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Henk Joore

Jul 12, 2018 - 8:59AM

France 1940

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Ron Pier

Jul 12, 2018 - 10:05AM

Re: France 1940

Very sorry but I could never stand the bloke or his voice or his music:disappointed: Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Henk Joore

Jul 12, 2018 - 10:12AM

Re: France 1940

I really enjoy it but only for a short period of time :clock1:

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Ian Wright

Jul 12, 2018 - 11:30AM

Re: France 1940

'He, He, turned out nice again'....He can't have been all bad, he was a keen motorcyclist and he cheered people up when times were hard...Ian:laughing:

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Dean

Jul 12, 2018 - 1:49PM

Re: France 1940

And refused to play to segregated audiences when visiting Aparteid South Africa

trevor

Jul 12, 2018 - 3:18PM

Re: France 1940

What we tend to forget is the recording equipment of the time tended to shift sounds up the register and cut off a lot of the softer notes so most recording of the era sound a lot raspier that they were in real life

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

Ron Pier

Jul 12, 2018 - 5:52PM

Re: France 1940

Yep I know he was very popular and one of the highest paid performers of his time.....But like Jeremy Clarkson, as soon as I hear his voice I reach for the off button immediately :confounded:

I love a bit of Freddy Mercury though:microphone: Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

sir ewok

Jul 12, 2018 - 6:37PM

Re: France 1940

Didn't the troops suffer enough in France 1940......:fearful: Actually I enjoyed his TT races film and have it on DVD.

email (option): stinkypete80@hotmail.com

Rob Miller

Jul 12, 2018 - 6:57PM

Re: France 1940

His wartime Home Guard film "Get Cracking" is brilliant with some rather good motorcycle stunts.

Rob

email (option): robmiller11(a)yahoo.co.uk

Dean

Jul 12, 2018 - 8:50PM

Re: France 1940

Please, please Ron, don't associate George Formby with Clarkson. You may not appreciate Formby's work but he had genuine talent and kindness and brought great pleasure to millions whilst being modest and self effacing.

Rik

Jul 12, 2018 - 9:33PM

Re: France 1940

Gracie Fields visted the troops in France in 1940 too. Proper music-hall stuff. Authentically English...to my mind far preferable to all the Glenn Miller and simpering Vera Lynn that came later.

Steve willys

Jul 12, 2018 - 10:03PM

Re: France 1940

On a slightly different note, I have never seen camouflaged helmets like that before, anyone else seen them before?
Steve

email (option): Johnsonsteve386@gmail.com

Rik

Jul 12, 2018 - 10:26PM

Re: France 1940

They were 'Phantom' Signals.

There was a fair bit of ambiguity about a lot of the BEF instructions and a lot of local interpretation.

What is clear is that many units had painted signs on their helmets but when they went to France, they fitted the hessian covers. However, around December 1939 there was a BEF instruction to the effect that as the wired-on covers could not be removed quickly and easily for gas decontamination, they were no longer to be used but should remain until paint supplies had been issued to overpaint unit markings.

'Phantom' had quite a distinctive 'P' badge. Looking at how the disruptive is applied, it's hard to avoid the impression that, perhaps supplied with non-matching paint, they made a feature out of a necessity when overpainting the badges.

Ian Wright

Jul 12, 2018 - 10:34PM

Re: France 1940

['I love a bit of Freddy Mercury though ...']

Now that's one bloke I can't bloody stand!...:laughing:....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Rik

Jul 12, 2018 - 10:40PM

Re: France 1940

A slightly later photo of 'Phantom' back in the UK. It looks as if they had retained a disruptive pattern but re-applied the 'P' badge.

trevor

Jul 13, 2018 - 7:38AM

Re: France 1940

Interesting in that are all fairly old men.
Was this a brigade of WW I veterans doing the double up ?
In most of the photos the troops all look too young to shave but these blokes look like thay have been around a while.

email (option): bsansw1@tpg.com.au

Ron Pier

Jul 13, 2018 - 8:14AM

Re: France 1940

Wasn't David Niven an officer in Phantom Signals? Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Rik

Jul 13, 2018 - 9:17AM

Re: France 1940

Trevor, the BEF of 1940 was not young. I believe that the average age of fatalaties was 27 or so. It included a lot of recalled reservists.

Added to that, the working class had a pretty hard life during the depression years - Poor nutrition, left school at 14, chain-smoked ever since and a lack of dental care meaning lots of sunken cheeks...

It was a very different army from the one that went back to France in 1944.

rob

Jul 13, 2018 - 1:19PM

Re: France 1940

cant quite make out all the c number 43435? mine is 4343511

email (option): rob@scarface.gotadsl.co.uk

John Taylor

Jul 13, 2018 - 9:58PM

Re: France 1940

Hi
My son and I have one of these camouflage helmets in our militaria collection that was used by NZrs in the Pacific.
:wink:

email (option): jsaft1951@xtra.co.nz

FerG3

Jul 14, 2018 - 9:29PM

Re: France 1940

Rik

Gracie Fields visted the troops in France in 1940 too. Proper music-hall stuff. Authentically English...to my mind far preferable to all the Glenn Miller and simpering Vera Lynn that came later.

Mark Stephen Palmer

Aug 12, 2023 - 7:18PM

Re: France 1940

I realise this is quite old, but the BSA's all seem to be numbered 43431xx (I can see 4343102 and 434313x).

Thanks

Mongo

MongoUK

Aug 12, 2023 - 7:19PM

Re: France 1940

The P's were applied after the unit was re-formed after Dunkirk. No P's on helmets in the BEF. They were formed in Franc in Oct '39.

Thanks

MongoUK

Aug 12, 2023 - 7:22PM

Re: France 1940

1940/41-1943.

Niven never saw combat with Phantom.

There's a story about him being at Dieppe, but I've never seen any confirmation in documents.

MongoUK

Aug 12, 2023 - 7:26PM

Re: France 1940

My grandad is in the video for this. War-long Phantom.

Dave Boocock

Aug 13, 2023 - 12:17PM

Re: France 1940

My bike is in that serial range, C4343114, may be in that line up, who knows?
Maybe nice to do a Phantom bike. Not to sure about slinging a Lee Enfield like that.
I can remember a good few years ago, a thread about the locations of brackets etc.

Dave

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