Guest JoeG Posted 20 December , 2002 Share Posted 20 December , 2002 A line in 'With a Machine Gun to Cambrai' reads: 'A quick dispatch to kingdom-come hovered in the air for those with ill-fated regimental numbers' Were there any superstitions about regimental numbers, and if so what? Cheers Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 20 December , 2002 Share Posted 20 December , 2002 Joe - I'm not sure about any superstitions regarding regimental numbers but a quick check of the SDGW cd-rom shows that there were 13 men with the Army number 13 who died! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoeG Posted 20 December , 2002 Share Posted 20 December , 2002 Lee I think that fits in nicely with the 'Strange occurences on the Western Front' thread! Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesmessenger Posted 21 December , 2002 Share Posted 21 December , 2002 Joe I think that what Coppard is referring to is the old adage that every enemy bullet had a soldier's number on it. Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoeG Posted 21 December , 2002 Share Posted 21 December , 2002 Yes Charles, I was just letting my thoughts flit on a step and wondering if there were any specific 'unlucky' numbers apart from the few hundred thousand random ones! I suppose they still followed the usual 'lucky seven' and 'unlucky thirteen' path. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 21 December , 2002 Share Posted 21 December , 2002 Lucky 7? There are 11 soldiers with the # 7 on the SDGW cd! Joe I think that what Coppard is referring to is the old adage that every enemy bullet had a soldier's number on it. Charles My grandfather (who served in the Buffs from 1916 until he was severely wounded in 1917) had a habit of ignoring the bombs landing close to his house during WWII because he reckoned "if it's got your number on it, it'll get you". He also said that "you never hear the one that gets you" and he speaks from experiance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted 22 December , 2002 Share Posted 22 December , 2002 The following is from the 11th Battalion AIF history "As has already been mentioned, leave to England had been instituted and some of the early leave men were now returning to the battalion from their good time in Blighty. Regimental No. 1111 'Frosty' Campbell was complaining to all and sundry that it would be just like his luck to be "smacked" before he was due for leave. C.S.M Gallagher had just returned from leave, and he turned to 'Frosty' and told him that he was the last man that should worry. "Cripes 'Frosty'! he said "A man with a number like yours will go right through the good war. One, one, one, one! Four bloody Aces! What better deal could you expect than that?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Birch Posted 23 December , 2002 Share Posted 23 December , 2002 In "Black Adder" wasn't it Baldwick who carried a bullet in his pocket with his name or number written on it. That way he surmised that it wouldn't get him! Unfortunately in the last episode the Germans must have made a duplicate..... Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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