Who is This ? ? ?

[Uncle George]

Lieutenant William Lowell Thompson.

First RNVR officer ever to serve in British submarines, and the first Canadian to do so. At Montreal Thompson was assigned to H-5.

I see what you mean about having had an interesting life!

Yes! Seaman, submariner, smuggler, adventurer, pioneer, William Lowell Thompson.

http://www.gwpda.org/naval/pers0004.htm

[Knotty]

Hi UG et al

Just 1H out then, I'll pencil that in, boom boom

Interesting character was Whiskers, and the article on the H boats illuminating, especially that about those ordered in 1914 by the Admiralty from the US which were built and then impounded by the US, finally given to the Chilean & Canadians in 1917. The whole building programme was,shall we say, suspect, or shall I say, without the risk of being thrown off the thread,dodgy!

John

[Uncle George]

http://www.canadaatwar.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=2658

Interesting stuff about H boats.

Yes, most interesting NF - thanks for posting.

[Uncle George]

Following David's innovation; Who, Where and When?

"They were three young men, or what remained of them, unspeakably crippled by war, still in uniform, but trundled by their nurses in primitive chariots like the prams of deprived children. Immediately behind them came a large contingent of more [severely wounded men]. Officers and men of all ranks mixed together ... without precedence or any semblance of military order. Hardly one had not lost an eye or a limb ... The totally blind ... came led by the one-legged, or the armless; men with their destroyed faces mercifully hidden behind bandages; men with no hands; men with their complexions still tainted green from the effects of chlorine; men with mad eyes staring out from beneath the skull caps which concealed some appalling head injury ... among them, identified by his immense stature, limped [this man] ... badly wounded at Verdun."

[Fattyowls]

Was the man André Maginot, the place the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées for the unveiling of the tomb of the unknown soldier on 11th November 1920?

[Uncle George]

Was the man André Maginot, the place the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées for the unveiling of the tomb of the unknown soldier on 11th November 1920?

As Meatloaf would tell us, two out of three ain't bad. Well done Pete; it was 14 July 1919. The quote is from Alistair Horne's 'To Lose a Battle' (1969).

" ... Joffre, showing his age, seemed to be much moved by the vast crowds, which he repeatedly pointed out to Foch, as if surprised they should still recognise him ... "

[Fattyowls]

Thanks UG, I've got the book on the bookshelves somewhere; I'll go and dig it out. Horne's 'Price of Glory' sparked my interest in Verdun and I've been past the Maginot Memorial several times as it is on the road up onto the battlefield that follows the old railway line. I seem to remember it is the first memorial that you come to. Having said that I think 'To Lose a Battle' is an even better book. I have a vague plan to follow the line of the 1940 advance from the Ardennes to Abbeville one day, provided I can find a good getaway driver.

Pete.

[Uncle George]

Thanks UG, I've got the book on the bookshelves somewhere; I'll go and dig it out. Horne's 'Price of Glory' sparked my interest in Verdun and I've been past the Maginot Memorial several times as it is on the road up onto the battlefield that follows the old railway line. I seem to remember it is the first memorial that you come to. Having said that I think 'To Lose a Battle' is an even better book. I have a vague plan to follow the line of the 1940 advance from the Ardennes to Abbeville one day, provided I can find a good getaway driver.

Pete.

To understand Verdun, I think, we must understand 1940. 'To Lose a Battle' goes over previously covered ground: "Privately, the men of France's post-war Army wondered to themselves if they could do Verdun again, if any other Frenchman, if any other human being could? In the lassitude left by the war, they felt the answer, morally, was NO."

AH also offers, for example, this: "[Verdun] was France's Battle of Britain, symbolising just as much, though perhaps imbued with even greater emotive force, and bearing the same kind of latent peril. Just as post-1945 Britons, perplexed by imperial disintegration and adversities of trade, found (and still find) unreasoned comfort in the belief that whatever divinity had presided over Dunkirk and in the London skies would always, in the end, sally forth to save them, so Frenchmen, to their peril, came to regard Verdun as a touchstone of faith in the jungle of the inter-war world ... "

Remarkable analysis, beautifully written.

[neverforget]

WWAW:

"Who said I was dead? Send me the mortars and a thousand hand grenades."???

Edit:

On reflection, that's ridiculously hard with no clues. I feel obliged to narrow it down a little by mentioning that it was an American, and it was sometime in 1918.

[Knotty]

I understand this thread works now :-

Who Captain George W Hamilton USMC 1892-1922

Where Bellau Wood Hill 142

When 6 June 1918

With heavy casualties being inflicted on his 49th Co. and the 67th Co. with out command, Hamilton took charge of both, but word got back to 4th Brigade that he too was also lost, so, they sent runners to confirm. He then returned the said runner with the message quoted. Recommended for the Medal of Honour for his actions during this period,it was refused because of the internal politics of the US Navy,Army and Marines.

He was allegedly the last ranking officer to hear of the Armistice.

John

[neverforget]

Correct on all points John. Billed here as America's greatest WW1 war hero. Their quote, not mine.

https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/bookreview/george-w-hamilton-usmc-americas-greatest-world-war-i-hero

[neverforget]

One more WWAW:

"In that flickering pallor it had the effect of a large and clumsy black insect, an insect the size of an ironclad cruiser, crawling obliquely to the first line of trenches and firing shots out of portholes in its side."

[David Ridgus]

Remarkable analysis, beautifully written.

And in his spare time he wrote "A Savage War of Peace" far and away the best book on the Algerian war. A writer and historian of the first rank

David

[David Ridgus]

One more WWAW:

"In that flickering pallor it had the effect of a large and clumsy black insect, an insect the size of an ironclad cruiser, crawling obliquely to the first line of trenches and firing shots out of portholes in its side."

Well this a curious one NF. I'm a huge fan of H G Wells and I recognised this as his description of a tank or 'Landship'. However I needed the extensive library to help me find the details and they don't seem to answer the WWAW. In the story the battlefield and combatants are unnamed and it is set in an indeterminate time.

Nevertheless thank you for the post as it has given me an excuse not to work this evening! I have Wells' complete works on my Kindle so I shall hunt out this short story and have a read

David

[Knotty]

Hi David

I could save you the time, have got both

John

[neverforget]

Well this a curious one NF. I'm a huge fan of H G Wells and I recognised this as his description of a tank or 'Landship'. However I needed the extensive library to help me find the details and they don't seem to answer the WWAW. In the story the battlefield and combatants are unnamed and it is set in an indeterminate time.

Nevertheless thank you for the post as it has given me an excuse not to work this evening! I have Wells' complete works on my Kindle so I shall hunt out this short story and have a read

David

You have it David. It was a sneaky one.

The who is Wells, the where is The Land Ironclads, and the when is 1903 I think, but I stand to be corrected on that.

Apologies for bending the rules, but I was sure that it would be an easily recognisable one.

[David Ridgus]

No apologies needed for bringing Wells into our favourite thread. 1903 it was.

David

[David Ridgus]

Hi David

I could save you the time, have got both

John

But if you do I'll have to mark coursework and that is a very depressing alternative!

[Knotty]

Can't have you depressed,carry on looking

[Uncle George]

" ... Matches gave out and they could no longer read their compass. Moving hand in hand to avoid losing each other in the dark, they stumbled on. [This man] who suffered from asthma was visibly weakening ... After covering six miles, they stopped for a rest. It was then 1 a.m. [He] moved apart into the thicker darkness under the pines. A shot cracked the stillness of the night. [His Chief of Staff] knew instantly what it meant ... "

[neverforget]

I'd say this is Samsonov's suicide. Willenburg, 30th August 1914. (1.am on the night of the 29th)

[Uncle George]

I'd say this is Samsonov's suicide. Willenburg, 30th August 1914. (1.am on the night of the 29th)

Yes indeed. " ... Earlier Samsonov had confided his intention of committing suicide but Potovsky thought he had argued him out of it. He was now sure the General was dead. The staff officers tried to find the body in the darkness but failed. They decided to wait until dawn, but as the sky began to lighten German troops were heard approaching ... "

Quotes from Barbara Tuchman's 'The Guns of August' / 'August 1914' (1962).

[David Ridgus]

I'd say this is Samsonov's suicide. Willenburg, 30th August 1914. (1.am on the night of the 29th)

I suppose it says something about how sad my relationship with this thread is, that even after all this time I still get narked when one comes up that I knew the answer to straightaway but I was doing something else and missed answering. Well done Steve, he says through gritted teeth

David

[Knotty]

Another easy WWAW

"Don't you think I'll be back"

John

[neverforget]

It was one of the extremely rare occasions when I actually knew one as soon as I saw it.(That makes about three so far I think.)

I expect it will be a good while before I get another. What's the betting that if I do someone will pip me at the post.

Even more of a killer (and I'm speaking from experience here) is when you've found someone after searching for hours, only to find that while you have been posting the answer someone has beaten you to it seconds before.

You just gotta love WIT though, and all it's little twists and turns.