career) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 22 May , 2018 Share Posted 22 May , 2018 1 minute ago, Knotty said: It is Gordon Harker, a comedic/actor active from the 1920’s to the 1950’s. He had several smaller parts until he had a staring role in the 1935 Wil Hay comedy film “Boys will be Boys”. The Dunkirk reference was to a part played by him in a short 1940 Ministry propaganda film the “Channel Incident” , about a woman (played by Dame Peggy Ashcroft) taking a motor yacht, named “Wanderer”, across the Channel to search and pick up soldiers from the beaches at the same time searching for her husband. Anthony Asquith was not only the son of the former Prime Minister, he was also the director of the above film. Harker served with the 1/8th Hampshire’s in Gallipoli and Palestine and in 1917 was severely wounded in the leg, which left him with a permanent limp.(A condition exploited in his film career) Spot-on- a largely forgotten figure now. The Acacia Avenue reference is not to a road in Wandsworth but to a play he appeared in with that name-just to muddy the waters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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