Contempitable Little Army

[cockney tone]

Ladies & Gents,

Pal's

For Christmas my wife kindly treated me to the 'Not Forgotten' Book which follows up Ian Hislop's channel 4 Programme.

I nearly choked on 'me cornflakes' this morning when I read on page 72-73 that the description of the BEF I had always thought had been made by Kaiser, Wilhelm II about a "Contemptible little Army was actually propaganda originating from Sir Frederick Maurice at the War Office in London as he thought something was needed to get the 'tommies' backs up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Somebody out there please tell me that this is not true!!!!!!!!!!

Regards,

Scottie

(distraught of Hertford)

[SOMMESOLDIER]

Hi Scottie,

This issue is certainly open to debate !

Here is the quote fro the book The Old Conteptibles by Robin Neillands:-

' The survivors of the BEF took their curious nickname from the Kaiser's orders, allegedly issued at Aix-en-Chapelle on the 19th August 1914: 'It is my Royal and Imperial command that you exterminate the treacherous English and march over General French's contemptible little army.'

There are some doubts as towhether Kaiser Wilhelm ever issued such an order. Other claims assert that even if he did issue such a command the German word means 'insignificant' rather than 'contemptible', that what he was actually referring to was contemtibly small army- and small the BEF certainly was.'

So Scottie no certain answer there !! but here is the next quote:-

' No matter. The name stuck and many ' Old Contemptibles' long outlived the Kaiser. Wilhelm II died in exile in 1940. The Old Contemptibles held their last parade at the garrison church of All Saints in Aldershot on Sunday 4th August 1974 , sixty years after the outbreak of the Great War, And took tea afterwards with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. That done, they folded their standards and passed into history.'

I think that we will never know for certain, but the above quotes are good enough for me !!!!

Cheers

Tim.

[cockney tone]

Tim,

thank you for those quotes (which i will copy and keep for further reference.)

My interest in this little bit of British History/folklore is my two Great Uncles killed in the Great War were both 'old Contemptibles' and i have been reading up on them recently and was shocked to read the account I refered too,

Cheers,

Scottie.

[Tony Lund]

It certainly annoyed Holmfirth’s Sergeant Sanderson; in his diary he wrote: September 7th. “Today we had read out to us the Kaiser’s statement about us being a ‘contemptible little army,’ and it made us mad. Just let us get a chance at them.”

Tony.

[AndyHollinger]

I would probably bet on the British origins of the term ... it's too good to be true ... If the Kaiser said it or something close to it I would be shocked ... not that he was a temperate man, but that he'd say something about foes ... you don't denigrate foes till their defeated ...

[armourersergeant]

I am sure this had been discussed before and I think we could get no real confirmation then!

Regards

Arm