Outstanding military figures

Anyone recognise this gentleman?

Major General Robert Craufurd.

They didn't call him Black Bob for nuttin'.

Johnnie Johnson, ace WWII RAF pilot. Amazing!

https://www.facebook.com/BritComMil/posts/2380433548661487?__tn__=K-R

Harry Patch was the last living soldier to have fought in WW1. He died at the incredible age of 111.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history…Mmi5JB0fisNUAVU6W-lw9CTS0

What you may not know about David Niven, who enjoyed an exciting and very fulfilling life. I still need to get my hands on his two books, The Moon's A Balloon and Bring On The Empty Horses.

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Lt Col David Niven, Rifle Brigade and "Phantom" GHQ Regiment...

David Niven attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, graduating in 1930 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the British Army.

He did well at Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was his trademark. He requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because the HLI wore tartan trews rather than kilts). He was assigned to the HLI. He served with the HLI for two years in Malta and then for a few months in Dover. In Malta, he became friends with Roy Urquhart, future commander of the British 1st Airborne Division.

Niven grew tired of the peacetime army. Though promoted to lieutenant on 1 January 1933, he saw no opportunity for further advancement. His ultimate decision to resign came after a lengthy lecture on machine guns, which was interfering with his plans for dinner with a particularly attractive young lady. At the end of the lecture, the speaker (a major general) asked if there were any questions. Showing the typical rebelliousness of his early years, Niven asked, "Could you tell me the time, sir? I have to catch a train."

After being placed under close-arrest for this act of insubordination, Niven finished a bottle of whisky with the officer who was guarding him: Rhoddy Rose (later Colonel R.L.C. Rose, DSO, MC). With Rose's assistance, Niven was allowed to escape from a first-floor window. He then headed for America. While crossing the Atlantic, Niven resigned his commission by telegram on 6 September 1933. Niven then moved to New York City, where he began an unsuccessful career in whisky sales, after which he had a stint in horse rodeo promotion in Atlantic City. After detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he arrived in Hollywood in 1934.

The day after Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Niven returned home and rejoined the British Army. He was alone among British stars in Hollywood in doing so; the British Embassy had advised most actors to stay.

Niven was recommissioned as a lieutenant into the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) on 25 February 1940, and was assigned to a motor training battalion. He wanted something more exciting, however, and transferred into the Commandos. He was assigned to a training base at Inverailort House in the Western Highlands. Niven later claimed credit for bringing future Major General Sir Robert E. Laycock to the Commandos. Niven commanded "A" Squadron GHQ Liaison Regiment, better known as "Phantom".

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Quote from JAN

I assume Germans are not allowed to post on this thread..... hahaha

If we had any Germans on the forum, I would recommend they watch Fawlty Towers first

Quote from Rice

David Niven was known as a thoroughly good man.

Am I remembering correctly that his wife was killed by a bomb during the war?

She died in an unfortunate party accident, apparently.

https://hjordisniven.com/primmie-niven/

A remarkable German flying ace with an incredible survival instinct. Argentina is mentioned but not in a good way.

This RAF fighter pilot who saved Buckingham Palace during The Battle Of Britain went for a pint in a nearby Pimlico pub after bailing out of his damaged Hurricane.

A true original!

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/b…izen-airman-2-ray-holmes/

Audie Murphy was a real life hero. What an amazing man.

https://www.warhistoryonline.c…eon-murphy-wwii-hero.html

I found a tribute to this 20 year old soldier, Jose Sebire, from the Parachute Regiment who was killed in Normandy in 1944. His poem alone is incredibly moving.

Lest we forget.

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Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 1944, Private Ceiriog Josue Henri Sebire, 9th (Essex) Parachute Battalion, 6th Airborne Division, was killed in action in Normandy.
Private Sebire, known as Jose, was the only son of a Welsh mother and a father from the French Channel Islands, who was an ordained minister with a parish in London. He joined the Parachute Regiment as soon as he was old enough to do so, and took part in the D-Day landings. Private Sebire was one of the six hundred sent on the mission to disable the Merville Battery, among the one hundred and fifty who survived the drop, and among the seventy-five who survived the battle. Sadly Private Sebire would be killed in action seven weeks later. He had written an eight-verse poem called “A Paratrooper’s Lament”, some of which reads:

So the red light came on, we were ready
Stood up and hooked up as well
My knees felt a trifle unsteady
As I lunged through that door into hell.

Now all you young girls back in England
Remember the boys in the sky
Remember those brave Parachutists
The men who live only to die.

A few chutes failed to open that morning
As we sped down through Hell into space
I forgot all my parachute training
And landed a wide-right on my face!

So stand by your glasses ready
Here’s a toast to the men of the sky
Here’s to the dead already
And here’s to the next man to die.

Private Sebire lies buried in the Ranville War Cemetery, and on his headstone are the words, “O for the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a voice that is still!” He is commemorated on the Carmarthen War Memorial in Wales. From Carmarthen, Jose was 20 years old.

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