Saturday, May 12, 2012

Lieutenant Etienne Gerard of the Tenth Hussars








 I have no idea why the Exploits of Brigadier Gerard has a swastika on it. 
I presume it is for the same reason as many of Kiplings books do.

One of the simple pleasures of working nights is that hour of solitude when you return home. The dawn is breaking; the house is quiet except for the cats, who are awake and demanding food. My mind is too active from the shift just past to sleep, so I usually settle down and do a little reading. I often leave tasks in the war room so that I can potter for an hour or so before going to get to bed. Mrs Kinch once compared it to rest periods divers take when returning from deep dives.

This morning I applied myself to my Brigadier Gerards, so that I could solve the problem of the regimental number.  The Brigadier led the Hussars of Conflans and were they the 3rd Hussars?







Well it turns out that Kristian was right in a way. My hussar is not wearing the uniform of the Hussars of Conflans, however, the gallant Brigadier was not always a Brigadier, nor was he always in the Hussars of Conflans. At one point he was Lieutenant Etienne Gerard of the Tenth Hussars.









Now as it happens blue as the gallant Brigadier explains is the colour of the tenth. And referring further to the text, it turns out that Kristian...


 ...got the uniform details exactly right. So gentlemen, I give you Lieutenant Etienne Gerard of the Tenth Hussars. A bold and saucy fellow just at the beginning of his career.

Hopefully, I will get another quiet time tomorrow morning and I shall be able to confirm whether the Hussars of Conflans are the 3rd Hussars.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

12 comments:

  1. Hi Conrad,

    He's every inch...errr...millimeter a bold blade. I seem to recall that there was a campy comedy movie called "The Glorious Hussar" base on the exploits of Gerard. Perhaps that would help with your uniform search.

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  2. A nice figure that evokes very well the swagger of a French hussar.

    Yes, it is very curious that a Conan Doyle book should have the swastika on it - understandable for a Kipling volume as it was a common symbol in the East for luck or auspiciousness. (Not so lucky for many in the west in the 20th century, of course...) See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika for its history.

    Cheers,

    David
    http://nba-sywtemplates.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  3. A nice figure that evokes very well the swagger of a French hussar.

    Yes, it is very curious that a Conan Doyle book should have the swastika on it - understandable for a Kipling volume as it was a common symbol in the East for luck or auspiciousness. (Not so lucky for many in the west in the 20th century, of course...) See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika for its history.

    Cheers,

    David
    http://nba-sywtemplates.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kipling swastikas were, of course, the Hindu version. The Brigadier Gerard one may just be a good luck thing - as it was fairly widely used like that until the you know whos came along. I've seen Boy Scout badges and a Boy Scout medal that used swastikas.

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  5. Dear Joy,
    Delightful figure, what?
    Wasn't Armand'Hubert in the 3rd Hussars?
    I rather enjoy the look of the books as well.

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  6. Old books, Gerard, a brilliant miniature, what's not to like?

    I know well the kind of "decompression" you're talking about after a late/night shift.

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  7. He has some swagger about him... lovely.... like the above, I seem to remember reading the Nazi's stole the symbol, and that it was originally reversed to the way they used it???? Dim memory.. should read that Wiki article....

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  8. Martin, this household is purely a inches, feet and yards operation, but thank you on behalf of the Brigadier for the compliment.

    Thank you for the recommendation, I wasn't aware, but there was actually a Gerard film which can be found on youtube.

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  9. He has the appropriate "gatch" as they would say in Cork.

    I have several Kiplings with Swastikas, but what I don't understand is that this book has no Indian connection and therefore no reason to have one.

    Indeed it is a puzzlement.

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  10. Allfront,

    I've seen Swastikas on books about India, but I can't recall ever seeing one on something unrelated.

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  11. The name of the movie was "The Adventures of Gerard".
    The whole movie is on Youtube.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I watched it yesterday. It's a glorious farce, I was actually surprised at how much they got right. Good cast too.

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