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Twentieth Century Chivalry |
Adventures in the 14th Century Some of our readers may remember the name of Guichard d'Angle,
a famous knight who, much to the chagrin of those who today try
to claim that peerage titles for life are a modern innovation,
was granted the earldom of Huntingdon for life in 1377. He was,
as is said today, quite a character. A 20th Century Diary Not long before the Gulf War a young officer left the British
Army to become a television cameraman. He learned his trade in
Afghanistan, producing pictures that were regularly broadcast
into the world's living rooms, and elected to remain a freelance
so that he could specialise in reporting war. While this ensured
a certain amount of freedom, it meant it was often more difficult
to obtain the privileges accorded to the teams of the big corporations.
His arms, shown right, are given by Beauchet-Filleau, working
from the notes of the Count de Ste Maure, as d'argent semé de billettes d'azur, au lion de même, but the Harleian MS 2169 in the British Museum, a 15th century
book of arms entitled "Auncient Coates", gives the field as of
gold (as illustrated here).
D'Angle was a formidable warrior in the wars between England and
France, fighting for the French King until 1363, and then for
Edward III by whom he was appointed Marshal in Acquitaine. In
1369 he was Edward's envoy to the Pope, travelling with a large
retinue, but on his return the military situation made an uninterrupted
journey through France appear impossible. Accordingly he relinquished
command of the troops to his son-in-law and continued alone, disguised
as a poor priest, badly horsed and ill-equipped, through France,
Burgundy and Auvergne, to meet the Prince of Wales eventually
at Angoulême.
Froissart, who gives the bare details, regrettably relates nothing
of the adventures d'Angle must have had during his travels, but
nevertheless the mention of the journey in disguise suggested
we might look around for a contemporary adventure in disguise.
We found one. It would not immediately be described as "chivalry"
in the modern sense of the word, but in the historic style of
perilous travels in disguise it is, and it is worth reading.
Easy and authorised access to the Gulf War was denied him and,
with the suspension of civil flights to the Persian Gulf, rather
more than a little imagination was necessary to reach Bahrein.
This he eventually achieved via Oman and Sharjah and a small strip-hopping
aircraft. His diary begins there, 16 days before the invasion
of Iraq.
Day 1 Arrived Bahrein. Briefed on current situation.
Day 2 Further briefings.
Day 3 Local reconnaissance.
Day 4 Situation reviewed. Only option available is to acquire a military
ID. Photocopied an ID card as inspiration for creativity. Located
an irritatingly talkative Arab printer experienced in screen printing.
Bought some paper similar to that used for ID cards, with pink
wavy pattern of small dots on a white background.
Day 5 Hired good Macintosh at the Apple Centre together with a scanner.
Scanned the photocopy of the two sides of the ID, cleaned it up
on screen and printed out on the pink paper. Arranged photograph
in a cupboard in the souk, holding the board with the army numbers on it, and then glued
on the photograph and typed in personal details. Laminated the
final result with the help of a cooperative secretary.
Day 6 Reported in my old tropical combats and wearing Captain's pips
to an army unit at RAF Muharraq. Located a landrover going to
Al Jubail and put my equipment aboard. Quizzed by an alert SNCO
who, while probably returning to his office to check the passenger
list, was intercepted by another NCO with what appeared to be
a pressing problem. The driver and the other passengers arrived
before he was released, and we departed. On arrival at Dahran
airbase I visited a fairly amiable unit which provided various
items of equipment needed to enhance personal safety and to further
credibility.
We departed for Al Jubail, the huge US/UK base, and arrived at
Blackadder Camp ~ later condemned by the Red Cross as an EPW camp,
but obviously fine for British soldiers. Slept on the floor of
an empty billet, after having entered the secure area by mistake
and avoided having my personal details entered into the main admin
computer only by pleading urgent personal discomfort.
Day 7 All day at Al Jubail writing "blueys" galore.
Day 8 Travelled up the main supply route to Al Batin. Noticed some
Challengers mounting low loaders, so took a lift forward.
Day 9 Looked after very well by the armour.
Day 10 Spend the day 45 km south of the border.
Briefed by soldiers who accepted him as one of themselves.
ID ~ Identification
ID card lent by surprisingly unsuspicious soldier.
The cooperative secretary was British.
Captain's pips ~ Captain's rank insignia, three stars.
SNCO ~ Senior Non-Commissioned Officer
Credibility included also an explanation for the heavy camera
equipment
EPW ~ Enemy Prisoner of War
"blueys" ~ air mail letters home
Challengers ~ British main battle tanks
Day 11 ~ Heading towards the action