The Vicar of Disbrey

@sworrall @ReassessHistory As anyone who knows anything about this stuff (or chooses to intelligently inform themselves) awards recommendations were routinely downgraded, ignored, forgotten. The ‘campaigning’ and the way the ‘campaigners’ conduct themselves, has a tendency to all get a bit undignified.

@dizzernp @ReassessHistory He shouldn't get one. A recommendation was made. It was endorsed. It was considered. It was turned down. End of.

I've found myriad references to VC quotas over time. Phrases such as 'over the divisional quota'. I expect there is an answer in Kew, in the stacks of files no one has touched. If Mayne's is awarded, I will campaign for a full reopening of all unawarded VCs.

@AMooreye @nickjhistorian Precisely this. The Ally Sloper’s were very frequently in harm’s way. Besides which - they also serve and all that. Glad you have his medals, Nick.

@nickjhistorian The ASC wasn’t just desks—it was the lifeline of the army. Men like him moved ammunition, food, and the wounded, often under fire. Without them, there is no front line. Respect to Pte Harrow.”

When my grandfather's WW1 medals were framed, the guy said he hoped I wasn't disappointed that he was in the Army Service Corps and probably had a desk job. I wasn't. Pte Harrow here was in the ASC. He died in 1917 and is buried in the UK so could have died of wounds or illness.

@stevewelfare @yelsaeTtreboR @HannahIamthest1 Surprised you didn't remember that the troops tasked with capturing this and Horsa bridge were - famously - gliderborne infantry, in that case. The paratroopers you mentioned were *their' relief. Robert - Ambrose tended not to let the facts get in the way of a good story, sadly!

@yelsaeTtreboR @dizzernp @HannahIamthest1 Yes I’ve read it. Been there too and made a model of it.

On this day in 1995, the last clan chief in history known to have led his men into battle died at the age of 83. Simon Fraser, the 15th Lord Lovat, was the Chief of Clan Fraser. He was the man Winston Churchill described, in a letter to Joseph Stalin, as “the mildest-mannered man that ever scuttled ship or cut a throat.” The Scottish Commando chief whom Hitler placed a 100,000 Reichsmark bounty on, dead or alive. He was a well respected man that already had a serious war record before D-Day. The night before D-Day, Lovat addressed his men. He closed with this: “A hundred years from now, your children’s children will say - they must have been giants in those days.” Then came June 6th, 1944. Sword Beach, Normandy. As Brigadier of the 1st Special Service Brigade, Lord Lovat waded ashore leading 3,000 commandos into hell. And behind him came the sound that made the whole scene unforgettable. The English War Office had strictly banned bagpipes in battle. They said it was too conspicuous. Too dangerous. Lovat brought his personal piper, Bill Millin, and gave the order: “Play us ashore.” When Millin hesitated, citing the regulations, Lovat smiled and replied: “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply.” So Millin played Highland Laddie, The Road to the Isles, and All The Blue Bonnets Are Over the Border. Men fell around them. Bullets tore through the surf. The noise of artillery was deafening. And through it all, the unmistakable scream of the bagpipes. Captured German snipers later admitted they had Millin in their sights, but didn’t shoot him because they assumed he had gone completely mad. Lovat’s mission was to reach Pegasus Bridge, where British glider troops were desperately holding on. The schedule said 1pm. Lovat and his men fought their way off the beach and arrived at exactly 1:02 PM. He calmly walked up to the commanding officer under enemy fire and apologised for being two and a half minutes late. His commandos then marched across the bridge in the open. Lovat had ordered his men to wear their green berets instead of steel helmets, so the Germans would know exactly who was coming for them. Twelve men were shot through their berets that day. After that, they finally put their helmets on. But they held the bridge. For Clan Fraser, there was something almost mythic about it. Their ancestors had come from Normandy centuries earlier. Now their chief had led Highland soldiers back onto those same shores in one of the most decisive battles in modern history. Six days later, Lovat was given his last rites after being hit by friendly fire from a stray artillery shell. Against all odds, he survived. He returned home a hero. He went on to serve in Parliament, judge cattle internationally, and manage his massive 250,000-acre Highland estate. But his final years were marked by grief. Two of his sons died within weeks of each other in 1994. Beaufort Castle, his ancestral home, had to be sold that same year. When Lord Lovat died on 16 March 1995, an era died with him. Bill Millin later played at his funeral, bringing the story full circle. The last clan chief who went to war. The brigadier who brought bagpipes onto D-Day. The Highlander with a price on his head. Scotland does not produce many men like that ⚔️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@stevewelfare @HannahIamthest1 Point of correction - British *Airborne* troops of D Coy, 2nd Oxf and Bucks LI captured Pegasus Bridge having been landed in Horsa gliders in a spectacular coup-de-main assault.

@HannahIamthest1 Point of correction British paratroopers took Pegasus Bridge the commandos were their relief that said what an amazing man. One of many in a special generation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 God save the King

@NewForestRamble @davidjmcarson1 Very likely the Rose and Crown (now The Huntsman) but afraid I can’t prove it.

@davidjmcarson1 thanks David

Who knows their New Forest pubs? I believe this is a pub in Brockenhurst, New Forest. The footage shows Czechoslovak airmen based at Beaulieu airfield during WW2. I have my own idea, but can anyone ID it?

@davidjmcarson1 @asummerof44 See also - compasses!

@dizzernp @asummerof44 Officers and maps a dangerous combination!

WW2 SWW Officers Map Case often favoured by Airborne troops due to it smaller size coming up in my March militaria sale

@SDetectorist @soniascs46 Ally Sloper’s by the looks.

@soniascs46 I have absolutely no idea Sonia. I'll take a look when I get home.

First find of the day. Another military cap badge to restore 🤗

@wtbattlefields The guns are both nice though. I still pick up the odd piece - if the price is right.

@dizzernp Hadn’t noticed that Stu, so it is!

Always on the watch for crested china that ticks two of my ‘special interest’ boxes #Clevedon & #MilitaryHistory. Picked up three pieces in Wells today, thus doubling the size of my collection!

@asummerof44 @davidjmcarson1 And doesn't a March 1911 date seem *very* early for an Indian Pattern 08 sword...?

@asummerof44 @davidjmcarson1 I know.

Indian made 1908 Pattern Cavalry Troopers Sword coming up in my March militaria sale

@davidjmcarson1 @asummerof44 Perhaps for a reason - reminiscent of the reproduction ‘IP 08’ sword being marketed by people like ‘Cold Steel’ and ‘Universal Sword’ a few years ago - but I’m no blades expert.

@asummerof44 Very nice example.

@H2Odog @asummerof44 Shame it’s been ‘cleaned’ to within an inch of its life.

@asummerof44 Lovely instrument sir. Cheers.

WW2 SWW British Marching Compass MkIII 1942 coming up in my March militaria sale

@Taff_Gillingham Sorry to hear it, Taff. Stabilis.

We said goodbye to my Uncle this afternoon. ‘Pop’ was the last of the four Gillingham brothers, and the end of an era. He had served with the Suffolk Regiment in Cyprus, and took part in the amalgamation parade with 1/Royal Norfolk at Iserlohn in Germany in 1959, so I represented the Ipswich & District Suffolk Regiment Old Comrades as there are so few of them left now. Pop had been a panel beater and sprayer after his National Service, and had repaired and restored thousands of vehicles to a very high standard. After the service his Daughter Kate laid her wreath on our Grandparents’ grave. It was a privilege to have known him.

@Colne_Magna_X @agbdrilling Splash One!

Don't tell me that the 50-60s wasn't the best ERA 🙂

@safarpub You might want to take slightly closer look at the fourth photo in that post…!!

No5 carbine is peak in its class

@battlefieldexpl Nobody ever does. When you’re in the museum next time, perhaps (and maybe on the stairs too - can’t remember)…

@dizzernp And I didn’t look either…

Here, at the Bendlerblock, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and a number of his fellow conspirators were executed only hours after their attempt to assassinate Hitler failed on 20 July 1944. The failed plot ended not with liberation, but with immediate reprisals in which thousands were killed.

@battlefieldexpl But nobody ever looks at the floor and hence they fail to notice the very interesting surviving decorative wood inlay border…

Today, the Bendlerblock, once the headquarters of the Army High Command, houses the German Resistance Memorial Center which is well worth a visit.