Captain Charles Upham VC & Bar, obituary.
Discussion
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/militar...
A remarkable man, and with some prophetic views, I feel.
In 1962, he was persuaded to denounce the British government's attempt to enter the Common Market:
"Britain will gradually be pulled down and down," Upham admonished, "and the whole English way of life will be in danger."
He reiterated the point in 1971: "Your politicians have made money their god, but what they are buying is disaster."
A remarkable man, and with some prophetic views, I feel.
In 1962, he was persuaded to denounce the British government's attempt to enter the Common Market:
"Britain will gradually be pulled down and down," Upham admonished, "and the whole English way of life will be in danger."
He reiterated the point in 1971: "Your politicians have made money their god, but what they are buying is disaster."
Uncle Fester said:
A truly great man, but you do realise that’s an old article and he died in 1994?
Yes, but erm no, I did check, but failed to spot that the actual article date appears lower down the main heading. Unusually, today's date appears at the top, and I took that instead. Arse biscuits. Ta for the heads up, UF.The effect of this and his wounds made him look like a walking skeleton, his commanding officer noted. Nevertheless he found the strength to climb the side of a 600 ft deep ravine and use a Bren gun on a group of advancing Germans. At a range of 500 yards he killed 22 out of 50"
Wow. just. Wow.
Wow. just. Wow.
I met his daughter in New Zealand and she was cut from the same cloth. Her husband is a farmer and got trapped under the rear axle of his tractor when he was changing the tyre and it fell off the axle stands pinning him down by the neck. She wanders in a few minutes later, sees him unconscious, grabs the bic biro out of his breast pocket, rips the nib out with her teeth and punches it through his throat performing a trachaeotomy and saving his life.
There is a book of his exploits in the war called "Mark of the Lion". Well worth a read - some concluded almost every action he took part in he would have deserved a VC, but they stopped at 2. Some parts of the story seem too fabulous to be true.
There is a book of his exploits in the war called "Mark of the Lion". Well worth a read - some concluded almost every action he took part in he would have deserved a VC, but they stopped at 2. Some parts of the story seem too fabulous to be true.
From his time as POW:
"Despite these precautions, Upham bolted from his little courtyard, straight through the German barracks and out through the front gate of the camp. The guard in the machinegun-tower later told other prisoners that he refrained from shooting Upham out of sheer respect."
"When Colditz Castle was liberated by American forces, most of the inmates made their own way home immediately. Upham broke into a German armoury, helped himself to weaponry, and went out hunting Germans."
Must have been a bit of a shock to the Germans and esp. those who had allowed themselves to be hoodwinked into the whole Nazi Master Race thing to suddenly encounter Kiwis
"Despite these precautions, Upham bolted from his little courtyard, straight through the German barracks and out through the front gate of the camp. The guard in the machinegun-tower later told other prisoners that he refrained from shooting Upham out of sheer respect."
"When Colditz Castle was liberated by American forces, most of the inmates made their own way home immediately. Upham broke into a German armoury, helped himself to weaponry, and went out hunting Germans."
Must have been a bit of a shock to the Germans and esp. those who had allowed themselves to be hoodwinked into the whole Nazi Master Race thing to suddenly encounter Kiwis
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