Funnily enough, I know full well the very office; a million years ago I was charged with organizing a TA Colonels and above conference. I’d gotten to know the Garrison Sergeant Major London District over the years (through being on the Senior RSMs’ Committee - I won’t bore you with anymore than that - save you’re probably thinking how the bloody hell does a freakin’ clerk get on that?!). My boss, who was running the thing, charged me with finding “something suitable in London”. Well, the GSM then offered up the adjoining in conference room. I visited and had a guided tour.
I quickly realised that this was, in fact, somewhat akin to casting pearls before swine (which shows what an inverted snob I was!) so at the end of the day we ended up in an Officers’ Mess in Aldershot.
Fast forward another epoch and my daughter - then a full-screw in the London District Military Intelligence Counter-Intelligence Section, also ended up in the same office albeit carrying out a security survey.
The thing is John as you describe, one could taste the history of it all.
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British Officer Quality Napoleonic Wars
Video is enlightening and wrecks a lot of popular myths & misconceptions.
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i haven’t seen it but it does look interesting, when it comes on Netflix or out on DVD then i will be watching it.
I hope Ridley Scott does a better job than oliver stone did with “The Doors” biography of Jim Morrison.
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Apart from the battle scenes I have to say it’s one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Phoenix plays Napoleon as a kind of village idiot (and is far too old for the part).
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Again, nothing against Joaquin but every ad or review of the film I have seen he essentially has the same expression in every scene.
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Alternatively, “I have got it at last.”, to which Wellington responded (somewhat coldly, the two not being on good terms) “No? Have you, by God?". Uxbridge had been foisted on Wellington by the King, he’d wanted Viscount Combermere, his cavalry commander in the Peninsular War. Uxbridge hadn’t served with Wellington there (despite distinguishing himself earlier in the campaign) because in 1809 he’d deserted his wife and eloped with Charlotte, the wife of Henry Wellesley, Wellington’s kid brother (hence the froideur between the two), a situation complicated by one of her sisters being married to yet another Wellesley brother…
Uxbridge married Charlotte about a year later after their respective divorces and Henry had received £24,000 in damages, the happy union producing ten children in addition to the four Charlotte had had with Henry and the eight Uxbridge had from his first marriage. To round out the happy ending, Uxbridge and Wellington were reconciled in later life and became quite friendly.
Regards,
M
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Looking to stream Waterloo - the 1970 version here in the USA but can’t find it.
Any suggestions on where to look?
About the time the movie came out I watched the TV mini-series from 2002 with Gerard Depardieu and Isabella Rossellini. I had never heard of the actor who played Napoleon. I found it quite entertaining - enough so that I lost interest in seeing Napoleon on the big screen. If you can get past John Malkovich playing John Malkovich…
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