This is so British- As hundreds of Argentine troops invaded the Falkland Islands, a small garrison of ( I think) around 60 British soldiers put up a defensive fight for a couple of hours. Eventually the Argentinian commander raised a white flag and approached the British officer, telling him something along the lines of ' You are outnumbered and to continue would be fruitless, the best thing would be to surrender'. To which the British officer replied ' We accept your surrender '.😊
they also sung "all ways look on the bright side of life" after surrendering odd l checked the numbers of defenders 57 Royal Marines · 11 armed sailors · 40 militia or 68 marines and eleven naval hydrographers, assisted by 23 volunteers of the Falkland Islands Defence Force
They were actually ordered to surrender by the Governor of the Falklands, he feared they would not otherwise surrender and start taking casualties, it was also a few more than 20, but sill heavily outnumbered and massively outgunned.
I like the quote from Churchill when Lady Astor said "If I were your wife I would poison your tea to which Churchill replied Nancy if I were your husband I'D DRINK IT."
I believe the late Queen was once approached by US tourists while she was in Balmoral and they asked her if she had ever seen the Queen. She responded that she had not seen the Queen, but he has pointing to her Bodyguard.
@@mwscuba Well it was reported in the Independent a British Newspaper, as below. Queen Elizabeth II’s former bodyguard has revealed what the monarch said to an American hiker who asked her whether she “had met the Queen”. The former royal protection officer Richard Griffin, who was known as Dick, recalled the time when Her Majesty was out in the hills near her Scottish castle at Balmoral when two tourists on holiday approached and one of them engaged her in conversation. The hiker asked the Queen where exactly she lived, to which she responded: London. The Queen, who died at the Balmoral castle on Thursday (8 September) afternoon, told the hiker that she had a holiday home just over the hill and had been visiting the area for more than 80 years since she was a child.
My favourite one isn’t on here. When Princess Anne was 23, someone fired shots into her car and a few people were injured and it was a kidnap attempt. The man told her to come with him and she said “not bloody likely!”!!!!!!! People had been shot and she still wouldn’t go with him. Classy
During the 1982 Falklands Conflict an assault by the Parachute Regiment lead to one of the troopers being injured by a mortar explosion. Para Legend has it that the injured soldier shouted ‘Ive lost me F***ing leg’ and a mate shouted back ‘No you havent mate its just landed over here’.
@@stevenmclaren2730- Yes. It’s the sort of black humour you get in the forces. My Grandad as a new recruit at The Somme jumped into a shell hole to escape a German counter barrage to an attack. He jumped into find the hole occupied by a muddy looking tired corporal and a horribly decaying and very smelly body. He had never seen a dead person before and was staring in horror at the exposed skull with flesh hanging off it. The corporal saw his stare, calmly drawing from his cigarette, and said “Do you know his problem mate? F- bone idle.”
@@stevenmclaren2730 On the TV at the time I saw a guy on a stretcher with his leg missing after one of the landing ships was hit. But I doubt he said anything witty . I wouldn't say he didn't though.
When I was young and good looking I was tasked with escorting The Queen Mother around Sotheby's in London. During the tour an American tourist trying to get a better perspective on a picture walked out of a side gallery backwards, he bumped into her so hard it knocked her up against the wall. As I stepped in to save her from the inadvertent assault, the American turned around to apologise. The look on his face when he realised who she was was only upstaged by the fact he immediately fell to his knees wailing in distress. The assembled dignitaries were all nonplussed as she put out her hand and gently laid it on his head, with perfect comic timing she said "It's alright, we don't send people to the Tower anymore". Last I saw of him as we moved on he was a blubbering wreck being helped to his feet by her security chap ... She was a lot of fun that day, I liked her immensely.
@@heavymetalgentleman9050 Very strange isn't it? Time actually slowed down. I saw the shocked faced of the driver as I flew over and that's when I thought what I thought. I didn't even feel afraid, just like, an `Oh well.` moment. Very British I guess. When I hit the ground time then speeded up again. I'll never for get it.
My reaction to being in a car crash, where (mainly because of the speed) I slowly realised I was going to die (or so I thought): “This is going to be expensive.” “This is going to hurt.” “This is going to kill me.” “Oh well, I’ve had a good innings.” (Not a scratch, btw.)
I used to be in the British Territorial Army in the late 90's. A member of our unit was injured in Bosnia and told us on the army hospital ward of about 40 soldiers, only one had been given their morphine in the field when they were injured. With injuries from broken bones to amputation, they all said, "Save it, something worse might happen on the way back". The only one that had been given his morphine hadn't been given a choice by his unit.
The saddest day in British history was the death of Princess Diana. Not her death as sad as it was. But rather the hysterical wailing of the British public. It marked the day the British stiff upper lip ended.
Served in the British army for 8 years, one thing that always stood out. We where attached to an American battalion and after quite the shittestest night I've ever experiences, my mate got his jet boil out as said 'well that was a load of bollocks, fancy a brew?' to which I replied 'Yeah go on then mate 'and so did the other brits. The Americans where like 'are you not even kidding right now? you are just Gunna sit there and have TEA after that!?' To which my other pal quite apetaly replied 'No, we have gunna smoke a rollie aswell' and pulled out his pouch of amber leaf. American always seem surprised at our calm demeaner. Always made me chuckle. Really enjoyed the times I was deployed with the americans.
That's a lovely story. :) I'm an army brat and been amongst British military all my life; strong, chilled, unflappable people with heart, and an "all in a day's work" attitude. ❤
My Brother was climbing a rock face on Bodmin Moor in Southern England in 2008 when he fell. I yelled over "Are you okay? Do you need an Ambulance?" I couldn't see him and he said back calmly, "I'm okay." a few seconds later he continued, (again really calmly) "Actually I maaaay need an ambulance." I finally got over to him and his foot was hanging off his ankle attached only by some skin and tendons. That mad lad made bad puns and laughed from that moment, on the air ambulance and all the way into surgery. He died in 2021 God I miss him, he was built differently.
My favourite 'British understatement' quote is from the Korean War when 650 British troops were holding the line against a Chinese division of 10,000 men. They fought a desperate, losing battle for two days when an American major general, Robert H. Soule, asked brigadier Thomas Brodie how they were getting on. Brodie responded with "A bit sticky, things are pretty sticky down there," meaning they were being overwhelmed. Soule understandably didn't recognise how hopeless the situation was and ordered them to hold their ground, which they did until the last survivors were rescued by a tank column.
During the blitz a n elderly London woman was stretchered from the ruins of her bombed out house clutching a half bottle of whisky. One of the firemen carrying the stretcher suggested she might need a good drop of it her reply was "not a chance, i'm saving it in case something serious happens"
The leader of the British Liberal Democratic Party in the 90's was (Sir, later Lord) Paddy Ashdown, an ex British Marines officer, he visited British troops in Bosnia. Went on patrol with them, and was subject to a mortar attack. When the press asked how he felt during the attack, he calmly replied (paraphrased) "Oh, one mortar is much like another". As an ex enlisted soldier, I can swear, we expect this from our officers, the rank and file don't respect commanders that panic.
In 1983, the IRA blew up the hotel where the Conservative Party had gathered for their annual conference. Multiple people were killed a d I understand the ceiling collapsed just near where Thatcher's husband had been sleeping moments before. In the morning, Thatcher appeared before the conference and gave a defiant speech, as she put it "shocked but composed". Say what you will about her or her policies (many hate her), she was hard as nails.
I was never a fan of thatchers but credit where credits due when she went into political war especially with the EU she went in swinging her handbag for the UK
HMS Birkenhed was sinking off the coast of S. Africa. It was carrying soldiers and their.wives and children. The colonel called.out "Women and children first. Men stand fast". Not a single woman or child was lost. Not a single man was saved. The Birkenhead Drill for safety at sea.. We dont look for these men. They step forward when required. You lost barely 3000 on 11/9/01 and ran around like headless chickens. We lost 40,000 in The Blitz and simply carried on.
on 07/07/05 a series of bombing occured across Londons transport networks on buses and trains killing 52 innocent people, on 08/07/05 people waiting at bus stops jokingly complained that the bus's were running a bit late because of the new open top conversion someone had decided on. Dark humour is our bread and butter.
to steve taylor, on 9-11 the Americans were not runnin around like chickens with no heads, listen you idiot, on that day there were many very brave Americans, saving lives, firemen, police, civilians. iam a brit, but do not insult the Americans who died on that day, and do not insult the very brave Americans, who saved many lives, the last plane to go down, was full of brave passengers who took over the plane, and fought of the terrorist, sadly they could not save themselvs, on 9-11 there were many brave Americans.
The Birkenhead Protocol is what gave birth to the women and children first doctrine. The men stood to attention as the boat went down. Thankfully the feminist crusade means we can now now push the women and children out off the way to save ourselves, or stand to attention like we have a pair of bollocks. Although if it has purple/blue/pink or some such colour I'll still push it out off the way.
It’s not a contest . We all handle things in our own way . I’m English too and we don’t forget our manners either . The Americans are on our side thank goodness ..
My father was a chronic asthmatic and his name was Joseph, he wanted on his grave stone, “ here lies the body of mouldy old Joe, his death came quick but his breath came slow” he was 44yrs old when he died.
Spike Milligan did a lot of comedy work with his partner Harry Seacombe. The met during world war 2 while both serving in the army. During a test firing of large artillary guns that Spike Milligan was involved with one of the guns began to roll down hill and tore straight through a large tent Harry Seacombe was in. Spike ran into the tent and asked "Has anyone seen a gun?". Harry replied "What colour?"
USA navy was hit by hurricane twice during WWII. After second hurricane US admiral asked some Royal navy ships that were present how they managed the storm. The answer was "What storm?"
That is true. My late father in law was on one of the British ships at that time and he told me about it. I forget the name of the Admiral who said it ubt there was a hell of a row afterwards. The US admiral did not appreciate it; after all he had lost a number of his wn ship, sunk by the weather plus some of the larger US ships (cruisers etc) had signifcant damage such as one with its fo'csle stove back 60 feet. Another item he told me about was the effect of kamikaze attacks. The US Navy had carriers with wooden flight decks which meant that often a kamikaze would go through the flight deck and explode in he hangar space, and the British ones had steel decks. To quote him: "When a kamikaze hit a British ship, it was 'Out brushes and sweep them over the side'".
I like the quote from Lord Mountbatten. The American navy was in Malta harbour & sent a message to the Royal Navy who was coming into saying “the biggest navy in the world welcome you “ & Mountbatten replied “ and the best thank you”.
@@GeraldineMulligan In Afghanistan the US Marines had a sign painted at their base with their unit crest and the slogan “Second to none!” The Royal Marines also had a sign painted with their crest on it. Underneath was written one word “None”.
One of the best quotes was from William Connor, journalist with the Daily Mirror, restarting him column after World War II with "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted............."
21:43 My grandad when he passed had already set up all the plans for his funeral including, what poems he wanted read, what songs were to be played and when and so forth. He had everything typed up in word documents with instructions that when he passed the documents just be E-mailed to the coordinator for the service. At the start of the service, all of the family were waiting for the casket to be carried in. When suddenly "Flight of the Valkyries" begins being played throughout the room and everyone looks around initially pretty confused before noticing the pallbearers entering with the casket. The poems read were all more about celebrating and appreciating life, having no regrets and embracing and overcoming the challenges life throws at you and the strength of character that builds. At the end of the service as everyone is told they can now form a line and approach the casket as they exit if they wish to pay any finish respects, "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gee's then begins blasting out of the audio system. Now many years later, that service still sticks in my mind as a testament to the person my Grandad was and a celebration of the life he had lived rather than as a mourning of his passing.
Always look on the bright side of life, Lyrics: Some things in life are bad They can really make you mad Other things just make you swear and curse When you're chewing on life's gristle Don't grumble, give a whistle And this'll help things turn out for the best And Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the light side of life If life seems jolly rotten There's something you've forgotten And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing When you're feeling in the dumps Don't be silly chumps Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing And Always look on the bright side of life (Come on) Always look on the right side of life For life is quite absurd And death's the final word You must always face the curtain with a bow Forget about your sin Give the audience a grin Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow So always look on the bright side of death A just before you draw your terminal breath Life's a piece of shit When you look at it Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true You'll see it's all a show Keep 'em laughin' as you go Just remember that the last laugh is on you And Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the right side of life (C'mon Brian, cheer up) Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the bright side of life Always look on the bright side of life I mean, what have you got to lose? You know, you come from nothing You're going back to nothing What have you lost? Nothing Always look on the right side of life Nothing will come from nothing, ya know what they say Cheer up ya old bugga c'mon give us a grin (Always look on the right side of life) There ya are, see It's the end of the film Incidentally this record's available in the foyer (Always look on the right side of life) Some of us got to live as well, you know (Always look on the right side of life) Who do you think pays for all this rubbish (Always look on the right side of life) They're not gonna make their money back, you know I told them, I said to him, Bernie, I said they'll never make their money back (Always look on the right side of life)
It's a great film, but ...... The list of British comedies that are masterpieces is long and proud. You Americans should know, you steal all the formats.
@rorykeegan1895 I'm Norwegian, and I grew up with British comedy shows on TV. We don't need, nor would we EVER want to, change a thing about any of it. Our humour is very similar. You're just so much better at creating comedy than we are. But there's no movie better than Life of Brian to showcase the genius of British comedy. I will die on that hill! It's so brilliantly ridiculous and creatively done. 👏👏👏
The song 'Always look on the bright side' comes from the Monty Python film called the 'Life of Brian'. There are several other notable scenes from the film worth reacting to. such as Biggus Dickus (try not to laugh) and the Stoning scene with John Cleese.
The movie is not THAT funny or witty - especially not the crucifixion scene, but let's get back to the royals: King Charles I before his execution took off his white? gloves, gave them to the executioner, saying: "Here you are - I don't need them any more!" Then.... whack!
It's not just the men, British woman can survive for decades on spite alone. My nan had to walk 2 miles to hospital during a 3 month blizard in 1962, my mum was born early, jaundiced and incredibly weak, and what did my nan have to say about it? "Well the roads were closed, how else was i going to get there?" R.I.P. nan, you were incredible. My mum was a biker before i crashed her lifestyle, once on the way to work (She was a nurse at the time) she got side swiped by a van, her and her bike went down an incline at 30mph. Mum dragged herself up that incline with a broken collar bone, shattered radius and dislocated knee. And that's just my mum's side, my Dad's mother is a whole other kettle of fish! She's currently 97, has 2 broken hips, a wound that won't heal and recently had covid and pneumonia.... I reckon she won't die till her last enemy does!
One of my favourite quotes is from Sir Winston Churchill. A lady said to him "Winston you're drunk" To which he replied "Madam you're ugly. Tomorrow I shall be sober".
The "other guy " was His Grace, The Duke of Wellington. The four countries of the British Isles do not encourage histrionics or panicking. It's not "crazy", simply bravery and fortitude.
My friend had 'Over The Rainbow' playing as people went into the church for his funeral and as they left it was the theme song for Red Dwarf!!! I loved that man. ❤
Both Paget and Wellington were sitting on their horses at the time when a cannon ball took Paget's leg. "By god sir, I've lost my leg". "By god sir, so you have".
I work as a butcher in york, while i was cutting the bone out of a lamb chump steak. I ended up cutting my index finger on my left hand and it cut deep down. It bled everywhere, i turned to my boss and said very calmly "sir, ill need to step out for a minute" so i did to bandage up the wound, then i carried on working until the end of the day before i went to get it looked at.... i still have it and it still works
My partner worked as a welder/fabricator..a huge overhead chain for a bollard swung and took off the top of his index on his left hand, too He just turned to his foreman and said "Look what I've done" The foreman was stunned..
Glad you enjoyed this. They’re very funny as well as being exactly right. But that there blitz. Yeah. Imagine 9/11 happening every day for 2 years. That’s where we get our stoicism.
Our neighbours' (not british) house caught fire so we offered them a cup of tea while the firefighters were putting it out. They gave us the weirdest look 🧐
@pauloldfield8378 In 1815, in The Massachussets Spy. In 1830, the Huron Reflector newspaper gave the definition of the term. By the 1840s, it was widely used over in the US. It didn't appear in the UK until the mid-1840s.
A few points. 1) If you watch the film Waterloo (1970) you'll get a better idea of how much pathos there was in the understatements. 2) Spike Milligan was one of the guest stars on The Muppet Show and left most them nonplussed. 3) Francis Drake had no choice but to finish a game of bowls; the tide was against him at that point.
I was on a Sea Cadet course in Derbyshire. On top of Kinder Scout- right at the top- I sprained my ankle so badly I couldn't walk. I laughed so hard and after ten minutes I insisted on going on. Then, a few months later on my Gold DofE expedition, I re-sprained it. I'm pretty sure all I said was 'bugger'. My main concerns weren't if I'd completely ruined my ankle forever, or if I had broken it this time. It was, 'will the assessors pull me out and will I have to re-do it' and 'will I ever be able to live down the indignity of being piggy-backed into Hexworthy' We Brits are built different!
We were managing a pub in Liverpool city centre , some guy came in with a sawnoff and threatened my husband with the gun, pointing it at him. He said ok but ,you better not fkn miss. The guy left , he must have thought he was crazy and he’d better leave. That story went on at parties for a while.
I rather suspect the faulty bodyguard probably had a military background. I've seen a workmate who was ex-army disappear under his desk at lightning speed when a car unexectedly backfired loudly outside in the street. And my late partner was fast asleep in his armchair until a sudden loud explosion-like sound effect had him out of his chair and taking cover beside it in a split second. Trained reflexes take over sometimes. If you're slow and stop to think about "am I being shot at" you might die.
Another great example that im surprised wasnt in the video is Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, a british officer who survived both world wars, got shot several times including in the eye, the ear, the hip, the leg and ankle and he also survived two plane crashes and survived as a prisoner of war for multiple years. And after being interviewed about his military career and the fatal injuries he had survived, he wrote "Frankly, i had enjoyed the war."
@rorykeegan1895 obvious I'd have thought - cowardice and dishonour. He was vilified by Public Opinion. He saved himself at the cost of a child. Shameful.
@@BarbaraNixon-h8bthat assumes there would have been someone to save, the Titanic was a fairly chaotic evacuation and while I'm not wholly familiar with the circumstances ultimately responsibility lies with the crew that were in the lifeboat not him.
I've always said that, if I were in a tight spot I would hate to be sharing it with Yanks. They scream & shout & panic & go mental. I was walking the dog one day when a woman (American) crashed her car. She was ok, a couple of scratches on her face, nothing more. We were chatting and suddenly another car came screaming up, parked in the middle of the road and an hysterical girl jumped out uttering blood-curdling shrieks & threw herself towards her mum, who started bellowing herself. I kept telling the girl her mum was fine but neither of them would shut up! Everyone was so embarrassed, we didn't know where to look!! The ambulance had just arrived and one of them said: "Well if she can make that kind of noise there doesn't seem to be too much wrong." Which sent daughter into full-blown hysterics. I;ve never forgotten it - especially in times I've been in danger/trouble myself.TH-cam these days is full of people from the USA screaming and shouting just for being in an ordinary traffic stop!!
That wasn't the worst British accent we've ever heard, trust me. Dick Van Dyke in famous, (or infamous), for his accent in Mary Poppins. That was truly the worst accent in history, and you would have to try very, very hard to beat it!
You'd be hard pressed to go past Ray Walston (My favourite Martian & Paint your wagon) or James Coburn (The Great Escape) trying to do an Aussie accent lol. But yeah Dick Van Dyke was certainly up there.
I'll have you know Dick Van Dyke's accent in Mary Poppins was, whether by accident or design, an excellent approximation of an early 20th century Australian accent. The fact he was supposed to be a cockney is neither here nor there.
Really? I thought it was utterly terrible. Nobody in England sounds even vaguely like an American trying to be British. The biggest mistake being Americans have no ear for the class structure, they always put oiks words in toffs mouths. Awful.
My children, then aged 5 and 7 were out playing in the street. (Very common in the 80's.) The eldest came running in and shouted, "Come quickly, Mummy! Michael's ruined his new trousers." I went outside. Michael had fallen of his friend's bike, face first, knocked forward 2 bottom teeth and took a chunk of flesh out of his chin. There was blood everywhere, including all over his new trousers! We learn our stoicism young in the UK. I cleaned him up, re-sited his baby teeth and changed his clothes. I was trying to hug him better" when he asked, "Mummy, you will be able to wash the blood out of my new trousers, won't you?"
A story about the late Queen was when she was meeting the people. She was speaking to a lady when the ladies' phone rang. The lady, embarrassed, apologised. To which Her Majesty replied " You should answer that, it might be someone important. " From Mick.D.
Another great video Tyler, thanks! More on great British military commanders: Major-General Roy Urquhart was the commander of 1st Airborne Division in WW2 and took part in Operation Market Garden. The film "A Bridge Too Far" was made following the events of Operation Market Garden and Sean Connery was cast to play Urquhart, whilst Urquhart was a military advisor for the film. There was a scene being shot where Sean Connery (as Urquhart) had to move from one building to another whilst under fire and, naturally, Connery ducks and sprints across the street. Famously, Urquhart supposedly said something along the lines of "No no no, British officers don't duck!", referencing the military tradition that a British officer should seem entirely without fear and completely in control of his emotions and actions at all times in order to inspire the confidence required to lead his men. Urquhart was adamant that any British officer, not just himself, would have walked upright calmly across the street under fire, rather than show any fear. What started as the societal standard for a gentleman necessarily became the professional standard for a military officer in Britain due to the origin of the British Army's command structure and became entrenched in British Army doctrine. Its been that way for at least five or six hundred years, if not more!
When a Brit is asked “are you okay?” or equivalent, the absolute BEST you’ll ever get back from us is “yeah, not too bad”. We’re fine with things being bad because we’ve already been through worse.
My favourite quote from British history belongs to Adrian Carton de Wiart. At the end of WW1 he wrote "Frankly I enjoyed the war". He was shot in the eye and ripped of his own fingers when a nurse refused to amputate
I couldn’t help but mention this. My Grandad used to work in a lumber mill back in the 80’s. One day his hand slipped whilst operating a chain saw. He lost the tips of his fingers on his left hand. His initial reaction was, “Oh! Looks like I’ve gone & done it now.”
Tyler, these are perfect examples of what was called 'the stiff upper lip' meaning you belittle and downplay any adversity. It was once very normal here, but sadly the 'import' of American TV, Jerry Springer and the like, where people display publicly every private emotion has lessened that and we see similar on 'reality' shows etc. When I was a boy British people never 'showed emotion' in public. ;-)
We Brits have a tendency to understate things as a example when about to be overwhelmed by German troops the British commander reported the situation as 'A bit sticky' and as a result the American he was speaking to didn't send any reinforcements. As for the way British officers react well we train them to show no regard for danger when they filmed a bridge too far the ex army officer consulting on the film told one of the actors that during a scene crossing a road under artillery fire that he needed to 'stand up straight and not rush'
The "A bit sticky" quote was from the Korea War, when the Glorious Glosters, when 650 soldiers of the 1stBattalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, were confronted by approx 10,000 Chinese soldiers at Imjin River.
My long late Gramps insisted that author and traveller Rudyard Kipling had great quotes for every situation. My own two favourites are from his boyhood adventure book, Kim. "For Kim did nothing, with immense success", and "There is no sin more great than ignorance." All my kids, and all my grandsons were tasked with reading Kim before their 10th birthday - or no new bike. 😅
The Queen was tiny and was told to wear bright colours. She preferred to be with her dogs, horses or zooming around in a Land Rover wearing wellies and a Barbour...😅
The best one I read about. South Georgia British surrender. A handful of RMs lay down their weapons after a brief firefight. Being completely overwhelmed and outnumbered. The ferocity of the fight led the Argentinians to nervously keep the captured RMs covered with their weapons. RM Captain walks over. 'My men think they are about to be executed. If your men don't lower their wespons, you will be attacked'. Weapons quickly lowered.
"During the two-hour Battle of Grytviken on 3 April 1982, Lieutenant Mills' detachment of 22 Royal Marines inflicted damage on the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico, hitting her with an 84mm anti-tank rocket and many rounds of small arms fire, and shot down a Puma helicopter, killing two Argentine Marines and one sailor, while sustaining one wounded on the British side."
I only ever made a typical British statement in work. Whilst accidentally almost dropping my Stanley knife then quickly grabbing it out of the air as it fell. I managed to stab myself in the stomach. A colleague of mine said "Have you just done what I think you have". "Yes" I said "I've just ruined a bloody good tee-shirt". To which those in earshot almost fell about laughing.
Perhaps my favourite quote from any British person ever is attributed to Samuel Foote. He was told that he would end up either dying by hanging or from syphilis, and retorted “that depends, my lord, on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress”.
My mother, on relating that the family home had been wrecked by bombing in The Blitz, with all the doors and windows smashed along with their furniture: "Our dog got a tiny bit of glass in its paw, which it always held up when it wanted sympathy ever after - silly thing". No mention of the fact that all their personal posessions had been destroyed and they had nowhere to live.
It's not about joking, it's just British understatement. We don't like to get too excited, or make too much fuss, just our matter of fact attitude. Admiral Beaty's ships were getting blown out of the water by the German enemy, with thousands of men dying in them, that's what was wrong with them. In the film 'Waterloo' both these officers are on horseback when the leg was blown off. Wellington was the man who finally beat Napoleon Bonaparte. During the war the 'Blitz' spirit in Britain meant 'Keep calm & Carry on', becoming the normal attitude.
It wasn't that the Queen said she would not be recognised, it was so that the people who came to see her, could actually see her as she stood out from the crowd.
"Real bullets, fired out of guns." Well, I suppose that as Brits, we are not on the same level as the US with gun ownership. For decades, we tried to perfect firing real bullets from sausages. This was proving to be a difficult task until, in the 1970s, an American tourist went to watch the changing of the guard. After a while, he realised that the guards were armed with rather large sausages topped with bayonets. Of course, the American was very confused by this display. He went immediately to the American embassy, who in turn contacted the British embassy. They then spoke to parliament, who contacted the Bognor Regis Sausage Rifle and Chipolata Hand Gun Manufacturers. The government supplied them with detailed drawings of various rifles and guns thanks to the American tourist. The Bognor Regis Sausage Rifle and Chipolata Hand Gun Manufactuers became Bognor Regis Arms or BRA for short. This, in turn, caused George to be hiding under a table. And we have never looked back.
Capt Laurence Oates, with Robert Scott's Antarctic Expedition. On realising his condition was holding up and therefore endangering the lives of his comrades, he left the tent and simply walked off, saying: "I'm just going outside, and may be some time."
When my dad passed away he had the Monty python song played at his song. Always look on the bright side of life. He also had the beetles song mystery tour. And then a song that his grandad sung in the stage in the London theatres at the turn of the century called “ I don’t wanna get well, as I’m in love with a beautiful nurse” pretty iconic as my mum was a nurse.
Some call it the "Blitz spirit", others "stiff upper lip". what ever you want to call it, we Brits are undisputed World Grand Masters of Understatement. We're also emotional cripples, which helps loads!
When the Titanic was sinking, it was agreed that all the women and children should leave first, and the men stay behind, in the hope another ship would arrive soon. In the movie, some of the men tried to cheat and leave with the women. No one is really sure of what happened since those on the lifeboats weren’t witnesses to what happened after they had left. There was a woman who was interviewed about her survival on the Titanic, but her memories were vague because she was a little girl at that time - 1912. 112 years ago.
Is your reference the James Cameron film? It’s old but good. I enjoyed it! But I doubt anyone reading hasn’t seen the film, a film isn’t a factual accounting of events, as I think you alluded to that point. But it was probably the best accurate account, to date. Though it’s not first hand evidence.
@@kevinfairclough4619 - As a teen I knew Elizabeth and Madeleine Mellenger, a mother and daughter who were survivors. Their boat #14 went back for people in the water. One was 2nd Officer Lightholler. Elizabeth gave him her cloak to keep warm and he gave her his officer's whistle. Both articles are now in the Maritime Museum. Lightholler helped rescue soldiers from Dunkirk in his own private boat and also used it to spy on Nazi naval bases. James Cameron also went to school with my cousin in Chippawa, Ontario.
One British army officer during the Korean War when asked by the Americans over the radio if everything was ok on a hill where he was posted said “it’s gating a bit tasty” while being attacked by 1000 chines troops while he only had 72 men and he only lost 3 men and 4 wounded. And the Americans best every thing was fine because the British were to polite to ask for reinforcements 😂
These are all about the stereotypical British understatement and "Keep calm and carry on". Apparently the Queen always wore pastel coloured outfits and a hat so that the bodyguards could see her clearly among a crowd and get her to safety should any trouble arise.
I like the English north south divide humour, Northerners look down on Southern softies. 'Southerners are urged not to travel unless absolutely neccesary. Northerners should put on their big coat': Twitter users see the funny side as Britain struggles to work on Black Ice Monday Winter 2017
Maggie was also blown up by the IRA in the Brighton Hotel bombing. The bomb went off at 3am. Five people died, 30 odd injured - and they came VERY close to Thatcher - if she had been in the bathroom she would have been cut to ribbons. Yet, she was on stage addressing the conference 6 hours later, to a standing ovation. Being unfazed, calm and unflappable in the face of danger and disaster is a very coveted British trait, and if you can slip in a witty one liner, even cooler! A personal favourite, despite its tragic consequences, was at the battle of the Imjin River in Korea. The 657 men of the 1st Battalion of The Gloucestershire Regt as part of the Commonwealth Brigade was attacked by 3 divisions (27,000 men in 27 infantry battalions). During one of their last communications with UN Command the American general asked if the Brigade should withdraw was told “Things are a bit sticky, sir” - which in English meant all hell was breaking loose and extremely dire and we cannot hold. The American general assumed it meant, "thing are rough but we can manage". So the American General instructed the troops to stay put, not to withdraw - so they didn't.
Another great quote ill never forget during ww2 british commandos did a raid in St Nazzaire in France to destroy a naval docking site where it could keep germany's largest and most powerful battleship the Tirpitz. Long story short halfway up the canal they got caught out and all hell broke loose. They made it to the dock and while they were still being absolutely pounded by machine gun fire and flak guns and the Commander of the Ship Commader Beaty turned around and said "Well there we are, only 4 minutes late".
The man who responded with "By God! Sir, So you have!" Was Arthur Wellesley The Duke of Wellington, the Field Marshal commanding the British, Dutch, Hanoverian, Duchy of Brunswick and the Duchy of Nassau at the battle of Waterloo 8ft between the commander in chief for the allies and death. FYI Wellington commanded the British, Portuguese and nominally the Spanish from 1808 - 1814 reportedly never taking a day off.
For a while he held every senior government office at once except for Lord Chancellor, i.e. he was prime minister, foreign secretary, home secretary, etc. This was while a message was sent to Italy and they waited for the man expected to be the next PM to return, The DoW accepted the position of PM temporarily and didn't want to make any appointments that might need to be overridden.
This is so British- As hundreds of Argentine troops invaded the Falkland Islands, a small garrison of ( I think) around 60 British soldiers put up a defensive fight for a couple of hours.
Eventually the Argentinian commander raised a white flag and approached the British officer, telling him something along the lines of ' You are outnumbered and to continue would be fruitless, the best thing would be to surrender'.
To which the British officer replied ' We accept your surrender '.😊
😂😂😂😂
they also sung "all ways look on the bright side of life" after surrendering
odd l checked the numbers of defenders
57 Royal Marines · 11 armed sailors · 40 militia
or
68 marines and eleven naval hydrographers, assisted by 23 volunteers of the Falkland Islands Defence Force
They were actually ordered to surrender by the Governor of the Falklands, he feared they would not otherwise surrender and start taking casualties, it was also a few more than 20, but sill heavily outnumbered and massively outgunned.
Cheers guys, couldn't remember the full story, just the outline of it, not really been mentioned since back then .
Will edit number above.
@@Shaun.ALAW. I believe the same thing happened on the bridge at Arnhem.
I like the quote from Churchill when Lady Astor said "If I were your wife I would poison your tea to which Churchill replied Nancy if I were your husband I'D DRINK IT."
@@charlesfrancis6894 👍👍👍❤️❤️😂😂😂😂😂😂
Classic Acid drop.
"Winston, you are drunk."
"And you, madam, are ugly. But in the morning I shall be sober."
@@GeordieSwordsman A classic Acid Drop.
@@charlesfrancis6894 Churchill definitely had an incredible wit.
I believe the late Queen was once approached by US tourists while she was in Balmoral and they asked her if she had ever seen the Queen. She responded that she had not seen the Queen, but he has pointing to her Bodyguard.
Most unlikely
@@mwscuba Well it was reported in the Independent a British Newspaper, as below.
Queen Elizabeth II’s former bodyguard has revealed what the monarch said to an American hiker who asked her whether she “had met the Queen”.
The former royal protection officer Richard Griffin, who was known as Dick, recalled the time when Her Majesty was out in the hills near her Scottish castle at Balmoral when two tourists on holiday approached and one of them engaged her in conversation.
The hiker asked the Queen where exactly she lived, to which she responded: London.
The Queen, who died at the Balmoral castle on Thursday (8 September) afternoon, told the hiker that she had a holiday home just over the hill and had been visiting the area for more than 80 years since she was a child.
@mwscuba this is true, as told by the bodyguard with her.
@@mwscuba
It's true, I heard and saw HM QEII say it on screen on a video about her.
th-cam.com/video/NpHvLpi0dc0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=zpoP1Dx7fW_0nCny
My favourite one isn’t on here. When Princess Anne was 23, someone fired shots into her car and a few people were injured and it was a kidnap attempt. The man told her to come with him and she said “not bloody likely!”!!!!!!! People had been shot and she still wouldn’t go with him. Classy
What a gal!!! Totally class act.
Her bodyguard was shot 5 times, I believe..a bystander disarmed the gunman who was stunned to inactivity!
During the 1982 Falklands Conflict an assault by the Parachute Regiment lead to one of the troopers being injured by a mortar explosion.
Para Legend has it that the injured soldier shouted ‘Ive lost me F***ing leg’ and a mate shouted back ‘No you havent mate its just landed over here’.
My ex was down in the Falklands during the war on one of those submarines that wasn't there
Do you really think that happened?
@@stevenmclaren2730 It did one of the blokes I worked with whilst serving in the RAMC was there and he told me this story in 85
@@stevenmclaren2730- Yes. It’s the sort of black humour you get in the forces.
My Grandad as a new recruit at The Somme jumped into a shell hole to escape a German counter barrage to an attack.
He jumped into find the hole occupied by a muddy looking tired corporal and a horribly decaying and very smelly body. He had never seen a dead person before and was staring in horror at the exposed skull with flesh hanging off it.
The corporal saw his stare, calmly drawing from his cigarette, and said “Do you know his problem mate? F- bone idle.”
@@stevenmclaren2730 On the TV at the time I saw a guy on a stretcher with his leg missing after one of the landing ships was hit. But I doubt he said anything witty . I wouldn't say he didn't though.
I was hoping Captain Oates' "I am just going outside and may be some time" would be included.
One of my favourites also
Me too.
When I was young and good looking I was tasked with escorting The Queen Mother around Sotheby's in London. During the tour an American tourist trying to get a better perspective on a picture walked out of a side gallery backwards, he bumped into her so hard it knocked her up against the wall. As I stepped in to save her from the inadvertent assault, the American turned around to apologise. The look on his face when he realised who she was was only upstaged by the fact he immediately fell to his knees wailing in distress. The assembled dignitaries were all nonplussed as she put out her hand and gently laid it on his head, with perfect comic timing she said "It's alright, we don't send people to the Tower anymore".
Last I saw of him as we moved on he was a blubbering wreck being helped to his feet by her security chap ... She was a lot of fun that day, I liked her immensely.
Excellent 😂
I remember when I was hit by a car off my bike and as I flew over the car, I thought, "I'm not going to make it into work today."
me too (more sod it, late again)
Same thing happened to me on my motorbike, sliding down the road on my arse thinking, " do I get this bike recovered to work or to my home?" 🤣
@@heavymetalgentleman9050 Very strange isn't it? Time actually slowed down. I saw the shocked faced of the driver as I flew over and that's when I thought what I thought. I didn't even feel afraid, just like, an `Oh well.` moment. Very British I guess. When I hit the ground time then speeded up again. I'll never for get it.
Same for my brother
My reaction to being in a car crash, where (mainly because of the speed) I slowly realised I was going to die (or so I thought):
“This is going to be expensive.”
“This is going to hurt.”
“This is going to kill me.”
“Oh well, I’ve had a good innings.”
(Not a scratch, btw.)
I used to be in the British Territorial Army in the late 90's. A member of our unit was injured in Bosnia and told us on the army hospital ward of about 40 soldiers, only one had been given their morphine in the field when they were injured. With injuries from broken bones to amputation, they all said, "Save it, something worse might happen on the way back". The only one that had been given his morphine hadn't been given a choice by his unit.
❤
We Brits are masters at understatements.
That wasn’t very understated
Oh, yes! Hilariously so!
@@QuotidianStupidity I wouldn't jump to that conclusion.
I think "Masters" is a bit over the top. Perhaps "have some talent for understatement"?
@@jonathanwetherell3609 lol
The saddest day in British history was the death of Princess Diana. Not her death as sad as it was. But rather the hysterical wailing of the British public. It marked the day the British stiff upper lip ended.
1997.... so true, since then we have gone down hill.
The day the Woke brigade won their first major victory.
Totally agree.
Coz it was murder!!....
@ 🤣
Served in the British army for 8 years, one thing that always stood out. We where attached to an American battalion and after quite the shittestest night I've ever experiences, my mate got his jet boil out as said 'well that was a load of bollocks, fancy a brew?' to which I replied 'Yeah go on then mate 'and so did the other brits. The Americans where like 'are you not even kidding right now? you are just Gunna sit there and have TEA after that!?' To which my other pal quite apetaly replied 'No, we have gunna smoke a rollie aswell' and pulled out his pouch of amber leaf. American always seem surprised at our calm demeaner. Always made me chuckle. Really enjoyed the times I was deployed with the americans.
That's a lovely story. :) I'm an army brat and been amongst British military all my life; strong, chilled, unflappable people with heart, and an "all in a day's work" attitude. ❤
My Brother was climbing a rock face on Bodmin Moor in Southern England in 2008 when he fell. I yelled over "Are you okay? Do you need an Ambulance?" I couldn't see him and he said back calmly, "I'm okay." a few seconds later he continued, (again really calmly) "Actually I maaaay need an ambulance." I finally got over to him and his foot was hanging off his ankle attached only by some skin and tendons. That mad lad made bad puns and laughed from that moment, on the air ambulance and all the way into surgery. He died in 2021 God I miss him, he was built differently.
My favourite 'British understatement' quote is from the Korean War when 650 British troops were holding the line against a Chinese division of 10,000 men. They fought a desperate, losing battle for two days when an American major general, Robert H. Soule, asked brigadier Thomas Brodie how they were getting on. Brodie responded with "A bit sticky, things are pretty sticky down there," meaning they were being overwhelmed. Soule understandably didn't recognise how hopeless the situation was and ordered them to hold their ground, which they did until the last survivors were rescued by a tank column.
"Pretty Sticky" means all hell has broken loose and we are going down ....
@@rorykeegan1895 ""Pretty Sticky" means all hell has broken loose..."*
Corrected to it's True British meaning.
Stickier than when Sticky the stick insect got stuck in a sticky bun.
My uncle was there
During the blitz a n elderly London woman was stretchered from the ruins of her bombed out house clutching a half bottle of whisky. One of the firemen carrying the stretcher suggested she might need a good drop of it her reply was "not a chance, i'm saving it in case something serious happens"
The leader of the British Liberal Democratic Party in the 90's was (Sir, later Lord) Paddy Ashdown, an ex British Marines officer, he visited British troops in Bosnia. Went on patrol with them, and was subject to a mortar attack. When the press asked how he felt during the attack, he calmly replied (paraphrased) "Oh, one mortar is much like another". As an ex enlisted soldier, I can swear, we expect this from our officers, the rank and file don't respect commanders that panic.
In 1983, the IRA blew up the hotel where the Conservative Party had gathered for their annual conference. Multiple people were killed a d I understand the ceiling collapsed just near where Thatcher's husband had been sleeping moments before. In the morning, Thatcher appeared before the conference and gave a defiant speech, as she put it "shocked but composed". Say what you will about her or her policies (many hate her), she was hard as nails.
The Grand hotel in Brighton. Still there to this day.
Maggie Thatcher; sadly missed.
Especially in Brighton.
@@timg5011 I remember that night so well. The fact I don't and don't live to far from the Grand hotel.
More miss her to this day 🇬🇧
I was never a fan of thatchers but credit where credits due when she went into political war especially with the EU she went in swinging her handbag for the UK
She wasn't A queen, she was THE QUEEN.
Totally agree John, absolutely stoic to the bitter end, incredible she was meeting our new PM two days before her death, what a lady ❤
I met her as a child, she is still my Queen.
As Macron said, she was 'the world's Queen'. Only sensible thing he's ever said.
Yes!
@@glyjack I'm sure a lovely and precious memory ❤️
We make light of serious situations because if you don't laugh, you'll cry, and the British don't cry.
What's crying?
Not in public anyway.
HMS Birkenhed was sinking off the coast of S. Africa. It was carrying soldiers and their.wives and children.
The colonel called.out "Women and children first. Men stand fast".
Not a single woman or child was lost. Not a single man was saved.
The Birkenhead Drill for safety at sea..
We dont look for these men. They step forward when required.
You lost barely 3000 on 11/9/01 and ran around like headless chickens.
We lost 40,000 in The Blitz and simply carried on.
on 07/07/05 a series of bombing occured across Londons transport networks on buses and trains killing 52 innocent people, on 08/07/05 people waiting at bus stops jokingly complained that the bus's were running a bit late because of the new open top conversion someone had decided on. Dark humour is our bread and butter.
to steve taylor, on 9-11 the Americans were not runnin around like chickens with no heads, listen you idiot, on that day there were many very brave Americans, saving lives, firemen, police, civilians. iam a brit, but do not insult the Americans who died on that day, and do not insult the very brave Americans, who saved many lives, the last plane to go down, was full of brave passengers who took over the plane, and fought of the terrorist, sadly they could not save themselvs, on 9-11 there were many brave Americans.
The Birkenhead Protocol is what gave birth to the women and children first doctrine. The men stood to attention as the boat went down. Thankfully the feminist crusade means we can now now push the women and children out off the way to save ourselves, or stand to attention like we have a pair of bollocks. Although if it has purple/blue/pink or some such colour I'll still push it out off the way.
It’s not a contest . We all handle things in our own way . I’m English too and we don’t forget our manners either .
The Americans are on our side thank goodness ..
@@stevetaylor90 Bravo Zulu!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you Tyler. Thank you for keeping me entertained with your excellent videos 😂
Thank you very much and Happy New Year and Merry Christmas to you as well!🎄
My father was a chronic asthmatic and his name was Joseph, he wanted on his grave stone, “ here lies the body of mouldy old Joe, his death came quick but his breath came slow” he was 44yrs old when he died.
Oh that made me sad...x
A migtty fine name! From Joseph!
Spike Milligan did a lot of comedy work with his partner Harry Seacombe. The met during world war 2 while both serving in the army. During a test firing of large artillary guns that Spike Milligan was involved with one of the guns began to roll down hill and tore straight through a large tent Harry Seacombe was in. Spike ran into the tent and asked "Has anyone seen a gun?". Harry replied "What colour?"
USA navy was hit by hurricane twice during WWII. After second hurricane US admiral asked some Royal navy ships that were present how they managed the storm. The answer was "What storm?"
That is true. My late father in law was on one of the British ships at that time and he told me about it. I forget the name of the Admiral who said it ubt there was a hell of a row afterwards. The US admiral did not appreciate it; after all he had lost a number of his wn ship, sunk by the weather plus some of the larger US ships (cruisers etc) had signifcant damage such as one with its fo'csle stove back 60 feet. Another item he told me about was the effect of kamikaze attacks. The US Navy had carriers with wooden flight decks which meant that often a kamikaze would go through the flight deck and explode in he hangar space, and the British ones had steel decks. To quote him: "When a kamikaze hit a British ship, it was 'Out brushes and sweep them over the side'".
❤
I like the quote from Lord Mountbatten. The American navy was in Malta harbour & sent a message to the Royal Navy who was coming into saying “the biggest navy in the world welcome you “ & Mountbatten replied “ and the best thank you”.
@@GeraldineMulligan In Afghanistan the US Marines had a sign painted at their base with their unit crest and the slogan “Second to none!” The Royal Marines also had a sign painted with their crest on it. Underneath was written one word “None”.
Nothing is ever so bad that it can't get worse
"It could be worse, we could be French" - E Blackadder
😂😂😂 I love it
Any Blackadder quote tickles me! Edmund (Rowan) is dead-pan genius. And a great writer.
@@kevinfairclough4619
After the first series, I believe Ben Elton did lots of the writing.
@@kevinfairclough4619 Ben Elton was the main writer on Blackadder (series 2, 3 and 4) but yes you're correct, he's a genius!
One of the best quotes was from William Connor, journalist with the Daily Mirror, restarting him column after World War II with "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted............."
21:43 My grandad when he passed had already set up all the plans for his funeral including, what poems he wanted read, what songs were to be played and when and so forth. He had everything typed up in word documents with instructions that when he passed the documents just be E-mailed to the coordinator for the service.
At the start of the service, all of the family were waiting for the casket to be carried in. When suddenly "Flight of the Valkyries" begins being played throughout the room and everyone looks around initially pretty confused before noticing the pallbearers entering with the casket.
The poems read were all more about celebrating and appreciating life, having no regrets and embracing and overcoming the challenges life throws at you and the strength of character that builds.
At the end of the service as everyone is told they can now form a line and approach the casket as they exit if they wish to pay any finish respects, "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gee's then begins blasting out of the audio system.
Now many years later, that service still sticks in my mind as a testament to the person my Grandad was and a celebration of the life he had lived rather than as a mourning of his passing.
Always look on the bright side of life, Lyrics:
Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the light side of life
If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing
And
Always look on the bright side of life
(Come on)
Always look on the right side of life
For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin
Give the audience a grin
Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow
So always look on the bright side of death
A just before you draw your terminal breath
Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughin' as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the right side of life
(C'mon Brian, cheer up)
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life
I mean, what have you got to lose?
You know, you come from nothing
You're going back to nothing
What have you lost? Nothing
Always look on the right side of life
Nothing will come from nothing, ya know what they say
Cheer up ya old bugga c'mon give us a grin (Always look on the right side of life)
There ya are, see
It's the end of the film
Incidentally this record's available in the foyer (Always look on the right side of life)
Some of us got to live as well, you know
(Always look on the right side of life)
Who do you think pays for all this rubbish
(Always look on the right side of life)
They're not gonna make their money back, you know
I told them, I said to him, Bernie, I said they'll never make their money back
(Always look on the right side of life)
If you haven't watched the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian" you HAVE to do it, Tyler! That has to be THE British comedy masterpiece of all times.
It's a great film, but ...... The list of British comedies that are masterpieces is long and proud. You Americans should know, you steal all the formats.
@rorykeegan1895 I'm Norwegian, and I grew up with British comedy shows on TV. We don't need, nor would we EVER want to, change a thing about any of it. Our humour is very similar. You're just so much better at creating comedy than we are. But there's no movie better than Life of Brian to showcase the genius of British comedy. I will die on that hill! It's so brilliantly ridiculous and creatively done. 👏👏👏
The song 'Always look on the bright side' comes from the Monty Python film called the 'Life of Brian'. There are several other notable scenes from the film worth reacting to. such as Biggus Dickus (try not to laugh) and the Stoning scene with John Cleese.
Is this the People's Front of Judea?
@@Gohka "spliters" 👍
"He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy".
@@S-North Seen on T shirts all over!
The movie is not THAT funny or witty - especially not the crucifixion scene, but let's get back to the royals:
King Charles I before his execution took off his white? gloves, gave them to the executioner, saying:
"Here you are - I don't need them any more!" Then.... whack!
The Queen was right about not being recognised, she used to go out shopping and driving around not dressed up and nobody recognised her doing that.
It's not just the men, British woman can survive for decades on spite alone. My nan had to walk 2 miles to hospital during a 3 month blizard in 1962, my mum was born early, jaundiced and incredibly weak, and what did my nan have to say about it? "Well the roads were closed, how else was i going to get there?" R.I.P. nan, you were incredible. My mum was a biker before i crashed her lifestyle, once on the way to work (She was a nurse at the time) she got side swiped by a van, her and her bike went down an incline at 30mph. Mum dragged herself up that incline with a broken collar bone, shattered radius and dislocated knee. And that's just my mum's side, my Dad's mother is a whole other kettle of fish! She's currently 97, has 2 broken hips, a wound that won't heal and recently had covid and pneumonia.... I reckon she won't die till her last enemy does!
One of my favourite quotes is from Sir Winston Churchill. A lady said to him "Winston you're drunk" To which he replied "Madam you're ugly. Tomorrow I shall be sober".
I love the epitaph on comedian Spike Milligan's headstone - " Told you I was ill"
The "other guy " was His Grace, The Duke of Wellington. The four countries of the British Isles do not encourage histrionics or panicking. It's not "crazy", simply bravery and fortitude.
My friend had 'Over The Rainbow' playing as people went into the church for his funeral and as they left it was the theme song for Red Dwarf!!! I loved that man. ❤
It's cold outside, there's no kind of atmosphere...
I am just going outside and may be some time. Captain Lawrence Oakes 1912
Both Paget and Wellington were sitting on their horses at the time when a cannon ball took Paget's leg. "By god sir, I've lost my leg".
"By god sir, so you have".
I work as a butcher in york, while i was cutting the bone out of a lamb chump steak. I ended up cutting my index finger on my left hand and it cut deep down. It bled everywhere, i turned to my boss and said very calmly "sir, ill need to step out for a minute" so i did to bandage up the wound, then i carried on working until the end of the day before i went to get it looked at.... i still have it and it still works
My partner worked as a welder/fabricator..a huge overhead chain for a bollard swung and took off the top of his index on his left hand, too He just turned to his foreman and said "Look what I've done" The foreman was stunned..
Glad you enjoyed this. They’re very funny as well as being exactly right.
But that there blitz. Yeah. Imagine 9/11 happening every day for 2 years. That’s where we get our stoicism.
Keep calm and carry on.
In my village’s graveyard there’s a tombstone with a finger pointing up to the sky. The epigram beneath just says “gone”
Our neighbours' (not british) house caught fire so we offered them a cup of tea while the firefighters were putting it out. They gave us the weirdest look 🧐
what else should be done in an emergency ?
Sadly, such stoicism is no longer so common in the UK.
Bloody Woke- ism instead..
That's us Brits for you, always one for keeping a stiff upper lip.
Did you know the Americans coined that phrase about themselves first?
Oh yeah? When was that?
@pauloldfield8378 In 1815, in The Massachussets Spy. In 1830, the Huron Reflector newspaper gave the definition of the term. By the 1840s, it was widely used over in the US. It didn't appear in the UK until the mid-1840s.
A few points.
1) If you watch the film Waterloo (1970) you'll get a better idea of how much pathos there was in the understatements.
2) Spike Milligan was one of the guest stars on The Muppet Show and left most them nonplussed.
3) Francis Drake had no choice but to finish a game of bowls; the tide was against him at that point.
I was on a Sea Cadet course in Derbyshire. On top of Kinder Scout- right at the top- I sprained my ankle so badly I couldn't walk. I laughed so hard and after ten minutes I insisted on going on.
Then, a few months later on my Gold DofE expedition, I re-sprained it. I'm pretty sure all I said was 'bugger'. My main concerns weren't if I'd completely ruined my ankle forever, or if I had broken it this time. It was, 'will the assessors pull me out and will I have to re-do it' and 'will I ever be able to live down the indignity of being piggy-backed into Hexworthy'
We Brits are built different!
We were managing a pub in Liverpool city centre , some guy came in with a sawnoff and threatened my husband with the gun, pointing it at him. He said ok but ,you better not fkn miss. The guy left , he must have thought he was crazy and he’d better leave. That story went on at parties for a while.
talking of funerals, my Son in Law has agreed to dress up as the grim reaper at my funeral, and if anyone coughs, he is to slowly point at them
I rather suspect the faulty bodyguard probably had a military background. I've seen a workmate who was ex-army disappear under his desk at lightning speed when a car unexectedly backfired loudly outside in the street. And my late partner was fast asleep in his armchair until a sudden loud explosion-like sound effect had him out of his chair and taking cover beside it in a split second. Trained reflexes take over sometimes. If you're slow and stop to think about "am I being shot at" you might die.
Another great example that im surprised wasnt in the video is Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, a british officer who survived both world wars, got shot several times including in the eye, the ear, the hip, the leg and ankle and he also survived two plane crashes and survived as a prisoner of war for multiple years. And after being interviewed about his military career and the fatal injuries he had survived, he wrote "Frankly, i had enjoyed the war."
Queen Elizabeth 2 was a humble person with a sense of humour but also a serious attitude towards her duties.
Duff Gordon faced public questions about his place on a lifeboat because it was supposed to be women and children first, not rich middle aged men.
What's your point?
@rorykeegan1895 obvious I'd have thought - cowardice and dishonour. He was vilified by Public Opinion. He saved himself at the cost of a child. Shameful.
@@BarbaraNixon-h8bthat assumes there would have been someone to save, the Titanic was a fairly chaotic evacuation and while I'm not wholly familiar with the circumstances ultimately responsibility lies with the crew that were in the lifeboat not him.
you have the largest military but not the steel we have
Something tragic or horrendous happens, give an understated reply, where Americans would give an exaggerated reply
I've always said that, if I were in a tight spot I would hate to be sharing it with Yanks. They scream & shout & panic & go mental. I was walking the dog one day when a woman (American) crashed her car. She was ok, a couple of scratches on her face, nothing more. We were chatting and suddenly another car came screaming up, parked in the middle of the road and an hysterical girl jumped out uttering blood-curdling shrieks & threw herself towards her mum, who started bellowing herself. I kept telling the girl her mum was fine but neither of them would shut up! Everyone was so embarrassed, we didn't know where to look!! The ambulance had just arrived and one of them said: "Well if she can make that kind of noise there doesn't seem to be too much wrong." Which sent daughter into full-blown hysterics. I;ve never forgotten it - especially in times I've been in danger/trouble myself.TH-cam these days is full of people from the USA screaming and shouting just for being in an ordinary traffic stop!!
Of course, we Brits would never countenance being confused for an American.
That wasn't the worst British accent we've ever heard, trust me. Dick Van Dyke in famous, (or infamous), for his accent in Mary Poppins. That was truly the worst accent in history, and you would have to try very, very hard to beat it!
😂😂😂😂you’re right there!
You'd be hard pressed to go past Ray Walston (My favourite Martian & Paint your wagon) or James Coburn (The Great Escape) trying to do an Aussie accent lol. But yeah Dick Van Dyke was certainly up there.
I'll have you know Dick Van Dyke's accent in Mary Poppins was, whether by accident or design, an excellent approximation of an early 20th century Australian accent.
The fact he was supposed to be a cockney is neither here nor there.
@@LondonsabersApparently Dick VD decided he didn’t need to research an actual Cockney accent and could wing it with what he thought would do!
Really? I thought it was utterly terrible.
Nobody in England sounds even vaguely like an American trying to be British. The biggest mistake being Americans have no ear for the class structure, they always put oiks words in toffs mouths. Awful.
Can I recommend Spike Milligan’s war memoirs.
I love that we’ve got a PHOTOGRAPH of the Duke of Wellington!
My children, then aged 5 and 7 were out playing in the street. (Very common in the 80's.) The eldest came running in and shouted, "Come quickly, Mummy! Michael's ruined his new trousers." I went outside. Michael had fallen of his friend's bike, face first, knocked forward 2 bottom teeth and took a chunk of flesh out of his chin. There was blood everywhere, including all over his new trousers! We learn our stoicism young in the UK. I cleaned him up, re-sited his baby teeth and changed his clothes. I was trying to hug him better" when he asked, "Mummy, you will be able to wash the blood out of my new trousers, won't you?"
Based on these I can safely say Black Adder is not a comedy show but a history document.
That's why it works, it's a gnats cock away from being a straight documentary.
US students would learn more world history from that series than they get from their schools.
Ben Elton (the writer)'s uncle was a famous historian
You mean to say its not! 😂
Aussie here of English and Scottish descent. I understand all this perfectly. There will be no,public wailing. We will not complain.
A story about the late Queen was when she was meeting the people. She was speaking to a lady when the ladies' phone rang. The lady, embarrassed, apologised. To which Her Majesty replied
" You should answer that, it might be someone important. " From Mick.D.
Another great video Tyler, thanks!
More on great British military commanders: Major-General Roy Urquhart was the commander of 1st Airborne Division in WW2 and took part in Operation Market Garden. The film "A Bridge Too Far" was made following the events of Operation Market Garden and Sean Connery was cast to play Urquhart, whilst Urquhart was a military advisor for the film. There was a scene being shot where Sean Connery (as Urquhart) had to move from one building to another whilst under fire and, naturally, Connery ducks and sprints across the street. Famously, Urquhart supposedly said something along the lines of "No no no, British officers don't duck!", referencing the military tradition that a British officer should seem entirely without fear and completely in control of his emotions and actions at all times in order to inspire the confidence required to lead his men. Urquhart was adamant that any British officer, not just himself, would have walked upright calmly across the street under fire, rather than show any fear.
What started as the societal standard for a gentleman necessarily became the professional standard for a military officer in Britain due to the origin of the British Army's command structure and became entrenched in British Army doctrine. Its been that way for at least five or six hundred years, if not more!
The queen wasn't so daft. In a danger situation, she's easily identified by bright colours, as the person to protect, not just mixed in with the mob.
When a Brit is asked “are you okay?” or equivalent, the absolute BEST you’ll ever get back from us is “yeah, not too bad”. We’re fine with things being bad because we’ve already been through worse.
Everything is 'Alright', you have to listen to the tone and inflection to know if it is good, bad or indifferent.
My favourite quote from British history belongs to Adrian Carton de Wiart. At the end of WW1 he wrote "Frankly I enjoyed the war". He was shot in the eye and ripped of his own fingers when a nurse refused to amputate
It's not the British Royal Navy, just the Royal Navy.
Just THE navy
Same as it's not "The" HMS Whatever, but just HMS Whatever.
With a capital T dear .... The Royal Navy, there is no other.
The French just call it the Royale
I couldn’t help but mention this. My Grandad used to work in a lumber mill back in the 80’s. One day his hand slipped whilst operating a chain saw. He lost the tips of his fingers on his left hand. His initial reaction was, “Oh! Looks like I’ve gone & done it now.”
The tide was wrong for the Spanish so Drake knew he had plenty of time….
Tyler, these are perfect examples of what was called 'the stiff upper lip' meaning you belittle and downplay any adversity. It was once very normal here, but sadly the 'import' of American TV, Jerry Springer and the like, where people display publicly every private emotion has lessened that and we see similar on 'reality' shows etc. When I was a boy British people never 'showed emotion' in public. ;-)
We Brits have a tendency to understate things as a example when about to be overwhelmed by German troops the British commander reported the situation as 'A bit sticky' and as a result the American he was speaking to didn't send any reinforcements.
As for the way British officers react well we train them to show no regard for danger when they filmed a bridge too far the ex army officer consulting on the film told one of the actors that during a scene crossing a road under artillery fire that he needed to 'stand up straight and not rush'
The "A bit sticky" quote was from the Korea War, when the Glorious Glosters, when 650 soldiers of the 1stBattalion, the Gloucestershire Regiment, were confronted by approx 10,000 Chinese soldiers at Imjin River.
My long late Gramps insisted that author and traveller Rudyard Kipling had great quotes for every situation. My own two favourites are from his boyhood adventure book, Kim. "For Kim did nothing, with immense success", and "There is no sin more great than ignorance." All my kids, and all my grandsons were tasked with reading Kim before their 10th birthday - or no new bike. 😅
The Queen was tiny and was told to wear bright colours. She preferred to be with her dogs, horses or zooming around in a Land Rover wearing wellies and a Barbour...😅
The best one I read about.
South Georgia British surrender. A handful of RMs lay down their weapons after a brief firefight. Being completely overwhelmed and outnumbered.
The ferocity of the fight led the Argentinians to nervously keep the captured RMs covered with their weapons.
RM Captain walks over.
'My men think they are about to be executed. If your men don't lower their wespons, you will be attacked'.
Weapons quickly lowered.
"During the two-hour Battle of Grytviken on 3 April 1982, Lieutenant Mills' detachment of 22 Royal Marines inflicted damage on the Argentine corvette ARA Guerrico, hitting her with an 84mm anti-tank rocket and many rounds of small arms fire, and shot down a Puma helicopter, killing two Argentine Marines and one sailor, while sustaining one wounded on the British side."
Stiff upper lip and under statement is par for the course for many Brits . Merry Christmas and thanks to you 🏴🏴🏴
Merry Christmas to you as well!🎄
I only ever made a typical British statement in work. Whilst accidentally almost dropping my Stanley knife then quickly grabbing it out of the air as it fell. I managed to stab myself in the stomach. A colleague of mine said "Have you just done what I think you have". "Yes" I said "I've just ruined a bloody good tee-shirt". To which those in earshot almost fell about laughing.
American soldier. ' Hell men, we're completely surrounded.' Brit soldier. 'Stop complaining yank, we're in a target rich environment.'
Perhaps my favourite quote from any British person ever is attributed to Samuel Foote.
He was told that he would end up either dying by hanging or from syphilis, and retorted “that depends, my lord, on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress”.
My mother, on relating that the family home had been wrecked by bombing in The Blitz, with all the doors and windows smashed along with their furniture:
"Our dog got a tiny bit of glass in its paw, which it always held up when it wanted sympathy ever after - silly thing".
No mention of the fact that all their personal posessions had been destroyed and they had nowhere to live.
It's not about joking, it's just British understatement. We don't like to get too excited, or make too much fuss, just our matter of fact attitude. Admiral Beaty's ships were getting blown out of the water by the German enemy, with thousands of men dying in them, that's what was wrong with them. In the film 'Waterloo' both these officers are on horseback when the leg was blown off. Wellington was the man who finally beat Napoleon Bonaparte. During the war the 'Blitz' spirit in Britain meant 'Keep calm & Carry on', becoming the normal attitude.
Nah “oi mate wana get some sausage rolls from Gregs for the bois” is the most Bri’ish sentence.
It wasn't that the Queen said she would not be recognised, it was so that the people who came to see her, could actually see her as she stood out from the crowd.
Love your videos. Very informative and I have learned loads from you. Thank you. 😊
Spike Milligan also called Prince Charles a grovelling little bastard once to his face. He was Class.
They were mates, mates call each other really awful things to their face in the UK.
@@rorykeegan1895 Indeed.
It's why we're the greatest nation in the world.
"Real bullets, fired out of guns."
Well, I suppose that as Brits, we are not on the same level as the US with gun ownership.
For decades, we tried to perfect firing real bullets from sausages. This was proving to be a difficult task until, in the 1970s, an American tourist went to watch the changing of the guard. After a while, he realised that the guards were armed with rather large sausages topped with bayonets. Of course, the American was very confused by this display. He went immediately to the American embassy, who in turn contacted the British embassy. They then spoke to parliament, who contacted the Bognor Regis Sausage Rifle and Chipolata Hand Gun Manufacturers. The government supplied them with detailed drawings of various rifles and guns thanks to the American tourist. The Bognor Regis Sausage Rifle and Chipolata Hand Gun Manufactuers became Bognor Regis Arms or BRA for short. This, in turn, caused George to be hiding under a table. And we have never looked back.
Capt Laurence Oates, with Robert Scott's Antarctic Expedition. On realising his condition was holding up and therefore endangering the lives of his comrades, he left the tent and simply walked off, saying:
"I'm just going outside, and may be some time."
My aunt and uncle both had this song played at their funerals. Bless them 😂
When my dad passed away he had the Monty python song played at his song. Always look on the bright side of life. He also had the beetles song mystery tour. And then a song that his grandad sung in the stage in the London theatres at the turn of the century called “ I don’t wanna get well, as I’m in love with a beautiful nurse” pretty iconic as my mum was a nurse.
My friends and I have always said that we wanted 'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen to be played at our funerals
Some call it the "Blitz spirit", others "stiff upper lip". what ever you want to call it, we Brits are undisputed World Grand Masters of Understatement. We're also emotional cripples, which helps loads!
When the Titanic was sinking, it was agreed that all the women and children should leave first, and the men stay behind, in the hope another ship would arrive soon. In the movie, some of the men tried to cheat and leave with the women. No one is really sure of what happened since those on the lifeboats weren’t witnesses to what happened after they had left. There was a woman who was interviewed about her survival on the Titanic, but her memories were vague because she was a little girl at that time - 1912. 112 years ago.
Is your reference the James Cameron film? It’s old but good. I enjoyed it! But I doubt anyone reading hasn’t seen the film, a film isn’t a factual accounting of events, as I think you alluded to that point. But it was probably the best accurate account, to date. Though it’s not first hand evidence.
@@kevinfairclough4619 - As a teen I knew Elizabeth and Madeleine Mellenger, a mother and daughter who were survivors. Their boat #14 went back for people in the water. One was 2nd Officer Lightholler. Elizabeth gave him her cloak to keep warm and he gave her his officer's whistle. Both articles are now in the Maritime Museum. Lightholler helped rescue soldiers from Dunkirk in his own private boat and also used it to spy on Nazi naval bases. James Cameron also went to school with my cousin in Chippawa, Ontario.
Mrs T was an absolute legend
To the rich
To every patriotic Brit!
@@malcolmross8427 to every well-fed britt!
A horrible woman.
So was Attila the Hun!
One British army officer during the Korean War when asked by the Americans over the radio if everything was ok on a hill where he was posted said “it’s gating a bit tasty” while being attacked by 1000 chines troops while he only had 72 men and he only lost 3 men and 4 wounded. And the Americans best every thing was fine because the British were to polite to ask for reinforcements 😂
When I was asked how my brother was doing, several years after his suicide, my reply was, “Oh he’s still dead!”
These are all about the stereotypical British understatement and "Keep calm and carry on".
Apparently the Queen always wore pastel coloured outfits and a hat so that the bodyguards could see her clearly among a crowd and get her to safety should any trouble arise.
That is not true.
ex vet why do you think we were the largest empire ever made of steel and can make fun of ourselves
I like the English north south divide humour, Northerners look down on Southern softies.
'Southerners are urged not to travel unless absolutely neccesary. Northerners should put on their big coat':
Twitter users see the funny side as Britain struggles to work on Black Ice Monday Winter 2017
Maggie was also blown up by the IRA in the Brighton Hotel bombing. The bomb went off at 3am. Five people died, 30 odd injured - and they came VERY close to Thatcher - if she had been in the bathroom she would have been cut to ribbons. Yet, she was on stage addressing the conference 6 hours later, to a standing ovation. Being unfazed, calm and unflappable in the face of danger and disaster is a very coveted British trait, and if you can slip in a witty one liner, even cooler! A personal favourite, despite its tragic consequences, was at the battle of the Imjin River in Korea. The 657 men of the 1st Battalion of The Gloucestershire Regt as part of the Commonwealth Brigade was attacked by 3 divisions (27,000 men in 27 infantry battalions). During one of their last communications with UN Command the American general asked if the Brigade should withdraw was told “Things are a bit sticky, sir” - which in English meant all hell was breaking loose and extremely dire and we cannot hold. The American general assumed it meant, "thing are rough but we can manage". So the American General instructed the troops to stay put, not to withdraw - so they didn't.
Another great quote ill never forget during ww2 british commandos did a raid in St Nazzaire in France to destroy a naval docking site where it could keep germany's largest and most powerful battleship the Tirpitz. Long story short halfway up the canal they got caught out and all hell broke loose. They made it to the dock and while they were still being absolutely pounded by machine gun fire and flak guns and the Commander of the Ship Commader Beaty turned around and said "Well there we are, only 4 minutes late".
The man who responded with "By God! Sir, So you have!" Was Arthur Wellesley The Duke of Wellington, the Field Marshal commanding the British, Dutch, Hanoverian, Duchy of Brunswick and the Duchy of Nassau at the battle of Waterloo 8ft between the commander in chief for the allies and death. FYI Wellington commanded the British, Portuguese and nominally the Spanish from 1808 - 1814 reportedly never taking a day off.
For a while he held every senior government office at once except for Lord Chancellor, i.e. he was prime minister, foreign secretary, home secretary, etc. This was while a message was sent to Italy and they waited for the man expected to be the next PM to return, The DoW accepted the position of PM temporarily and didn't want to make any appointments that might need to be overridden.