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That reminds my of the quote by "Mad" Jack Churchill on the end of the Second World War: “If it wasn’t for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years!”
He was apparently a good leader, being promoted to Colonel, and clearly enjoyed his war. He's credited with the only confirmed kill with a long bow in the war, wore and used a Claybeg style sword and, on more than one occasion lead the charge in to battle whilst playing his bagpipes and hurling grenades.
In short, he well and truly earned his moniker.
Sounds like he might have been a wee bit of a psychopath. I wonder what they'd have found if they dug up his cellar when he died.
Possibly, but if you read about the rest of his life it seems like he just really enjoyed adventure, and, in common with many others, saw war as a thrilling, life-or-death, adventure.
saw war as a thrilling, life-or-death, adventure.
That just sounds like psychopath-lite...
I think 'mad as a sack full of badgers' might be a more appropriate fit, but I can see the psychopath accusation, although he seems to mostly not cared about his own safety rather than displayed an unusual level of psycopathy for a soilder. If you read about the rest of his life it looks like hus feeling of invulnerability continued.
I'm pretty sure he was joking. The British were on the verge of defeat when the United States entered the war.
I'm sure he was, or at least making the statement in a wry way. It's a very English sort of humour to understate the seriousness of the situation like that.
did he not go on to pioneer surfing?
It looks like he pretty much invented surfing tidal bores on rivers, rather than surfing in general, and did it on a board he'd made himself.
I quite like knowing there were and are people like that about, even if you probably shouldn't look too closely at their politics. Knowing the spirit of adventure is alive and well gives me a little hope that things will turn out ok, and laughing at their bizarre antics is always a bit of a boost.