More sad than bad.....

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Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
10
Perthshire
Rather sad story in the Scottish press lately.

I guess that buying a load of medals, a parachute regiment beret and para tie off ebay is just harmless collecting.

But wearing them to a remembrance parade for Falklands veterans is not the done thing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6256720.stm

Apparently 'walting' as it is known, is quite common, even to the extent that genuine veterans who have quite a few medals for their age worry that onlookers might think they aren't genuine vets.

Looking at photos of the Falklands parade, the real former paras looked pretty serious - as well they might, given that they were remembering fallen comrades. The fake Para had his hands in his pockets and a big grin on his face.

Despite all that, I feel rather sorry for the chap. I note he made a proper admission of guilt and an apology.
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
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Silkstone, Blighty!
I find it rather disgusting, it is an insult to the memory of the fallen aswell as sticking two fingers up at those who still live. Stupidity doesn't come into it, I fail to understand what is going through peoples' minds when they do things like this.:cussing:
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
I work with a lot of re-enactors and sometimes I find a few of them just a little near the knuckle. The 2nd world war ones are fine, the older folks seem to mostly remember the good things not the bad, and thoroughly enjoy the show.
The Falkland Island ones are too close, too raw, and the ones from the first Gulf conflict just leave me speechless :(

atb,
Toddy
 

Goose

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Aug 5, 2004
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I met a guy telling me all his tales about the Falklands, went on for a bit and I asked him a couple of questions, one of his mates got upset that I questioned him, "he has been there and done it not like you". My last question was how old he was, turned out he was 2 years younger than me, I was 15 in 1982! :confused: Some people beleive anything they are told. MInd you the first thing he told me about was the 66 cannister that was a souvenier in a bar, it allegedly was fired by one of the marines at the invading argentine boats from Ascencion, they didn't half have some range back then!;)
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
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Silkstone, Blighty!
I've had the same thing happen to me! Outside a nightclub in Hull, the lad was boasting about being a Falklands veteran. He was about 18, which is feasible, except this was 1995! It ended with him taking exception to my calling him a liar, and he had a pop. The cops that arrived were on my side!
 

Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
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Perthshire
It is clearly common behaviour. It's interesting how a lot of these folk always claim to have been in elite regiments - SAS, Paras and marines.

I would have thought the risk of detection would have beeen very high. I once met someone about my age who claimed he had been a subaltern in the Queens Own Highlanders (as then was). He probably felt a GP would not move in Scottish infantry circles, but unfortunately, while at medical school, I had spent 6 years in Aberdeen University OTC, from which several of my friends had gone on to join that very regiment. He didn't know any of them, and it soon transpired that his story was pure fiction.

More worrying still, there have been several documented cases of fake paramedics turning up at road traffic accidents.:eek:
 

Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,780
1,517
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Wiltshire
Its quite easy to detect if you know what to look for.

In the US its a serious crimminal offence. its called `Stolen valour`
 

bambodoggy

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 10, 2004
3,062
50
49
Surrey
www.stumpandgrind.co.uk
MInd you the first thing he told me about was the 66 cannister that was a souvenier in a bar, it allegedly was fired by one of the marines at the invading argentine boats from Ascencion, they didn't half have some range back then!;)

That's certainly a heck of a shot......just imagine how far they could have fired a Milan, most likely could have stayed in Portsmouth with one of those babies! lol :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:


I've always worked on the theory that anybody that tells me they are ex-this or that most likely isn't.....seems to work pretty well ;)

Cheers,

Bam. :)
 

xylaria

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I hada friend who had problems with chronology regarding his life experiences. He put this down to been battered as a child by his mother. He said he had served in NI, and had given this sob story about a checkpoint bombing. He misdescribed what a batton shell looked like, and the stories didn't add up in any order. He was always the nobelist warrior in every story. Generally as a person he wouldn't accept any fault, and would rationalise some very bad acts as the other person fault. I did confront him about his stories but he said that the witness protection program had given him an ID that was four years younger than he really was. I laughed and said britian doesn't have a witness protection program, and the chance of you ever baring reliable witness I think is highly unlikely. He was given no need to lie, and I really think he had a personaity disorder.
 

Dougster

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 13, 2005
5,254
238
The banks of the Deveron.
Years ago my Dad was on a course with some of his colleagues and had a night out in Swindon. So being the sober senior rankers they were, stopped off in a chippy after three pints on the way back.

Some drunken types, bent on violence pushed to the front of the queue at which point one of the colleagues pointed out this was bad form.

Yob ones mate pointed out that 'Dave's hard, e's done coppers'.

To which colleague one pointed to colleague 2 and said 'Jim's SBS e's done Argies.'

Jim went red, yobs left queue, Dad and colleagues laughed (a lot).

Sort of related, quite amusing I think.
 
May 14, 2006
311
4
55
Consett County Durham
Well most squaddies have a pretty brilliant (if sometimes sick lol) sense of humour and the bloke in question obviously has issues I'm surprised that the lads didn't make him their mascot.
After all Walts are more to be pitied than scorned and Imitation is the highest form of praise.

Kev
 

Greg

Full Member
Jul 16, 2006
4,335
259
Pembrokeshire
That bloke discusts me I have no idea why peolpe do it unless they have personality issues, but for him to big time it on parade with those veterans is totally outragious. He should be locked in the Pegasus Bar in Aldershot for an hour, he'd soon learn the error of his ways.
But its not just civilians who try to pull the wool, during my last posting in Wales with the Royal Signals we had a WO2 posted into the unit as a new troop boss within our squadron. Now get this, this guy turned up on his first Monday morning parade the day after he arrived sporting the BBC (Parachute wings) on his uniform. Unbeknown to him we had a troop full of Para trained lads in the squadron.
Now picture this, we have our morning parade the OC hands the parade back to the SSM who promptly dismisses us. but before we fallout the Troop commander from the para trained troop who was also a WO2 stops us and marches over to the new WO2, and bald as brass asks him in front of the whole Squadron, OC and all, when did he earn his wings. As you can imagine the new guy was taken completely by surprise and starts umming and arring. It turns out he had gone freefall parachuting whilst on adventure training with his previous unit and believed he had the right to wear his Military Parachutist Wings.
Now you can only wear if you have completed Pre-Parachute selection in the form of P-Company, or another specialist course and then you have to do ground training and the 8 qualifying jumps at Brize Norton and then serve with an airborne unit.
Officially if you don't serve with an Airborne unit you are only entitled to wear the lightbulb (Military parachutist badge less the wings) but this is often overlooked.

Anyway needless to say he didn't last very long in the unit and was posted elswhere with a demotion in rank to boot.

We also had a young lad who claimed to have passed his PTI's (Physical Training Intructor) course but thats another story.

But as you can see it happens in the forces aswell. Unbeleiveable really!!
 

Doc

Need to contact Admin...
Nov 29, 2003
2,109
10
Perthshire
Some people beleive anything they are told. MInd you the first thing he told me about was the 66 cannister that was a souvenier in a bar, it allegedly was fired by one of the marines at the invading argentine boats from Ascencion, they didn't half have some range back then!;)


On a similar note, if I recall correctly, Argentinian radio claimed their air force had sunk HMS Raleigh.

Quite a feat considering it is a shore base in Cornwall.
 

Boatswain

Tenderfoot
May 18, 2007
80
0
66
South London
I sometimes wear my fathers regimental tie (very nice tie, dark red with long tailed hamsters on it) to club functions, this is not because I want people to think I was in that regiment but to honour my father (now deceased). How does this fit in with everybodies view of etiquette?

Cheers Roy
(they're not actually Hamsters, but that's a little bit what they look like)
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
No problem in wearing a tie. You could wear your fathers medals on a rememberance parade if you wanted, and nobody would bat an eyelid. I believe they are worn on the opposite side of the chest, cleary showing they are not your medals but that you are a representative of the medal winner. I see nothing wrong in wearing a regimental tie or badge, or a set of medals belonging to a deceased or ill relative unable to take part in a military parade, so long as the wearer doesn't try to make out that he was the winner of the medals.
 

Jedadiah

Native
Jan 29, 2007
1,349
1
Northern Doghouse
Hear, hear Spam, could'nt agree more! This guy was pretending to pass himself off as someone or something he is not. If you want to honour someone, do it how you like, just don't pretend to be someone you are not.

It's a pity that the people that have earned these medals are in a position that makes them have to sell the medals on e-bay.

I have a friend, ex-british forces, who is currently serving with the French Foriegn Legion. He's a sniper instructor with 2 REP. How do i know this? Because every 6 months or so, i'll get a package from some far flung corner of the globe, a letter with a t-shirt or badge. I even got a bottle of wine once. A couple of weeks ago, i wore one of these shirts, not a concious decision and not to make a point, when i went to the local. One of the SFSG lad's decided to start asking questions (not very eloquent one's and not for repeating on a family forum). When i tried to explain the situation to him (me, halfway down my first pint, him, halfway down a barstool) he accused me of buying it on e-bay and then kicked off. Luckily, his more sober mates bundled him into the carpark and away.

I was not trying to be someone i'm not, just threw on a shirt. I've done my time, i'm not a lad anymore, i've done things i'm proud of and somethings i'm not. I just think that, even though you've been there, seen that and got the t-shirt, sometimes, it's not such a good idea to wear it!:D
 

spamel

Banned
Feb 15, 2005
6,833
21
48
Silkstone, Blighty!
I sometimes wear my fathers regimental tie (very nice tie, dark red with long tailed hamsters on it) to club functions, this is not because I want people to think I was in that regiment but to honour my father (now deceased). How does this fit in with everybodies view of etiquette?

Cheers Roy
(they're not actually Hamsters, but that's a little bit what they look like)

Something like this?

104983.jpg


Or this maybe?

4thARM.jpg
 

Boatswain

Tenderfoot
May 18, 2007
80
0
66
South London
Exactly like that! (the first one, I can't see the second picture)
and thanks for the information about the medals.

on a slightly different aspect almost everybody I know who has seen action ( I can't really think of a better term) is very quiet about it hardly ever swinging the lamp about their service life unless they are in similar company or close friends, and with very few exceptions they actively avoid confrontations whenever possible.

Cheers Roy
 

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