Uncle George Posted 13 February , 2015 Share Posted 13 February , 2015 As it's suddenly gone quiet I offer this gentleman for your consideration. Pete. I'm sure the badge on his lapel is a helpful hint. Yet still I get nowhere. So meanwhile: the writer A.C. Benson describes a GW figure after coming across him in 1915 - "I had not realised what a horrid little fellow he was – like some sort of maggot. His head is big, he stoops. He has thin nervous limp sort of hands. He looks like a drug-taker, or at least as if there was something wrong to be ashamed of… I happened to be next to him also in the lavatory and hated the way he washed. He seemed self-conscious even there and on edge – indeed, as if he were on fire within.” WAIWA ? ? ? Lots of clues therein... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 13 February , 2015 Share Posted 13 February , 2015 Uncle, what an amazing passage; whoever it describes made a big impression. And not in a good way. With regard to my chap he was notable for forming partnerships with others and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He sounds like the sort of man who rolls his sleeves up. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverforget Posted 13 February , 2015 Share Posted 13 February , 2015 Thanks for the clue, Pete. Digesting it now. I`ll take a wild guess that the man from Uncle is LLoyd-George? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 13 February , 2015 Share Posted 13 February , 2015 I`ll take a wild guess that the man from Uncle is LLoyd-George? Close. But no cigar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cpl Coleman Posted 13 February , 2015 Share Posted 13 February , 2015 Is he the writer James Hall, he of the Lafayette Escadrille? I think he looks more like William "Wild Bill" Wellman, the film director, but the only thing I'm pretty certain of is that it's not Eugene Bullard..... Good guesses both Wighammer & Uncle George, but ... According to Denis Albin's (I think) Escadrilles Françaises pages the gentleman is "Lieutenant Henri Lemaître - Pilot and Flight Commander BM 120 and BR 120 - Born July 6, 1894 in Bléré (Indre-et-Loire) - Son of Georges Lemaitre and Henriette Tassin Nonneville - Aero Club of France's Patent No. 1168 obtained the Farman school Etampes, 6 December 1912 - entered service on October 15, 1913 - military pilot's license No. 393 dated October 8, 1913 - squadron pilot MF 5 of 23 July 1914 to 25 February 1915 - SFA of 10 December 1915 to February 1916 - Pilot and commander BM 120 and BR 120 of February 1916 to February 7, 1919 - Makes 134 bombing missions, 78 overnight flight to BM 120, then BR 120 - Participates in testing Breguet 14 on behalf of the STA in 1917-9 Mentions in the army - 2 approved aerial victories - Legion of Honour - Military Medal - Military Cross 14-18, 22 October 1917 - Died in Saint-Maxire (79), July 23, 1935" UPDATE: Bruno (Froggy) over in The Aerodrome has identified the E. Lemaître shown in the attached Library of Congress photos as Emmanuel Lemaître and not the Henri Lemaître shown above. Emmanuel Lemaître was dispatched to the US in 1917 as part of a delegation of 12 French airmen who were sent to instruct American pilots on the French Nieuport. Here are a couple of photos showing E. Lemaître and US Captain J.C. Bartolf at Langley Field, Virginia in 1917... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neverforget Posted 13 February , 2015 Share Posted 13 February , 2015 Close. But no cigar. That cigar has clinched it for me. It`s Churchill isn`t it? I have to say that WSC was the first person that came to mind from the first part of the description, but the second part of the description swayed me to plump for L/George instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 I started a sub-theme and then hardly contributed to it. If it's not too late, here's a non-poet ace with a poet's name David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 That cigar has clinched it for me. It`s Churchill isn`t it? It sure is. Here's a contrasting first impression, from Violet Bonham Carter: "Until the end of dinner I listened to him spellbound. I can remember thinking: THIS is what people mean when they talk of 'seeing stars'...I recognized it as the light of genius." Later that evening VBC told her father that for the first time in her life she had seen genius. Asquith: "Well, Winston would certainly agree with you there..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 Another clue or two for my man. In 1916 he swapped uniforms with less seniority and he is credited with defining the shape of one of the icons of the Great War. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 Another clue or two for my man. In 1916 he swapped uniforms with less seniority and he is credited with defining the shape of one of the icons of the Great War. Pete. Sir Herbert Baker could by a stretch fit some of your clues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 I started a sub-theme and then hardly contributed to it. If it's not too late, here's a non-poet ace with a poet's name dri 288.jpg David How about Andrew Cowper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 I missed him UG! No my chap's namesake was born a few years after Cowper. He would also have been a candidate for one of your earlier sub themes David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 I missed him UG! No my chap's namesake was born a few years after Cowper. He would also have been a candidate for one of your earlier sub themes David OK then - Billy Barker VC DSO* MC**. Refers to animals sub-theme, and to poet George Barker: "My one, my one, my only love, Hide, hide your face in a leaf, And let the hot tear falling burn The stupid heart that will not learn The everywhere of grief." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 Sir Herbert Baker could by a stretch fit some of your clues. Not he uncle, but he shares the inventor laurels with another man who was originally agricultural. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 14 February , 2015 Share Posted 14 February , 2015 OK then - Billy Barker VC DSO* MC**. Refers to animals sub-theme, and to poet George Barker: Nope. My chap would have fitted into your excellent directional sub-theme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 He is Walter Southey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 Not he uncle, but he shares the inventor laurels with another man who was originally agricultural. Pete. To do with barbed wire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 To do with barbed wire? More agriculturally high tech than that. My man went through the gears, and reduced a key task from four to one. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 More agriculturally high tech than that. My man went through the gears, and reduced a key task from four to one. Pete. He is Walter Gordon Wilson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 So who might this be ? ? ? A man of profundity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 He is Walter Southey. Indeed he is Uncle David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 He is Walter Gordon Wilson. Uncle in a rich vein of form at the moment. Walter Gordon Wilson it is. It's hard to know where to start with his achievements. He was a naval cadet who went to Cambridge and knew and assisted Charles Rolls, he designed a lightweight aero engine in 1898 for the ill fated Percy Plicher and then moved into car design with the Wilson-Pilcher. He was in the RNAS Armoured Car section in WW1 and contributed to the Landships Committee. With Walter Tritton he was officially credited with inventing the tank. Wilson came up with the idea of the tracks going right round the vehicle giving the early tanks the characterisic lozenge shape. His design of the Mark V tank gearbox meant the vehicle could be steered by one man instead of four. After the war he invented an automatic gearbox which was in use in cars up to the 60's. An engineering superhero. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 Here's another photo of my man of post #2098. Exactly where is of no importance (as far as the clue is concerned. But he's front and centre.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 Inmates and Witters With half term allowing me to catch my breath, I have updated the WIT spreadsheet. For new contributors, this excel spreadsheet lists all the people, animals, birds, and inanimate objects that have appeared on this thread ('Who is this ???') and its predecessor ('Who is this?'). It also sorts on separate tabs who posted which pictures or descriptions (WITs and WAIWAs) and who solved them. I will be sending out this new version to those who have asked for it in the past. If anyone else would like a copy please send me a PM. The statistics continue to mount up in a fairly mind boggling way. We have now had 1,321 WITs and WAIWAs on the two threads. These have been the subject of 10,344 posts, which have attracted 112,093 views. I was quite surprised to note that although it has been locked since 18th July last year 'Who is this?' has still had over 5000 views in the last six weeks alone. 'With still power to add' as they say when an Australian batsman reaches his century against England David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 15 February , 2015 Share Posted 15 February , 2015 Here's another photo of my man of post #2098. Exactly where is of no importance (as far as the clue is concerned. But he's front and centre.) Uncle, do I take it we are to ignore the fact that the group appears to be at HMS Vernon which was the navy's torpedo establishment? Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now