Satirical British Army/Navy Characters and their Alternate time lines

[oscssw]

Some of my favorite satire books, movies and TV series involve the British Army and the Royal Navy.

They include my very favorite Harry Flashman,

followed by Peter Sellers as  CPO Doherty in "Up the Creek".  IMO a Navy version of Phil Silvers Sgt Bilko

Next is Blackadder Goes Forth.  As much as I like Rowan Atkinson when he plays the Upper class Brit turd, my favorite character is Baldrick played by Tony Robinson

next comes "Dad's Army" or The WW II Home Guard (AKA LDV) meets Mel Brooks

Barnacle Bill  starring Alec Guinness. An Alternate History of a Royal Navy officer and six of his maritime ancestors.

And let us never leave out the work of the "Carry On Gang" especially Carry on Admiral and Carry On Sergeant.

"What Was The Military Career of Lance Corporal Jones?"

Lance Corporal Jack Jones in the classic British comedy style constantly referred to his exploits in the Sudan, the North West Frontier (India) and the First World War.

This is the story of his alternate time line military career    by the The History Chap

I'd really like to read the comments of you Brits and maybe get introduced to some more characters like those above.

[lordroel]

Mar 2, 2023 19:02:04 GMT oscssw said:

Some of my favorite satire books, movies and TV series involve the British Army and the Royal Navy.

They include my very favorite Harry Flashman,

followed by Peter Sellers as  CPO Doherty in "Up the Creek".  IMO a Navy version of Phil Silvers Sgt Bilko

Next is Blackadder Goes Forth.  As much as I like Rowan Atkinson when he plays the Upper class Brit turd, my favorite character is Baldrick played by Tony Robinson

next comes "Dad's Army" or The WW II Home Guard (AKA LDV) meets Mel Brooks

"What Was The Military Career of Lance Corporal Jones?"

Lance Corporal Jack Jones is one of the most loved characters in the classic British comedy.Constantly referring to his exploits in the Sudan, the North West Frontier (India) and the First World War.

This is the story of his alternate time line military career    by the The History Chap

Interesting thread Senior Chief (oscssw ).

Hope you do not mind adding more infoprmation to this.

First, checking his Wikipedia page: Lance Corporal Jones has seen a lot, took part in five military campaigns:

1. The Gordon Relief Expedition to the Sudan (1884–1885).
2. The Anglo-Egyptian Reconquest of the Sudan (1896–1899).
3. The Boer War (1899–1901).
4. The First World War (1914–1918).
5. The Second World War (1939-1945).

And secondly he has the following ribbon bars which recognize his previous service in the British Army. From the beginning of series 4 they are as follows:



1. Egypt Medal (1882–1889)
2. Indian General Service Medal (1895–1902)
3. Queen's Sudan Medal (1897)
4. Queen's South African War Medal (1899–1902)
5. King's South African War Medal (1901–1902)
6. India General Service Medal (1909)
7. 1914 Star (or 1914–15 Star)
8. British War Medal
9 Allied Victory Medal
10. Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (with post-1918 ribbon)
11. Khedive's Star (1882–1891)
12. Khedive's Sudan Medal

[oscssw]

OK My friend The Rock. see how you like this one?

This is the Victorian style obituary for General Flashman,one time bully of a twit named Tom Brown at Rugby School.
I wish I'd written this but I did not. Credit must go to "Steve of Upland".

Biographical Note

FLASHMAN, Harry Paget, brigadier-general, V.C. [Victoria Cross], K.C.B. [Knight Commander of the Bath], K.C.I.E. [Knight Commander, Order of the Indian Empire]: Chevalier, Legion of Honour; Order of Maria Theresa, Austria; Order of the Elephant, Denmark (temporary); U.S. Medal of Honor; San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth, 4th class.

Born May 5, 1822, son of H. Buckley Flashman, Esq., Ashby, and Hon. Alicia Paget; married Elspeth Rennie Morrison, daughter of Lord Paisley, one son, one daughter.

Educated Rugby School, 11th Hussars, 17th Lancers.

Served Afghanistan 1841-2 (medals, thanks of Parliament); chief of staff to H.M. [His Majesty] James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, Batang Luper expedition, 1844; military adviser with unique rank of sergeant-general to H.M. [Her Majesty] Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar, 1844-5; Sutleg campaign, 1845-6 (Ferozeshah, Sobraon, envoy extraordinary to Maharani Jeendan, Court of Lahore); political adviser to Herr (later Chancellor Prince) von Bismarck, Schleswig-Holstein, 1847-8; Crimea, staff (Alma, Sevastopol, Balaclava), prisoner of war, 1854; artillery adviser to Atalik Ghazi, Syr Daria campaign, 1855; India, Sepoy Mutiny, 1857-8, diplomatic envoy to H.R.H. [His Royal Highness] the Maharani of Jhansi, trooper 3rd Native Cavalry, Meerut, subsequently attached Rowbotham’s Mosstroopers, Cawnpore (Lucknow, Gwalior, etc., V.C.);

Adjutant to Captain John Brown, Harper’s Ferry, 1859; China campaign 1860, political mission to Nanking, Taiping Rebellion, political and other services, Imperial Court, Pekin;

U.S. Army (major, Union forces, 1862, colonel [staff], Army of the Confederacy, 1863)

Interpreter and observer Sioux campaign, U.S., 1875-6 (Camp Robinson conference, Little Big Horn, etc.)

deputy marshal (U.S.)

Aide-de-camp to H.I.M. [His Imperial Majesty] Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 1867;  Zulu War, 1879 (Isandhlwana, Rorke’s Drift); Egypt 1882 (Kassassin, Tel-el-Kebir; personal bodyguard to H.I.M. Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria, 1883; Sudan 1884-5 (Khartoum); Pekin Legations, 1900. Traveled widely in military and civilian capacities, among them supercargo, merchant marine (West Africa), agriculturist (Mississippi valley), wagon captain and hotelier (Santa Fe Trail); buffalo hunter and scout (Oregon Trail); majordomo (India), prospector (Australia); trader and missionary (Solomon Islands, Fly River, etc.), lottery supervisor (Manila), diamond broker and horse coper (Punjab) [coper, defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary: a horse dealer; especially : a dishonest one], , occasional actor and impersonator.

Honorable member of numerous societies and clubs, including Sons of the Volsungs (Strackenz), Mimbreno Apache Copper Mines band (New Mexico), Khokand Horde (Central Asia), Kit Carson’s Boys (Colorado), Brown’s Lambs (Maryland), M.C.C. [Marylebone Cricket Club], White’s and United Service [two gentlemen’s clubs] (London, both resigned), Blackjack [another gentleman’s club] (Batavia). Chairman, Flashman & Bottomley, Ltd.; director, British Opium Trading Co.; governor, Rugby School; honorary president Mission for Reclamation of Reduced Females.

Publications: Dawns and Departures of a Soldier’s Life; Twixt Cossack and Cannon; The Case Against Army Reform.

Recreations: oriental studies, angling, cricket (performed first recorded “hat trick,” wickets of Felix Pilch, Mynn, for 14 runs, Rugby Past and Present v. Kent, Lord’s, 1842; five for 12, Mynn’s Casuals v. All-England XI, 1843.

Address: Gandamack Lodge, Ashby, Leicestershire

Your going to love this one.  My #1 daughter used to live in Leicestershire, Massachusetts!

[lordroel]

Mar 2, 2023 19:29:51 GMT oscssw said:

OK My friend The Rock. see how you like this one?

This is the Victorian style obituary for General Flashman,one time bully of a twit named Tom Brown at Rugby School.
I wish I'd written this but I did not. Credit must go to "Steve of Upland".

Biographical Note

FLASHMAN, Harry Paget, brigadier-general, V.C. [Victoria Cross], K.C.B. [Knight Commander of the Bath], K.C.I.E. [Knight Commander, Order of the Indian Empire]: Chevalier, Legion of Honour; Order of Maria Theresa, Austria; Order of the Elephant, Denmark (temporary); U.S. Medal of Honor; San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth, 4th class; born May 5, 1822, son of H. Buckley Flashman, Esq., Ashby, and Hon. Alicia Paget; married Elspeth Rennie Morrison, daughter of Lord Paisley, one son, one daughter. Educated Rugby School, 11th Hussars, 17th Lancers. Served Afghanistan 1841-2 (medals, thanks of Parliament); chief of staff to H.M. [His Majesty] James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, Batang Luper expedition, 1844; military adviser with unique rank of sergeant-general to H.M. [Her Majesty] Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar, 1844-5; Sutleg campaign, 1845-6 (Ferozeshah, Sobraon, envoy extraordinary to Maharani Jeendan, Court of Lahore); political adviser to Herr (later Chancellor Prince) von Bismarck, Schleswig-Holstein, 1847-8; Crimea, staff (Alma, Sevastopol, Balaclava), prisoner of war, 1854; artillery adviser to Atalik Ghazi, Syr Daria campaign, 1855; India, Sepoy Mutiny, 1857-8, diplomatic envoy to H.R.H. [His Royal Highness] the Maharani of Jhansi, trooper 3rd Native Cavalry, Meerut, subsequently attached Rowbotham’s Mosstroopers, Cawnpore (Lucknow, Gwalior, etc., V.C.); adjutant to Captain John Brown, Harper’s Ferry, 1859; China campaign 1860, political mission to Nanking, Taiping Rebellion, political and other services, Imperial Court, Pekin; U.S. Army (major, Union forces, 1862, colonel [staff], Army of the Confederacy, 1863); aide-de-camp to H.I.M. [His Imperial Majesty] Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 1867; interpreter and observer Sioux campaign, U.S., 1875-6 (Camp Robinson conference, Little Big Horn, etc.); Zulu War, 1879 (Isandhlwana, Rorke’s Drift); Egypt 1882 (Kassassin, Tel-el-Kebir; personal bodyguard to H.I.M. Franz Josef, Emperor of Austria, 1883; Sudan 1884-5 (Khartoum); Pekin Legations, 1900. Traveled widely in military and civilian capacities, among them supercargo, merchant marine (West Africa), agriculturist (Mississippi valley), wagon captain and hotelier (Santa Fe Trail); buffalo hunter and scout (Oregon Trail); majordomo (India), prospector (Australia); trader and missionary (Solomon Islands, Fly River, etc.), lottery supervisor (Manila), diamond broker and horse coper (Punjab) [coper, defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary: a horse dealer; especially : a dishonest one], deputy marshal (U.S.), occasional actor and impersonator. Honorable member of numerous societies and clubs, including Sons of the Volsungs (Strackenz), Mimbreno Apache Copper Mines band (New Mexico), Khokand Horde (Central Asia), Kit Carson’s Boys (Colorado), Brown’s Lambs (Maryland), M.C.C. [Marylebone Cricket Club], White’s and United Service [two gentlemen’s clubs] (London, both resigned), Blackjack [another gentleman’s club] (Batavia). Chairman, Flashman & Bottomley, Ltd.; director, British Opium Trading Co.; governor, Rugby School; honorary president Mission for Reclamation of Reduced Females.
Publications: Dawns and Departures of a Soldier’s Life; Twixt Cossack and Cannon; The Case Against Army Reform.
Recreations: oriental studies, angling, cricket (performed first recorded “hat trick,” wickets of Felix Pilch, Mynn, for 14 runs, Rugby Past and Present v. Kent, Lord’s, 1842; five for 12, Mynn’s Casuals v. All-England XI, 1843.
Address: Gandamack Lodge, Ashby, Leicestershire

That is a impressive list.

[oscssw]

Long before Jack Aubrey or Alan Lewrie went to sea there was another Hornblower contemporary in the fictional Napoleonic Royal Navy, named George Abercrombie Fox . Now that I am retired he really does deserve his title as The toughest bastard on the seven seas."

If you like a damn good ATL sea story with plenty of laughs from the age of fighting sail George Abercrombie Fox is just the bastard for you.

Amazingly though little recognized today Fox is still in print.
Fox Books In Order
Publication Order of Fox Books
The Press Gang (1972)
Prize Money (1973)
Siege (1973)
Treasure Map (1973)
Powder Monkey / Sailor's Blood (1974)
Blood for Breakfast / Sea of Gold (1974)
Court Martial (1974)
Battle Smoke (1974)
Cut and Thrust (1974)
Boarders Away (1975)
The Fireship (1975)
Blood Beach (1975)
Sea Flame (1976)
Close Quarters (1977)


George Abercrombie Fox decided, not particularly rationally and not at all calmly, that he would first shoot the Master-at-Arms and cut off his head and boil it, would string up the cook and all the bosun's mates he could lay hands on, would in various gory and unbecoming ways dispose of most of the other petty officers, and then would set fire to the ship and dance about in glee as she burned to the waterline and sank.

Fox wasn't much concerned about anybody aboard this King's ship. If anyone did manage to escape his imagined attack long enough to attempt to swim ashore, Fox would push him under. His attitude was understandable, for he was still angered and aching from a whipping. He was only eleven years old and a powder monkey, one of the lowest forms of life afloat. Such was the beginning of Fox's career in the Royal Navy.

In a short time, however, he would rise through the ranks. He would survive the brutality of bigger men and demanding officers. He would acquit himself bravely amidst the crashing chaos of cannon fire and hand-to-hand combat. He would battle the French, the Spanish, the Americans ... any enemy who dared to risk his wake.

He would become the toughest bastard who ever walked the rolling deck of a fighting ship!

[stevep]

Mar 4, 2023 13:57:41 GMT oscssw said:

Long before Jack Aubrey or Alan Lewrie went to sea there was another Hornblower contemporary in the fictional Napoleonic Royal Navy, named George Abercrombie Fox . Now that I am retired he really does deserve his title as The toughest bastard on the seven seas."

If you like a damn good ATL sea story with plenty of laughs from the age of fighting sail George Abercrombie Fox is just the bastard for you.

Amazingly though little recognized today Fox is still in print.
Fox Books In Order
Publication Order of Fox Books
The Press Gang (1972)
Prize Money (1973)
Siege (1973)
Treasure Map (1973)
Powder Monkey / Sailor's Blood (1974)
Blood for Breakfast / Sea of Gold (1974)
Court Martial (1974)
Battle Smoke (1974)
Cut and Thrust (1974)
Boarders Away (1975)
The Fireship (1975)
Blood Beach (1975)
Sea Flame (1976)
Close Quarters (1977)


George Abercrombie Fox decided, not particularly rationally and not at all calmly, that he would first shoot the Master-at-Arms and cut off his head and boil it, would string up the cook and all the bosun's mates he could lay hands on, would in various gory and unbecoming ways dispose of most of the other petty officers, and then would set fire to the ship and dance about in glee as she burned to the waterline and sank.

Fox wasn't much concerned about anybody aboard this King's ship. If anyone did manage to escape his imagined attack long enough to attempt to swim ashore, Fox would push him under. His attitude was understandable, for he was still angered and aching from a whipping. He was only eleven years old and a powder monkey, one of the lowest forms of life afloat. Such was the beginning of Fox's career in the Royal Navy.

In a short time, however, he would rise through the ranks. He would survive the brutality of bigger men and demanding officers. He would acquit himself bravely amidst the crashing chaos of cannon fire and hand-to-hand combat. He would battle the French, the Spanish, the Americans ... any enemy who dared to risk his wake.

He would become the toughest bastard who ever walked the rolling deck of a fighting ship!

  Not one I've heard of before but quite a character.

[oscssw]

Mar 5, 2023 16:40:20 GMT stevep said:

Mar 4, 2023 13:57:41 GMT oscssw said:

Long before Jack Aubrey or Alan Lewrie went to sea there was another Hornblower contemporary in the fictional Napoleonic Royal Navy, named George Abercrombie Fox . Now that I am retired he really does deserve his title as The toughest bastard on the seven seas."

If you like a damn good ATL sea story with plenty of laughs from the age of fighting sail George Abercrombie Fox is just the bastard for you.

Amazingly though little recognized today Fox is still in print.
Fox Books In Order
Publication Order of Fox Books
The Press Gang (1972)
Prize Money (1973)
Siege (1973)
Treasure Map (1973)
Powder Monkey / Sailor's Blood (1974)
Blood for Breakfast / Sea of Gold (1974)
Court Martial (1974)
Battle Smoke (1974)
Cut and Thrust (1974)
Boarders Away (1975)
The Fireship (1975)
Blood Beach (1975)
Sea Flame (1976)
Close Quarters (1977)


George Abercrombie Fox decided, not particularly rationally and not at all calmly, that he would first shoot the Master-at-Arms and cut off his head and boil it, would string up the cook and all the bosun's mates he could lay hands on, would in various gory and unbecoming ways dispose of most of the other petty officers, and then would set fire to the ship and dance about in glee as she burned to the waterline and sank.

Fox wasn't much concerned about anybody aboard this King's ship. If anyone did manage to escape his imagined attack long enough to attempt to swim ashore, Fox would push him under. His attitude was understandable, for he was still angered and aching from a whipping. He was only eleven years old and a powder monkey, one of the lowest forms of life afloat. Such was the beginning of Fox's career in the Royal Navy.

In a short time, however, he would rise through the ranks. He would survive the brutality of bigger men and demanding officers. He would acquit himself bravely amidst the crashing chaos of cannon fire and hand-to-hand combat. He would battle the French, the Spanish, the Americans ... any enemy who dared to risk his wake.

He would become the toughest bastard who ever walked the rolling deck of a fighting ship!

  Not one I've heard of before but quite a character.

No reason you should have Steve, your too young, you luck dog.

[stevep]

Mar 5, 2023 19:45:48 GMT oscssw said:

Mar 5, 2023 16:40:20 GMT stevep said:

  Not one I've heard of before but quite a character.

No reason you should have Steve, your too young, you luck dog.

  Not really.  I was already suffering terminal bibliophilia in the early 70's although generally my fiction reading was directed towards SF in that period.

[575]

Mar 2, 2023 19:09:27 GMT lordroel said:

Mar 2, 2023 19:02:04 GMT oscssw said:

Some of my favorite satire books, movies and TV series involve the British Army and the Royal Navy.

They include my very favorite Harry Flashman,

followed by Peter Sellers as  CPO Doherty in "Up the Creek".  IMO a Navy version of Phil Silvers Sgt Bilko

Next is Blackadder Goes Forth.  As much as I like Rowan Atkinson when he plays the Upper class Brit turd, my favorite character is Baldrick played by Tony Robinson

next comes "Dad's Army" or The WW II Home Guard (AKA LDV) meets Mel Brooks

"What Was The Military Career of Lance Corporal Jones?"

Lance Corporal Jack Jones is one of the most loved characters in the classic British comedy.Constantly referring to his exploits in the Sudan, the North West Frontier (India) and the First World War.

This is the story of his alternate time line military career    by the The History Chap

Interesting thread Senior Chief (oscssw ).

Hope you do not mind adding more infoprmation to this.

First, checking his Wikipedia page: Lance Corporal Jones has seen a lot, took part in five military campaigns:

1. The Gordon Relief Expedition to the Sudan (1884–1885).
2. The Anglo-Egyptian Reconquest of the Sudan (1896–1899).
3. The Boer War (1899–1901).
4. The First World War (1914–1918).
5. The Second World War (1939-1945).

And secondly he has the following ribbon bars which recognize his previous service in the British Army. From the beginning of series 4 they are as follows:



1. Egypt Medal (1882–1889)
2. Indian General Service Medal (1895–1902)
3. Queen's Sudan Medal (1897)
4. Queen's South African War Medal (1899–1902)
5. King's South African War Medal (1901–1902)
6. India General Service Medal (1909)
7. 1914 Star (or 1914–15 Star)
8. British War Medal
9 Allied Victory Medal
10. Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (with post-1918 ribbon)
11. Khedive's Star (1882–1891)
12. Khedive's Sudan Medal

Seems to mirror Winston Churchill's exploits as narrated in "My Early Life" - a satire???

[lordroel]

Captain Edmund Blackadder

Captain Edmund Blackadder (1871-1917) was a Captain in the British Army, and served in the First World War. He was the main character of the fourth series and is the sixth Blackadder shown in the series. Throughout his time during the war he tried numerous ways to escape his post as to avoid leaving the trenches and getting killed by the enemy, however not even the cunning nature of the Blackadder Family could prevent this, and he bravely and reluctantly met his fate along with the rest of the soldiers posted with him.

In the series, Captain Blackadder is seen wearing the following ribbons:

1. 1899-1902 Queen's South Africa medal.
2. 1901-1902 King's South Africa medal.
3. 1914-1915 Star.
4. 1914–1918 (France) Croix de guerre.

[oscssw]

My good friend THE ROCK I too am a big fan of Blackadder Goes Forth. I think you may find this article of interest as I do.

Captain Blackadder really did fight in World War I
But this Blackadder didn't have a cunning plan to avoid combat
by The Week Staff

BBC's Blackadder is one of the funniest historical TV comedies ever. The four series, which ran from 1983 to 1989, follow the conniving, cowardly Edmund Blackadder and his sidekick Baldrick through various epochs.

The final series, Blackadder Goes Forth, is set in 1917. It features Captain Blackadder, a British Army officer on the Western Front, who did his sneaky best to stay alive while everyone else seemed madly determined to get killed.

But guess what? There really was a Captain Blackadder who fought in World War I. And a Private Baldrick, a Captain Darling and a Lieutenant George — the latter supporting characters in the BBC show.

The British military genealogy site Forces War Records discovered the coincidence.

"We were uploading new information onto our database when we came across a Captain Blackadder," explained Dominic Hayhoe, CEO

of Forces War Records. "As fans of the television show, we wondered if we could find the military records of the other fictional characters' namesakes."

Some of the similarities are remarkable. Like the fictional Blackadder, the real officer, Acting Capt. Robert John Blackadder of the Royal Garrison Artillery, served in the British Army before the war, was a bachelor, and fought in France.

Pvt. James Baldrick served with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Capt. John Clive Darling was with the 20th Hussars, while Lt. Athelstan Key Durance George fought in the Dorsetshire Regiment.

"Both Lt. Georges went to Cambridge, rowed for their college, were unmarried, joined the Army as commissioned officers and, it would appear, were of good family stock," the Forces War Record site noted. "They were also both pilots who could draw extremely well."

In other ways, the real characters surpassed the fictional ones. Unlike the chicken-hearted — or in his own mind, eminently sensible — TV soldier, the real Capt. Blackadder won a Military Cross. While the fictional Captain Darling clung to a rear-area staff job, the real Capt. Darling fought at Mons, the Marne, the Aisne, and Ypres … and won the Distinguished Service Order.

Two of them paid the ultimate price. The real Baldrick was killed in action, as was Lt. George. But the real Blackadder and Darling both survived the war.

And what of the show's General Melchett, the archetypal block-headed World War I flag officer? "The only person we haven't been able to track down, so far, from World War I is a General Melchett," Hayhoe said. "According to the military records we have, he makes an appearance in World War II."

[lordroel]

Apr 14, 2023 11:45:19 GMT oscssw said:

And what of the show's General Melchett, the archetypal block-headed World War I flag officer? "The only person we haven't been able to track down, so far, from World War I is a General Melchett," Hayhoe said. "According to the military records we have, he makes an appearance in World War II."

To bad there was no real life General Melchett



General Melchett displays 12 medals on his tunic - in order (with associated post nominal in parentheses).

1. Victoria Cross (VC).
2. Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB).
3. Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
4. South Africa Medal 1868-1880 (Zulu War).
5. Afghanistan Medal 1877-1880.
5. Ashantee Medal 1872-1875 [out of sequence].
6. Egypt Medal 1880-1890.
7. Khedive's Star [out of sequence].
8. India General Service Medal 1854-1895.
9. Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902.
10. King's South Africa Medal 1901-1902.
11. India General Service Medal 1908-1913.
12. 1914-1915 Star.

[Max Sinister]

Apr 11, 2023 18:36:18 GMT lordroel said:

Captain Edmund Blackadder

Captain Edmund Blackadder (1871-1917) was a Captain in the British Army, and served in the First World War. He was the main character of the fourth series and is the sixth Blackadder shown in the series. Throughout his time during the war he tried numerous ways to escape his post as to avoid leaving the trenches and getting killed by the enemy, however not even the cunning nature of the Blackadder Family could prevent this, and he bravely and reluctantly met his fate along with the rest of the soldiers posted with him.

In the series, Captain Blackadder is seen wearing the following ribbons:

1. 1899-1902 Queen's South Africa medal.
2. 1901-1902 King's South Africa medal.

Well, since Mboto Gorge at Upper Volta doesn't exist, they had to choose something similar.

[lordroel]

Bringing the thread back to life with, Dad's Army: What were the Medals of Private Frazer?

From Wikipdidia: Private Frazer

Although Private Frazer rarely wore his ribbons he was awarded the usual trilogy of First World War campaign medals (commonly known as "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred"), as a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Navy during the First World War, in addition to his Polar Medal for the Shackleton Expedition of 1904–1907.

[Max Sinister]

These fellows look really old... I've heard about "Dad's Army", but had assumed that they'd rather be WW1 veterans. But these guys really look too old to have been soldiers in WW1.