The Most Important Victorian General You Don't Know
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- He was called the cleverest man in the British army and was hailed as the man who "pulled the army out of a hole in South African".
He won both the Iron Cross and the Legion of Honour and served in various capacities across the globe.
But General Sir Henry Brackenbury is now largely forgotten.
Author Chris Brice joins me today to a shine a light on this fascinating man and his excellent career in the British army.
Chris has also written a book on Brackenbury that can be purchased here - bit.ly/Brackenburybook
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It should be recorded that the late Surgeon Capt.Rick Jolly RN, who was made OBE for his command of the military hospital in the Falklands, was some years later awarded a decoration by Argentina for his care of their people injured in the same campaign. Rick applied for and received (from the highest possible authority!) permission for unrestricted wear of the award. A singularly deserving officer who lost not a single patient from either side
In the world we live in today, where every word uttered is scrutinized and criticized, it may not be considered fashionable or politically correct to discuss the British Empire. However, it is important to recognize that the era in which the British Empire existed was vastly different from our own. Personally, I hold a deep fascination for our historical empire and the countless battles waged under the proud symbol of the Union Jack. While it is true that we may not have had an abundance of exceptional leaders, the ordinary soldiers who fought under our flag demonstrated extraordinary bravery and resilience, particularly during the tumultuous Napoleonic wars.
Well said sir.
Ah and that is the part of history so many forget. It MUST be taken in context. Imagine criticising Egypt of the Pharos for not having invented the curved arch!
@@glynluff2595 splendid comment!
😊😊😊
😊😊😊❤
I have just finished binge watching Wellington's Peninsular Enemies; the Foot Guards, and now the Cleverest Man in the British Army. They are all excellent, interesting, enjoyable, and well done! I was off grid at our cabin in the wilds of British Columbia for a while. Its not at the end of the earth, but you can see it from there 😅! Thank you, Chris!
Thanks for the update Keith. I love the idea of an off grid cabin 👍
People go on about the weapons or the tactics but logistics and supply is what wins real wars.
As to the Nile, the River Column was going south but not "down the river." The Nile flows north.
It's just a common expression not meant to really infer direction
What kind of warped mind put the ’S’ in “lisp”?
exactly - "lithp"
Truly a remarkable person. I have always admired people who, by virtue of their position in the system, have seen shortcuts to meet needs that are not recognized by the general public and to act on formesaseurge and conduits. Here we have a shining example. Oh I'd be happy if you could unearth more from the past. Well done Chris and thanks to your for your wise co-host.👍👍👍
Thanks a lot - he was certainly an interesting character. Thanks for watching and commenting,
I cannot express enough how truly remarkable the videos you create on the Napoleonic period are. They provide an educational experience that is truly invaluable and would typically require a substantial financial investment in traditional educational settings. Thanks to your exceptional series, I have acquired a wealth of knowledge about the Napoleonic wars that surpasses any expectations I had.
Please continue producing your outstanding series, as it is undoubtedly a priceless resource for those eager to delve into the fascinating world of Napoleonic history
Thanks so much - a really great comment that makes all the hard work and research worth while.
Very interesting video. I was not aware of Brackenbury before watching this.
Fascinating. But in war promotion can be fast. My dad's 'boss' was Major-General Pip Roberts 11th Armoured Division. This chap was appointed ( acting) aged 37. Yet that was it and no further promotion but he did a great job.
I hadn't heard of this general before now, thank you, I think a new book purchase is on the cards
Great - really glad you enjoyed it.
"Whether you like it or not, career advancement (particularly in this era) comes on the battlefield." Who (among people who agree that the military should exist) could disagree with that? Given the alternatives (some of which you note elsewhere) are peacetime _guesswork_ (inferring skill at arms from inspection results, etc.), favoritism / nepotism, or simply counting the years someone processed oxygen into carbon dioxide while wearing a uniform, who could possibly disagree with making demonstrated competence in actual practice the main criterion for advancement in that (or any) field?
Re Franco Prussian War. A LT Col William Mayne, 23 January 1871. A letter of attorney signed in Starusberg , near Munich as it reads. I’m interested to find any information about this army officer
Thank you. I enjoyed the well-informed talk. It's a refreshing change.
very interesting...... greetings from GERMANY
Welcome! I love it when people from different countries watch.
Congratulations on this new video. I would like to point out an odd detail. The Iron Cross was conceived, and it remained, as the Prussian (and later German) classical military award for bravery in action. Therefore, Brackenbury should not have received this medal but the Order of the Red Eagle 4th Class. This distinction was awarded to soldiers (junior officers in the case of the 4th Class) as well as civilians but also to foreigners for valuable services to the Prussian state.
Strangely as it may seem, I found that two British officers were awarded this Prussian honour: Lt.-Col. George Henry Morris (1872-1914) killed in action as commander of the 1st battalion Irish Guards, and Lt.-Col. L.E.C. Worthington-Wilmer (1880-1956), Somerset Light Infantry.
Great info. Very much appreciated.
@@redcoathistory You are welcome. I am having trouble keeping up with your videos; their quantity is as high as their quality! 😁Regards and have a nice weekend.
I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem, I'm teeming with a lot o' news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
I'm very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.
Gilbert and Sullivan probably wrote that song based on this guy.
Wery howwid😂😂
Another excellent informative video as always Chris! This forgotten great men really deserve this sort of homage, thanks for sharing mate, best regards.
That's great feedback thanks. I always look forward for your comments. I hope all is going well.
So so interesting! Good job m8!
Thanks a lot
As I listen to your video's I can't help but think that Patronage, and Purchase, may have had far more benefits than drawbacks.
It seems like a lot of good officers would have been held back, or never commissioned if they hadn't grumbled in the right ear.
Great! Love this format where the guest focuses on some keep concepts and doesn’t drone on. You keep the narrative moving.
Thanks for watching, Richard.
I've always thought that rather than being "To late" the approach of Wilson's desert column was what triggered the final assault on Khartoum.
Was he related to Sir Robert Brackenbury who was Constable of the Tower of London during the reign of Edward IV and Richard III and died, I think, at Bosworth?
My house at school was named after him, but I never knew who he was.
Some time after the Falklands War Surgeon Commander Rick Jolly RN received a medal from the Argentinian Government. This was awarded as Commander Jolly made absolutely sure all the wounded from both sides in the conflict were treated on the basis of who required medical attention most urgently. He also visited Argentina and met some of veterans from the Argentine forces he had treated. He received permission from HM Queen Elizabeth 11 to wear thee Argentinian medal.
The American General Bradley is reputed to have said about war, amateurs talk strategy but professionals discuss logistics.
I didn't know that putting on a lisp at that time was fasionable.Very interesting, thank you.
Ha ha bizarre isn't it?
Excellent as always Chris!
Thanks a lot.
I've only found one book on the 2nd Ashanti war.
I would LOVE a full episode !
What an interesting man, really a man of his time. Someone who was probably needed in Crimea, but then what would have happened against the Boers. More than I can deal with. His organisation of the Ordinance factories was a feat in itself and capped off his marvellous career.
Not a lisp ! What causes a lisp?
A lisp is caused by an incorrect motor pattern of tongue positioning and movement. When a person has a lisp, they're positioning their tongue in a way that obstructs the airflow needed to make the /s/ and /z/ sounds. That distorted airflow creates the lisping sound.
Great info.
@@redcoathistory Great prog
Interesting and remarkable, but sadly, it leaves me with an image of that British officer in the movie ‘Gettysburg’.
Good job his name wasn’t Woger, Wobert or Waymond.
Love the comment, ‘… a shagger. They always say the ones you wouldn’t expect…’. Funny, but true.
Bwackenbuwy ithn't a lithp. Wipping yarn, though.
Getting the iron cross and legions ‘honneur was like captain Jolly getting an Argentinian “Order of May and a British OBE for his time running a Field Hospital during the Falklands war
Can you do a piece on Gordon of Khartoum? Or the wars in the sudan
I suppose one could say he was the very model of a modern major general.
Lord Wantage also presented a large statue of Alfred the Great, who was born nearby, and the VC Gallery to the town of of Wantage.
Well, between you and the History Chap, I don’t really need to watch anything else!
Excellent, glad to hear it.
That photo of him looks like Sir Ralph Richardson.
Getting both medals is like Dr Rick Jolly, head of the British field hospital during the Falklands war who got both British and Argentinian medals.
His rule (actually the hypocritical oath that all doctors obey) was that once you arrived in the hospital you were treated based on medical need not uniform. He received the Orden de Mayo from Argentina.
When asking permission of the queen to wear a medal issued by the “enemy” he was ordered to wear it on all occasions on behalf of the medical staff that had earnt it in the “red and green life saving machine” as the hospital was known.
Thanks, I didn't know that. Great story.
It's highly important that there are enough musicians when you go to war lol!!!!
😂
Excellent Work!
When can we expect a video on General Woolsey.
And yet Buller gets a statue and all the credit.
This is a really good channel.
Thanks mate. Appreciate the compliment. Trying hard to keep the content coming. Got a video on Op Banner coming soon and also one on the Abyssinian campaign.
Logistics is a military issue.
It is such a great pleasure to listen to someone who has the knowledge and knows how to present it .
The 'most clever'
Pronouncing R as W is surely not a lisp?
No, a lisp is a problem with the 's' sounding 'th'. The r/w transposition is a condition called rhotacism. Real sufferers these days are historian Lucy Worsley and Jonathan Ross!
No insult intended,
But is your own lisp an affectation or the product of a general penchant for lisping in the London accent? This passion for lisping really become extreme in some Black Londoners and takes their speech out to the edge of inteligability.
Hilarious comment. Thanks a lot.
The cleverest man in the British army , was a English man .
😅a lisp is only regarding s / z sounds .w/r speech impediment is called rhotacism
I'm glad we cleared that up. I'll sleep better tonight 😁
Fabulous episode
Thanks, Michael.
Can anyone tell me the title of Chris Brice's book?
The Thinking Man's Soldier
Few places better for learning what not to do than the British Army.
Bit of a myth really.
Yup. I recall my favourite US Tech Docs each with two pictures for every learning point, picture 1 crossed out with "Not Like This", Picture 2 perfection in miniature "Like This". By their very nature the Tech Docs lured one into speculating many many more options for Picture 1. Never any options for Picture 2. Amongst us there was a supposition of at best a 50/50 chance which picture would be adopted as the right way by the target audience for the Tech Docs. @@dulls8475
an innability to pronounce the R sound is not a lisp,an affectation yes ,a lisp making an involuntary chee sound at a words end is a lisp
Yes. When it comes to the promotion game combat experience is gold-dust. Always has been