A "what's all this, then?" moment if ever there was one.

"In 1947 he was on a ski lift in Switzerland when he met Veronique Wirtz, a newly-qualified Belgian doctor. He asked her three questions. "Can you speak English?" She answered, "No." "Can you cook?" It was "No" again. "Will you marry me?" Her answer was "Yes". "

Damn, if only it were that easy these days.

Leading his company in a dawn raid, he surprised the local mayor, who was sharing his bed with several attractive companions.

"No need for the pistol, Addington minor!" the man exclaimed in authoritative tone. To Addington's astonishment, the mayor had been the French master at his preparatory school.

Awkward.

So that's where Britain left its balls.

cleveoh: A friend describes him as a tall, dashing, handsome man, his face bronzed by the Lanzarote sun, a most generous host and always ready for a party.

I have absolutely NO shot at ever having an obituary this cool...

You just need more articulate friends

Pistol?

Piper Bill laughs at the idea of carrying a pistol.

He went ashore in Normandy armed with a dagger and his bagpipes. He went in early enough that the tanks were still on the beach. And he kept on piping while he moved off the beach.

/his huge brass ones clanging together made a lovely rhythm accompaniment to his piping

roothog: What's an MC? I assume it's some sort of military decoration, but the article didn't say.

Military Cross.

roothog: What's an MC? I assume it's some sort of military decoration, but the article didn't say.

It's the second highest Soviet award. The first was the Order of the Sickle. The second highest was the Order of the Hammer.

/actually i think it is short for the Military Cross

TheTeethoftheTiger: Damn, I think it's safe to say I will never have a life quite as awesome.

/ It was good to be born well off in the british empire.

If he went to "The Shop," and was an officer in the Royal Artillery (before volunteering for No 5 Commando), it's a fair bet that he wasn't particularly well-off.

The Rodneys and Ruperts tend to be in the Guards and Cavalry. Clever, middle-class types often wound up in the RA. Or the Royal Engineers, if you preferred blowing things up at close range.

The rest of the British Army used to refer to RE officers as "mad, married, and Methodist"--three things that the young and stylish blades of fashionable families weren't.

roothog
What's an MC? I assume it's some sort of military decoration, but the article didn't say.

Master of Ceremonies. It has nothing to do with this article. Sorry.

I thought of David Bowie's song...

Ground control to major Tom
Ground control to major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
(Ten) Ground control (Nine) to major Tom (Eight)
(Seven, six) Commencing countdown (Five), engines on (Four)
(Three, two) Check ignition (One) and may gods (Blastoff) love be with you

Safe flight, Major Tom.