Wg Cdr Arthur Gill, OBE, DFC
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Interesting detail on the fall of Bardia. So, if 6 Div hadn't done quite so well, the Germans might have left the Italians to get on with it, potentially leading to some very different outcomes in the N Africa campaign!
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NigG (your #398),
Did you really say just "Bother"? Remarkable self-control !
If, as I assume, you were composing on PPRuNepad, you are in good company. Nearly everybody here has been caught at one time or another by the resident malevolent gremlin (and he usually waits till it's 99% complete before doing the dirty on you !)
Remedy: Draft somewhere else (I use Notepad), then copy/paste onto PPRuNepad, invite gremlin to do his worst.
Did you really say just "Bother"? Remarkable self-control !
If, as I assume, you were composing on PPRuNepad, you are in good company. Nearly everybody here has been caught at one time or another by the resident malevolent gremlin (and he usually waits till it's 99% complete before doing the dirty on you !)
Remedy: Draft somewhere else (I use Notepad), then copy/paste onto PPRuNepad, invite gremlin to do his worst.
The other factor taken into account is the cause of the loss of text. It's usually my fault. On this occasion it was my clicking on 'BBC News', which on my computer sits below the 'New Tab' symbol. So this was a mitigating factor. Thus 'Bother!' instead of the otherwise more appropriate 'B****r!' (Your starter for ten... how many paragraphs did I lose on this occasion?)
Yes, Danny. If I was more industrious I'd use 'Word' or 'Notepad'!
Moving on, I didn't realise that the Bardia battle was against the Italians. The casualty statistics you quote, are disturbing. If you're Italian. Though I must admit I find it difficult to reconcile Arthur's kind and considerate personality with the number of people who must have died or been injured at his hands. Therein lies the incongruity of modern (remote) warfare, I guess.
Somebody once asked him why he owned a Japanese car. His reply was that he felt he owed it to them.
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Montgomery, Wavell and Auchinleck
Last edited by NigG; 19th Sep 2016 at 21:44.
A very interesting photograph of three Field Marshals together in New Delhi, NigG, but only two sets of red tabs, one Sam Browne, one cap - and one beret! - between them.....and yes, I know the old story that where two or three army officers are together no two will be wearing the same!
Jack
Jack
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NigG (#403),
I'm not 'up to speed' on the WWII N. African campaigns (being otherwise engaged at the time), but your photograph of the three generals at the end is interesting.
Wavell was the first C-in-C out there. Replaced by Auckinlech in 1941, he didn't do too well and in August 1942, Churchill replaced him with Montgomery. He turned the tables on Rommel at the Second Battle of Alamain in 1943, and effectively ended the Axis threat to Cairo and the Canal once and for all. [mostly Wiki].
Stirring times - it's worth reading the Wiki biograhies of each of the three (for a clear illustration of the "Changing Fortunes of War") - Tolstoy could have made a book of it !
Danny.
PS: What do you think Montgomery has on the upper R. arm sleeve of his jacket ?
D.
I'm not 'up to speed' on the WWII N. African campaigns (being otherwise engaged at the time), but your photograph of the three generals at the end is interesting.
Wavell was the first C-in-C out there. Replaced by Auckinlech in 1941, he didn't do too well and in August 1942, Churchill replaced him with Montgomery. He turned the tables on Rommel at the Second Battle of Alamain in 1943, and effectively ended the Axis threat to Cairo and the Canal once and for all. [mostly Wiki].
Stirring times - it's worth reading the Wiki biograhies of each of the three (for a clear illustration of the "Changing Fortunes of War") - Tolstoy could have made a book of it !
Danny.
PS: What do you think Montgomery has on the upper R. arm sleeve of his jacket ?
D.
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What do you think Montgomery has on the upper R. arm sleeve of his jacket ?
All that picture shows is creases!!
Join Date: Mar 2010
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I now quite often find myself using a magnifying glass to look at things on-screen, especially when the modern trend seems to be using 1pt fonts 
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Cap com - two guys on the right - "Who's that sh1t on the other end?"
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Good man ... double away smartly, and don't do it again.
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Wander00
Regarding the occupant of the near end of the seat, I think most would agree that Monty was in some respects his own worst enemy. Though the 14th Army adored him of course. However, let no one be in doubt, 'his' great victory over the Axis in North Africa was made possible only by the Allied air campaign, which made it impossible for Rommel to supply and operate his forces in the open desert. The Martin Baltimore, being one of the aircraft supplied by America, that was highly effective in the Western Desert (provided it had adequate fighter cover). It was the successor to the Blenheim, and as Arthur's previous CO, John Jeudwine, remarked, the Baltimore' was a much better aircraft. He commanded a squadron of them after 84 was lost in the Far East.
But regarding the occupant at the far end of the seat, if I'm not mistaken, the Herr Chancellor has from somewhere acquired a British Army uniform!
Regarding the occupant of the near end of the seat, I think most would agree that Monty was in some respects his own worst enemy. Though the 14th Army adored him of course. However, let no one be in doubt, 'his' great victory over the Axis in North Africa was made possible only by the Allied air campaign, which made it impossible for Rommel to supply and operate his forces in the open desert. The Martin Baltimore, being one of the aircraft supplied by America, that was highly effective in the Western Desert (provided it had adequate fighter cover). It was the successor to the Blenheim, and as Arthur's previous CO, John Jeudwine, remarked, the Baltimore' was a much better aircraft. He commanded a squadron of them after 84 was lost in the Far East.
But regarding the occupant at the far end of the seat, if I'm not mistaken, the Herr Chancellor has from somewhere acquired a British Army uniform!
Last edited by NigG; 25th Sep 2016 at 15:46.
