We have a visitor today and so posting will be light until later on. In the meantime, this story in The Telegraph tickled my fancy, or at least, it made me smile. There is more than a touch of the 'Monty Pythons' about it.
Here is Cpl. Bob Roberts, all 5'-3" of him, searching Jakob Nacken, at 7'-6" the tallest soldier in the German army. Happily, according to the story, both the British soldiers and the German prisoners who were present fell about laughing at the sight!
Ex-Cpl. Roberts, I am delighted to say, is now a great-grandfather of 93 and, perhaps a little late in the day, has been awarded the French Legion d'honneur:
Mr Roberts said: "I didn't take a lot of notice of this guy at the time. I just passed the prisoners on one after the other after searching them.
"But my mates who were watching the rest of the men saw this giant of a guy approach me and I was aware they and the Germans were having a good laugh."
Humour, it appears, is universal.
A great-grandfather of 93?
Impressive.
Oh, wait, perhaps you meant his age...
Still fairly impressive!
Posted by: Andrew Duffin | Thursday, 01 October 2015 at 12:19
Presumably he was issued with a ladder so that he could search the breast pocket.
Posted by: Whyaxye | Thursday, 01 October 2015 at 12:38
Maybe the tall fellow was a corner of the Atlantic Wall?
Posted by: Whitewall | Thursday, 01 October 2015 at 12:48
Perhaps a nearby officer ordered the German to kneel?
Posted by: backofanenvelope | Thursday, 01 October 2015 at 13:21
On a different note, I was reading somewhere that one of Cameron's (distant) ancestors was a man named Sir James Duff. Are you and Camron cousins perhaps?
Posted by: Dom | Friday, 02 October 2015 at 01:35
What if Lofty had a dagger or pistol under his hat?
Shorty Roberts would never have found it.
Posted by: Andra | Friday, 02 October 2015 at 02:49
Now look here, Duffin, I do the jokes round here!
Hello, BOE, you've been MIA for a while, I was beginning to worry.
Dom, Sir James Duff is never spoken of in this house!
Very true, Andra, but the fact is he looks so amiable I doubt he would have had the temperament to use it.
Posted by: David Duff | Friday, 02 October 2015 at 15:54