Chad

 

Chad

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Mr Chad, sometimes known as ‘Mr Wot no . . . ’ was a popular cartoon character during WWII in Britain. He was a means of expressing people’s dismay about the things they most missed, like bananas or sugar. He appeared all over the place, on walls, shop windows, on doors or trains and in cartoons. The Chad the RAF recognised was known to the British Army as Private Snoops and to the Royal Navy as the Watcher, though he had many other names, too.

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The origins of Chad are uncertain, though Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable claims that he was the creation of the British cartoonist, George Edward Chatterton in 1938, who was known as Chat. Chat could easily become Chad.  However, the character first appeared in a ‘Useless Eustace’ cartoon by Chatterton’s former drawing instructor, Jack Greenall in the 1920s.

Here you can see Chad in his first public appearance at the top of the cartoon.

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The repeated caption ‘Wot no . . . ?’ was added later, as observations on wartime shortages and rationing. He appeared across the world, wherever troops were deployed.

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In Australia and the USA, Foo and Kilroy may have been different characterisations of Chad or just the same character with different names.

There is more information here and here.

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A Goose of a different feather

A Goose of a different feather

All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The Spruce Goose (H-4 Hercules) was designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company during the Second World War.  It was intended to be a means of transporting troops and supplies to Europe. At the time many ships were falling victim to German U-boats in the Atlantic. The industrialist Henry Kaiser formulated the idea of working with Howard Hughes to create the largest flying boat in the world. Work started on it in 1942 but by the time it was completed the war had been over for two years.

 Fighter planes under the right wing of H-4 Hercules

It was then the biggest aircraft in the world, retaining that record until 2019. Because of wartime restrictions on the use of aluminium and steel, the plane had to be constructed of wood. Although it was nicknamed the Spruce Goose, the majority of the wood used was birch. Allegedly, the mechanics working on it referred to it as the Birch Bitch, a rather less attractive name! Another name for it was the Flying Lumberyard, which was politer but still quite demeaning.

 On display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon.  

It remains the largest seaplane ever built but the prototype never went into production, critics suggesting that its wooden framework was not sufficient to support its weight during long flights. It had a potential range of 3000 miles and was intended to carry 750 passengers, but was never tested over that distance. or with that payload. The need for large flying boats had passed.

In fact, it made just one short test flight of one mile in California, taking off and landing on water on 2^nd November, 1947. Thereafter, it was exhibited in Long Beach, California until 1992 and is now on display at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon.  

The Colonel’s Breakfast

 

The Colonel’s Breakfast

I like a gentle, quiet start to the day, with no radio or television to assault my senses.

Frequently, I am the first human to go downstairs, usually because one or more of the non-humans requires access to the great outdoors.

 I enjoy the morning stillness, the false sense of being the only one awake in the world. I like the quiet as the house stretches and comes to life and the feeling of organisation and accomplishment as little tasks are completed. I appreciate the time of the day that is entirely mine, with no expectations or requests.

 I am not a morning person, but I am no longer a night owl. I’m more of a middle-of-the-afternoon person now.

Barry and I both have a robust sense of humour, but my funny bone doesn’t work early in the day. Like most couples, we have developed a verbal shorthand and ‘the Colonel’s breakfast’ is one that we often use. It means that, although not immersed in doom and gloom, I am not ready to engage in light-hearted banter. Barry has always been able to make me laugh, but his skills are wasted first thing in the morning.

‘The Colonel’s breakfast’ arises from Barry’s time as a subaltern living in an officers’ mess with several other young officers. The colonel in question, N.P., had been an officer in the Parachute Regiment who had jumped into Arnhem in 1944 during the Second World War.

After the war he gained an Oxbridge accelerated double first (accelerated usually means two years) Many military personnel were sent to university after the war in an attempt to reintroduce them to civilian life, or to allow them to continue studies disrupted by their war-time service.

 After university and still in the army, N.P. worked on advanced technologies for the networking of radio communications, a precursor to the technologies used today for mobile networks. In the early sixties he was given command of a regiment and Barry was one of his subalterns.

 He was a gentleman who disliked being disturbed at breakfast. Any chatter was frowned upon. Breakfast was a short, informal meal and his desire for peace and quiet was acknowledged and respected, for after all, he had done his duty and done it well.

April A-Z blogging challenge 2012 F is for Foreboding

This is the sixth of 26 short stories – 250 words or fewer - about Alice’s life and times.

F is for Foreboding

There had been rumblings and rumours for months but most people hoped and prayed that Chamberlain’s 1938 declaration of ‘peace for our time’ would hold true. As 1939 wore on and international peace looked ever more vulnerable Alice’s father and brothers shook their heads and tried to remain optimistic. On September 3^rd they huddled round the wireless as Neville Chamberlain announced ‘this country is at war with Germany.’

In the days that followed Alice heard her parents talking about men being ‘called up’ and asked Daniel to explain. She looked thoughtful. ‘You and Dad and Charles and Edward?’ she asked.

‘Not Dad. He’s a policeman – he’s needed at home. Not Charles - he’s still at university. Edward’s too young. I’ll be called up, but probably not yet.’

Alice was reassured until a few weeks later when all three brothers told their startled parents that they had enlisted, Charles in the Royal Navy, Daniel and Edward in the Army. Daniel announced that he and Ruth were getting married immediately.

The wedding was a bittersweet affair. Two young people promising to remain together ‘till death do us part’ emphasised the fragility of a world at war. Nonetheless, the newlyweds were sent on their honeymoon with much laughter and good wishes. Alice was pleased that she now had a sister who would be living in her house.  In time, she hoped, there would be babies.

All too soon, her brothers left for their training establishments. The house felt shockingly empty and quiet.

Another Haig

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

When I mentioned to Barry yesterday that I was preparing a post on Haig he said, ‘Which one?’ The name also struck a chord with Nonizamboni from ‘Peacock Blue’.

Alexander Haig was a distinguished and much decorated army officer, retiring as a four-star general in 1979, and eventually becoming the 59^th United States Secretary of State from 1981 to 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. He died last February 2010, aged 85.

In the mid-60s Barry attended a meeting at which Alexander Haig, then a Lieutenant Colonel, was speaking. A questioner from the floor asked, ‘What makes you think you can defeat the Viet Cong?’ He replied that the war would be won because present-day American soldiers were superior to those in WWII, in that they were better-educated. WWII soldiers had prevailed against the Germans and so the modern army would succeed in Vietnam. He entirely missed the point that there is a major difference between fighting a just war and engaging in an unjust one.

Years later, Barry met some of the Vietnamese generals, but that’s a story for another day.

ABC Wednesday – C is for Cunningham

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Browne Cunningham was born in 1883 and grew up to join the Royal Navy where he was known affectionately as ‘ABC’. He cut his teeth as a Midshipman during the Boer War and in the First World War commanded the destroyer HMS Scorpion. During this time he was decorated with the DSO and two bars.

Image courtesy of the Imperial War Museum

He became the most famous British admiral during the Second World War, assuming the post of Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet in 1939. His flagship was HMS Warspite.

As C-in-C, ABC’s main concerns were for the safety of Malta and of convoys heading to Egypt.  In 1940 and 1941 he was victorious at Calabria, Taranto and Cape Matapan and gave invaluable support, without air cover, in the face of relentless bombardment from the Luftwaffe, to the evacuation of thousands of troops from Greece and Crete in April and May, 1941. The fleet suffered severe losses – three cruisers and six destroyers were sunk and fifteen more warships were damaged – but heeded his command that the ‘Navy must not let the army down.’ (His younger brother, incidentally, was General Sir Alan Cunningham)

He served under and was highly regarded by General Dwight D Eishenhower, who appointed him Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force. In his diary Eisenhower wrote:

"Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham. He remains in my opinion at the top of my subordinates in absolute selflessness, energy, devotion to duty, knowledge of his task, and in understanding of the requirements of allied operations. My opinions as to his superior qualifications have never wavered for a second."

As Supreme Commander Cunningham commanded the large fleet that covered Operation Torch (the Anglo-American landings in North Africa)

In 1943 he became the First Sea Lord, a post he filled until his retirement three years later. In this position he was responsible for the overall strategy of the navy for the rest of the war. In 1945 he was raised to the peerage, taking the title Baron Cunningham of Hyndhope and one year later became Viscount Cunningham.

In his retirement he attended the House of Lords, twice served as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and participated in the coronation of Elizabeth II as Lord High Steward.

He died suddenly after a meeting at the Admiralty in June 1963 and was given a naval burial off Nab Tower, Portsmouth, his body being consigned to the deep from HMS Hampshire.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

There is a bust of Cunningham in Trafalgar Square. It was unveiled by Prince Philip in 1967. 

Charming Denise Nesbitt and her Careful, Conscientious Collaborators organise this weekly Cheery Challenge. Look for more Cs here.

Battle of Britain

Mo from 'Fresh Eyes on London' posted a photograph today of a replica Spitfire.
It reminded Barry of the time he was working at RAF Bentley Priory. This non-flying RAF station was the headquarters of Fighter Command during WWII. A wartime Hurricane and Spitfire in the grounds were lasting reminders of Bentley's importance during the Battle of Britain which raged throughout the summer and autumn of 1940.

Hurricane image courtesy of Adrian Pingstone and Wikimedia Commons

The Ministry of Defence, wishing to gain some revenue, decided to sell the aircraft and replace them with full-size replicas. When the Airfix kits arrived all the top brass on the site were alive to the delivery. Excitedly they swarmed out of the building, eager to begin the task of construction. The pieces were laid out on the lawn and assembly began.

Spitfire image courtesy of Kogo and Wikimedia Commons

Disaster! The delivery contained Hurricane and Spitfire bodies but no Spitfire wings and two sets of Hurricane wings. Much annoyance and discussion ensued. Eventually the problem was resolved but, while the RAF were victorious in the Battle of Britain, Airfix trounced them on this occasion!

What were you thinking, David – or were you?

It was with great surprise and some fury that the British public, along with many of their Commonwealth and former Commonwealth members, heard David Cameron declare that Great Britain was the 'junior partner' of the USA in fighting Germany in 1940. He seemed to be unaware, or perhaps had 'forgotten' that the US remained neutral until Germany and Japan declared war on it in December 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbour. The US had supplied the UK as well as the Soviet Union, China, France and other Allied nations
with war materials from March 1941 until 1945 through the 'Lend-Lease' law. The UK finally redeemed its debt in 2006.
Nicholas Soames, grandson of Sir Winston Churchill, defended the Prime Minister's remarks, intimating that he had been misunderstood, but compounded the insult by omitting to mention the UK's allies. His grandfather must have groaned and pirouetted in his grave!
At the beginning of World War II Great Britain was indeed a 'junior partner' – but to France which had one of the biggest armies in the world. France had 86 divisions, Germany 78, while Britain had 9 and the US just 8.
After July 1940 Britain and the Commonwealth stood against Germany until Russia entered the war in July 1941. Forces from several defeated European countries escaped to UK to continue the fight – Albanian, Dutch, French, Polish, Norwegian, Belgian, Czechoslovakian to name but a few.
Russia entered the war five months before the US and arguably was a far bigger partner than the US in defeating Germany. Russia inflicted many more military casualties on the Germans than the US. Russia had the biggest army at the end of the war with 491 divisions while the US reached 94 including those also deployed in the Pacific. The sheer size of the Russian army was at the heart of the eventual German defeat.
The first important German reversal was in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
The first major land defeats of Germany were by British and Commonwealth troops at El Alamein in 1942 and by the Russians at Stalingrad in 1943.
More British and Commonwealth than US troops landed in Normandy in 1944. The RAF had many more fighters than the USAF for D Day (2172 versus 1311). The Royal Navy was the senior partner at Normandy, providing the majority of warships.
The biggest defeat the Japanese army faced was in Burma at the hands of the British and Commonwealth (especially Indian) armies.
Throughout the war the RAF was bigger than the USAF in Europe facing Germany. In June 1942 there were 9500 British aircraft and no US aircraft. A year later Britain had 12700 and the US 5000. Even towards the end of the war Britain still had the larger force with 14500 while the US had 12200.
When military deaths are brought into the equation, Russia suffered the greatest number of fatalities, followed by Britain and the Commonwealth, with the US suffering the fewest. As a proportion of population the British suffered three times the military deaths of the US.
Britain also sustained far more major warship losses than the US (260 versus 157)
Finally, Britain suffered significant civilian casualties and the US did not.
David Cameron and Nicholas Soames were both expensively educated at Eton (current basic fees are around £30,000 per annum). Is this venerable institute not able to employ effective History teachers or is it simply the case that David (and Nicholas before him) were not paying attention during lessons?
In spite of Hollywood reworkings of historical events much of the statistical evidence aforementioned has come from US Government sources, which are both remarkably accurate and well-informed.

The Spirit of Dunkirk

The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships is marking the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo by returning the original 'Little Ships' once more to Dunkirk. The flotilla of around fifty set sail from Ramsgate, Kent, at 0700 BST and expects to arrive at its destination around 4:00 pm. These small craft have been lovingly and painstakingly restored and preserved over the decades. They include fishing trawlers, pleasure craft, paddle steamers and lifeboats. They are being escorted by the Royal Navy frigate HMS Monmouth and the RNLI is providing a lifeboat escort.

This photograph of some of the 'Little Ships' was taken at Chatham Navy Days in 2002.

Photo courtesy of Colin Smith, Wikimedia Commons

On Saturday 29^th May a commemorative service will be conducted at the Allied memorial on Dunkirk beach. A minute's silence will be followed by the playing of the national anthems of Britain, the Czech Republic, France and Belgium, the countries whose troops were rescued seventy years ago.Operation Dynamo was planned in the Secret Wartime Tunnels of Dover Castle. Churchill estimated that only 30,000 to 40,000 troops would be rescued, but in the event 338,000 were evacuated. He later described the operation as 'a miracle of deliverance.' The manoeuvre gave rise to the expression 'The Dunkirk Spirit' meaning indefatigable British determination and courage in the face of adversity and apparently insurmountable odds.

The Royal Naval ships had to wait off-shore in deeper water and the 'Little Ships' played their part by getting closer in to land so that they could transport troops to the larger vessels. Many soldiers made their journey back to Ramsgate in the smaller craft.

The original 1940 fleet of 900 naval and civilian craft made their hazardous journey across the English Channel (La Manche to the French) under the protection of the RAF. They had to avoid minefields and were fired on by the Luftwaffe whenever the weather allowed. The evacuation of Dunkirk is fittingly remembered as a victory over tremendous odds and it is right and proper that such events should be remembered.

(On a more personal note Barry's father had a cousin who was killed at Dunkirk. He was his parents' only son. His father, Barry's great-uncle, fought in the First World War and had been blinded in a gas attack. Barry met him only once and was shown this grand old man's collection of WWI shell cases – a display that made a deep impression on a young boy. His wife was German and the family history reports that she died of shame shortly after her son's death because of what her country had done – blinding her husband in the first war and then killing their son in the second. Poor woman!)