HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1970-07-09, Page 164A
V RAM SIGNAL -STAR; Jt Hu171spi'}�•F •1 Ml 9. • 197Q
BY G. MiAb LEOD Rf,1S,V
It is 200 years since Arthur
Wellesley was born, yet - his
• imine, fame and characteristics
continue to intrigue; a fact
underlined by Elizabeth
Longford's recent book:
"Wellington -- The Yearsof the
Sword," and what- a superb bit •
of historical literature it is. 'No
other English . character of the
18th , or 19th centuries quite
caught the pope lar - imagination
so completely as Arthur
Wellesley, Duke of Wellington,
The Iron Duke, Nosey, The
Eagle, 'The Peer, The Beau,
Douro, or the Sepoy Gieneral, as
he was variously named by
friends, allies:and enemies.
1781 TO 1815
Not surprisingly for those
days, • Wellington's ' formal
education covered 'but five years
and in later life he admitted how
much he missed a university
education, which he believed all
offiders should have before
entering the army. But then at
age 27 he sailed for India, to
spend nine formative years,
emerging at 36 a major general
with a "K". From 39 to 45 years,
he , furthered his education,
commanding the allied armies in
Portugal and Spain, pitting his
ingenuity against Napoleon's
Marshals and becoming
successively. Marshal -General of
the Portugese. Army; Viscount
•
dead -- a quarter of Wellington's
whole force.
Wellington had bivouacs
replaced by tents; instituted
prefabricated hospital buildings;
organised military police;
agitated for family allowances,
-"airibrigst"Irrally other efforts to
improve the soldiers' lot. Since
all his fighting was done on
foreign soil, he was at great pains
to ensure' the good discipline of
his troops ,in their dealings with
the natives, These were the days
when victory spelt looting and
mayhem, to put down which
and to preserve the scrupulous ,
,good faith - of his arlhy's
presence, Wellington's "touch of
iron" was summoned and
hanging and flogging were de
rieur. In India he practised,the
gospel of justice with fairness to
all because he realised how
important was the preservation
of Indian ` confidence • in the
British. Today we are prone- to
play fast and loose with our
national. integrity, 'so -that if -you
are "privileged," which means
you are powerful enough, or can
command enough force, you can
submerge any Mei Song; any
responsibility to the economic
stability of your nation.
ca
e soidrer
Wellington of „Talavera; Earl of
Wellington and Duque de Cuidad
Rodrigo; Marquess of Wellingtoi
and Generalissimo • of the
Spanish Armies; might of the
Garter and Field Marshal.
After a year of .diplomacy at
the Congress of Vienna, where
he laid the foundation . for
continental acceptance of
anti -slavery, he was called upon
to "save 'the world again". At
Waterloo, aided by Blucher, the
Prussian General, who four years
previously suffered a mental
breakdown, holding the
uncomfortable bejief that he was
' pregnant of an elephant,
Wellington defeated Napoleon
finally, thus ending the 100 days.
THE UNIVER ,!, , ( OF. INDIA
Those who have been
p?ivileged to take a
post -graduate course in that
_superb educational
establishment, the University 'of
India, can well understand, given
Wellington's ° hereditary
propensity for learning, how
ideal was such experience. Based
on a series of `cases' or,
problems, presented day after
day for nine years, without the
slightest hope of any external
assistance in their solution, while
the grading was equally
impartial, it produced a degree
of self-confidence in the student
which put something of a
premium on delegation. Thus it
was said of Wellington that "He
Ifl6tti1ntez
to. set fuchsias out
It's not too late to put your
`fuchsias outdoors for the
-sumner, say 'horticulturists with
the Ontario Department- of -
Agriculture , and ,Food. The
unique, ...shape of the , fuchsia
flower makes it., a very
interesting plant for the home
gardener.
The best ' results will be
obtained if the plants are placed
in a location' that is lightly'
shaded or receives direct sunlight
or only half the day. This
es them an ideal plant to use
on lightly shaded patios.
- The plants can be' removed
from the pots and planted, or
•
walked , alone", whereas, of his
'brother Richard..who had been
Governor General, they said, "he
always walked as. ; though
accompanied by elephants.' It
was not • surprising that he
emerged from India with • a
formidable opinion of• his
superiority over his peers, an
attitude enhanced by the
lacadasical . outlook of the
average Army officer whose
position on the totem pole had
been achieved by °purchase.'
Sagacious . and 'perceptive,
with a keen analytical mind and
an explosive temp% which was
most usually. ,under control, it
was remarked "how
magnificently he colald quit his
convivial familiarity for
imperious dominion." Nor, did
'he suffer superiors gladly,
"Generals with neither talent
nor experience," he complained.
Perhaps because he possessed
such a many -faceted character,
each facetso fully developed, he
' was often misquoted ' and
misunderstood. After the
plunder,, rape and drunkenness
following his Peninsula Burgos .
victory, Wellingto showed
something of the i ' in his soul
in enforcing di me. Jt was
apropos of such.behaviour that
he said:' "We have in the service
the scum of the earth as
common soldiers." But four
months later, after Vitoria
(21/11/1813) he called the
t:Army "the most complete
:machine for its numbers now
existing.„i>u _Eurohe.' ..Years J,a.ier
• ,.he confessed.'' ;`i- could have:deme„
anythinewittr: that ' Army- (His
Peninsula Army). It was in such
perfect order.' Some said that
he did nbt , credit his troops
sufficiently, yet when walking
impedimenta was reduced to a
minimum; an observation which
facilitated, his introduction to
the redoubtable guerillas of
Spain which, he. acknowledged,
"saved Spain.” As his education
proceeded :in the Peninsula he
was forever looking back
India. When the people of
Salamanca swore his mother was
a Saint he dryly recalled the
Marhattas had , discovered she
was a Marhatta. After his victory
at ,Vitoria he paid tribute to his
Indian training; "I have taken:
more. guns, (at Vitoria) than I
took at Assam." Napoleon, used
to taunt him by calling him
"The Sepoy General" while
Wellington gloried in the title.
When he rode out from Brussels,
on his charger Copenhagen, to
the field of Waterloo he said:
"Now Bonaparte will see how
Gane of Sepoys can defend a
position." It was a situation
which had a parallel of 1914
when the Emperor Wilhelm I
called the British Expeditiionary
Force "Contemptibles," a
sobriquet in which the B.E.F.
gloried as "The Old
Contemptibles."
THE COMPLETE SOLDIER
When his military career is
considered it becomes clear that
he was years ahead of his time
and had he been transplanted,
into the 20th Century, 'would
lotted science on a scale
>~ vlYscir -none of- ours any dnn,�. w,lich...,accounted-.-for -
1A `
_.GQmmansiers:_hegan__ter:do: to
Realising the need for good
intelligence,, he enlisted the
students of the Irish College at
Salamanca as his spies in Spain.
At the same time he became
aware of. the leakage. of
information to have ,exp the French via
fits -secretiveness'; practised a1i
'can see Wellington -.treating. the
-from private oto Prince 'Regent;
Tank as did Haig. On the W h en reconnaissance was
contrary , Wellington would ' required, he "had to see for
probably have initiated the idea himself,"•while for,, the speedy
of mobile'armour. He iii is sled on carriage of ders;-as-well as
they' can simply be planted with Creevey,' he spied a small Carron cast guns - the '28 his additional `eyes', he
outside,,.=pot -and -ail. The'-poti w-1:liit c' a re- ' ere i • Pounder, eight feet lung -and, the '""employed - a -number -of-young
should be -plunged into the soil— depends °n-tar..articie
right up to the rim. It ' is Give me enough of it and I am
advisable to place a small stone sure."
under the drainage hole to 6 t7'
prevent earthworms from Wellington believed that his
entering victories in India positively
Few ! serious insect pests
attack , fuchsias, but for best
results the expe.ts advise
spraying at 10 -day intervals so
infestations -won't build up.
Malathion is the most useful
control agent. Care should,be
taken when applying it and the
directions on the conte er
" `should be carefully followed.
BACKHOE SERVICE
OF EVERY KIND
CLIFFORD HUGILL
376 HURON ROAD
GODERICH- 524-7170
damaged a man's chances with
the Horse Guards. This same -
irrational attitude persisted until
1947 in the case of Field Marshal
Lord Slim of Burma. While the
Army believed him to be the
best choice for Chief of the
Imperial General Staff, there was
much doubt whether the War
Office would consider an Indian
Army officer for that
appointment. India gave him
something of -"the' cunning of.
the serpent," which his enemies
called ,"slipperiness" and it also
gave him definite views on'
segregation, for when efforts
were made to foist two Indian
" officers on to Wellington's
Regiment, the 33rd, he refused
saying: "The 33rd is not a Sepoy
Regiment." •
•-
India„ taught him the infinite
value pf good ' intelligence in
forming a plan and when it came
to action.he ;saw how speed of
movement was increased when
29 Pounder, 29 feet long. -He
accepted Colonel Shrapnel's
spherical case shot, which
persists in principle to this day.
But he did not suffer Congreve's
rockets so gladly, because in,the
Peninsula they had proved so
inaccurate as to be worthless.
Tried against Cavalry it was
admitted they wpould have scared
the horses had they got near
them. Yet at, Quatre Bras, that
irrepressible gunner, Whinyate,
appeared oncenagain with 800 of
them. En route to Waterloo . the
first rocket demolished a: Frenth.
gun and its crew, but all the rest
shot into the air save one which
chased Captain Mercer up the
Brussels road. But when it' was
touch and go before La " Haye
Sainte and at Hougoumont, and'
the • Union and Household
Brigades of cavalry ,,Were loosed
to 'retrieve the situation, it was
the despised • Congreve rockets
which covered the retreat of the
cavalry. .It was the precursor of
those Death or Glory charges
which culminated at' Balaclava,
for while not a live' Frenchman
was to be found on the ridge,
2500 British cavalrymen were
INSIIRANCE
Donald R. -Bell,. Windsor
President
OCUI past president
F. G. Cryderman, Thamesvilie F Charles GI. Munro, Embro
First vice-president Second vice-president
UCO past president = OFA past president
- •,
Leon Davey, Oshawa
OCUI comptroller'
Tyson Longman, Hawkestone
UCO director
J. E. O'Dell, Corunra Robert S. McKercher) Dublin
OCUI director UCO president ' '
Johh Robertson, lively
ocul dlreeior. CIAG provides home, life and automobile 'insurance protection and
service for more than 200,000 Ontario families. The CIAG companies
have $47 million in' assets, a thousand staff members and sales
people, and 58 offices.
Frank Wall, Port Burwell
OFA first rice -president • •
-where people
are important
The principal objectives of CIA(3
are good value to policyholders
and ' fair and prompt service .to
all claimants.
These and the other objectives of this' insurance
" co operative aro set by its board -a whose ten.
members are elected by the controlling owlhersti„
. bntario Credit Union League — .00UL
,
Ontario f"d'era"to'n 'sof Agriculture — OFA
United Co-operatives of Ontario - UCO.
The sponsor -owners accept only a fair retuen on their invested capital.
Premium income covers claims and operating costs: lnvest'im ife
is used to pay income taxand premium tax, to provide moderate
dividends to shareholders, and to build the surplus needed to support
service to a growing number of iiolicyhOTders.
Kenneth Weetherlef, Ottawa
001 president
ttz
ltiTfwk,..m
iYG. •
M..1Mr". .
officers whom -he called his
"jeunesse -dorie," for he was
greatly enamoured of the young.
When the Peninsula Campaign
was concluded he feared the gay
social round,would decimate his
corps of A.D.C's, and we may
recall that Montgomery
ernployed a similar corps.
He instituted the "Thin Red
Line" which was . used to
decimate. the French' columnar
formation of 30 men broad and
42 Tiles deep. Hecould thus
bring fire to bear on three sides
of an advancing French column.
Although Wellii'ngton' used this
tactic tines without number,
neither Napoleon, nor any of his
Marshals, ever changed their
response. These were truly the
days of "cannon fodder."
Yet,inspite of his independent.
character he ever considered
himself "the retained servant"'of ,
his Country. He • used a
Hindustani expression: Nimmuk
wallah, which literally meanssalt
man, that is one who has eaten'
of his King's salt a td' thereby has
accepted ,the obligation always
to serve.
Those who, like ,Wellington,
fail to delegate are much
criticised, yet there was' this
saving grace,.that he was such a
master of detail that it did not
te
inrfere with his interpretation
of the broad . scene: His
command of tactics did not
detract from : his command of
strategy. Not surprisingly he
',Would never consider . the
appointment second in
command. The only combatant
commander who was really close
to Wellington was Sir Rowland
Hill', though on the
administrative side, he -gave, free
rein "and much praise to his
Quartermaster -General Colonel
Sir George Murray. The historian
Fortescue says: "Wellington's
supplies were always hunting for
their army. Joseph's. (French)
army was always hunting for its
supplies."
* *
In the sublimation resulting
from Lady Longford's -
:enthralling, -story;: it -.hard-riot'
"Might -have -been:" When it was
decided to send an experienced,
commander to the American
'Colonies) o-attempt.to stay the
rot, the choice was between
.Lord Cornwallis and the Duke of
Wellington.` True the Duke did
not wish to go, but'suppose the
coin had flipped -the other way.
Consider what might have
happened: Europe would have
been lost to Napoleon, while
Britain might have' gained
America, but for the Grace of
- God Wellington's effigy might
today be imprinted on the six
cent stamps rather than that of
Washington: There' is the parallel
too of Washington, the
successful -general, the obvious
choice, the first President of the
States. Mid Wellington, the even
more successful general, who
when the. Yearns of the Sword
game to a temporary end,
became Prime Minister of
England.
His'successes were allways
"ladders" never "landmarks."
Accused of being Irish because
he had been born in Dublin, he
answered:' "Because a span is
born' in ,l r stable doesn't -make
him a horse." And' his Epitaph
on Bonaparte: "Dam the fellow!
He -is amere pounder after all."
WELLINGTON --The Years
of the Sword. Lady Longford:
Harper & Row. $10,.00.
W.tDcomm
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CAN IDB'SERVE YOU?
WEDNESDAY, JULY' 15, 1970
one of our representatives
Mr. J. W•' Harkins -
will be -at
THE BEDFORD HOTEL
Goderich
In this district and throughout Canada many
persons and firms in practically all types of
businesses including
Agriculture • Tourist and Recreational
l3usinesses • Construction • Professional
Services • Transportation • Wholesale and
�_:.1,tetail._ Trades,asell as Manufacturing
�iaoe~o%taa�ied= iogna���m�t,�e�I�B:�-ta�$ctqu�rc•: _:� q ...:�:
land, buildings, and machinery, to increase
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for othr purposes. If you consider that IDB
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" appoint nentaal? ith_the DB representative by
,—telephoning
Tele: 524-7337
or in advance by writing to
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