Tuesday 19 December 2017

He kept his powder dry

"...there were pieces of people flying past my nose and it was perfectly awful, but not so bad as being at school"
Unconventional war hero Neil "Bunny" Roger recalling the fighting at Anzio where, among other things, he saved the life of a wounded comrade who'd been abandoned in No Man’s Land.

It wasn't the flippant reference to his schooldays which marked Bunny out as unconventional - it seems to have been perfectly standard procedure for wealthy parents to scar their kids for life by educating them at some creepy mansion combining the worst elements of a Victorian theme park and a Spartan barracks* (Prince Charles's miserable time at Gordonstoun is perhaps the best known example).

It was more Bunny's reputation to for going into combat with a rouged face, wearing a chiffon scarf, while brandishing a copy of Vogue magazine which marked him out as a different sort of hero. Apparently, when his sergeant asked for advice about about advancing enemy troops, Bunny replied, "When in doubt, powder heavily."

More on the flamboyant career of Bunny Roger, war hero, dashing style icon, couturier, party animal and interior designer to King Zog of Albania at The Rake.

via

*When people without money subject their kids to such cruel and unusual treatment, they're generally required to explain themselves to social services or, in extreme cases, Jeremy Kyle.


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