Queen's Birthday Honours List 2019 - Military Division
I have adopted a standard reply if anybody asks what my modest lot of hardware is for - it goes something like this:
Enquirer: "What are those medals for?"
Me: "Madam/Sir/My dear (as appropriate), I've not the slightest idea, they were on the uniform when I bought it". Usually brings the thing to a stop and just as well, 'cause one is a foreign award, the correct pronunciation of which becomes more difficult in direct proportion to the quantity of liquid refreshment consumed.
I can't claim it's an original quote - it appears in Hamish M'haddie's account of being a pathfinder.
Old Duffer
Old Duffer
Enquirer: "What are those medals for?"
Me: "Madam/Sir/My dear (as appropriate), I've not the slightest idea, they were on the uniform when I bought it". Usually brings the thing to a stop and just as well, 'cause one is a foreign award, the correct pronunciation of which becomes more difficult in direct proportion to the quantity of liquid refreshment consumed.
I can't claim it's an original quote - it appears in Hamish M'haddie's account of being a pathfinder.
Old Duffer
Old Duffer
As real professionals, they all deserved much more than any of the armchair warriors apparent on the pages above.
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Congratulations to the soon to be Sir Stuart Atha, but I can't help agreeing with a friend who said it was a "consolation prize" for being stuffed out of the top job for the political advancement of a senior Cabinet minister.
I've spoken to Stuart briefly, he's a lovely guy who is always happy to answer questions if he can. Definitely a man to try to replicate from my perspective.
I've spoken to Stuart briefly, he's a lovely guy who is always happy to answer questions if he can. Definitely a man to try to replicate from my perspective.
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A better one would be to award them to people that have spent a lifetime sweeping the streets or cleaning sewers etc than simply on promotion to higher ranks.
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Congratulations to the soon to be Sir Stuart Atha, but I can't help agreeing with a friend who said it was a "consolation prize" for being stuffed out of the top job for the political advancement of a senior Cabinet minister.
I've spoken to Stuart briefly, he's a lovely guy who is always happy to answer questions if he can. Definitely a man to try to replicate from my perspective.
I've spoken to Stuart briefly, he's a lovely guy who is always happy to answer questions if he can. Definitely a man to try to replicate from my perspective.
Without wishing to stir things up, the foregoing inevitably reminds me of the story whereby the Air Secretary declined to support the award of a KCB to an Admiral on the grounds that the latter was not from a "fighting branch", so should "only be awarded a KBE". He was, but since the Royal Navy subsequently had the very rare opportunity to make such a recommendation the following year, he was advanced to GBE, which put him ahead of the still-serving Air Secretary's KCB.
Jack