apparently in the film he wanted to let the German's know he was British, but was it factual, would love it to be true, it would be typical of the kind of upper class officer's of the time...
2006-10-23 21:44:39 · 9 answers · asked by Dumbledore 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Yes. His real name was Allison Digby Tatham-Warter, and not only did he carry an umbrella, but according to this website he destroyed an armored car by stabbing the driver with the umbrella! I almost don't believe it, but the site seems legit.
2006-10-23 21:58:38 · answer #1 · answered by homersmyid 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It is true. I've been reading a book about it and the reason why he used the umbrella was that he forgot always the passwords. There could not be a mistake about when they shaw him, only a British officer could be THAT flegmatic. In fact it was to show his own troops who he was.
It is also true about the armoured car.
Btw :
I've once seen the British commander of the BOAR (British Army of the Rhine) visiting the Belgian troops in Germany and if you thought that the British officers as you see them in the American films don't exist, think again. No one will ever take a British officer for an American, German or French officer or whatever. They have still the British flegma. (Honestly even nude you would sort out the British officer).
2006-10-24 03:07:34 · answer #2 · answered by Rik 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You see this practice of carrying an umberella for no apparent reason going on in London today.
imagine being dropped off with more than enough troops to get lost in the crowd and here is some officer waving a brolly around. The troops know exactly where and who to RV on.
In london a lot of the tour guides carry various colours of brollys and do exactly the same thing for all those tourists that like to wander off and then look around and are just a face in the crowd.
then just has that tourist starts to wet themselves there is this bloke waving a brolly shouting on me, on me.....
2006-10-24 07:19:35 · answer #3 · answered by imspiritus 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually it was let his own troops know who he was because he had a bad memory and was always forgetting the pass word. The incident where Jimmy Caan as a Sargent rescues his Lt. was legitimate as well. It was documented by the Doctor whom he threatened with the gun.
2006-10-24 22:32:53 · answer #4 · answered by rich k 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it was poet license to keep the Americans entertained with the eccentric limey character! They pop up in lots of films to perpetuate the upperclass English twit thing!
2006-10-23 21:47:17 · answer #5 · answered by Rob S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it did ,he thought everybody who saw him would realise he was englih because only an englishman would be crazy enough to carry a brolly in a war zone.
2006-10-23 21:49:51 · answer #6 · answered by joseph m 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Anything can happen in a war even using the umbrella for recognition.
2006-10-23 21:55:13 · answer #7 · answered by FRAGINAL, JTM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, many military leaders had embelas at the time because they were wimps and didnt want to get wet.
2006-10-24 12:18:32 · answer #8 · answered by dukechp 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Absolutely true, and well documented.
2006-10-24 00:46:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋