Well, Paparat..

that was easy.. all we need from Jim is the Ref. number off his certificate a quick check against the list in Pope Benedict's back pocket and...voila.. question answered.

Here I was getting worried that the award was bought on E-bay...

I like how Jimmy boy goes from Super walt IBA "I'll chop your fingers off with a spoon" to dull HSE first Aid at work course. Its not really what I'd expect from our star!
11-14 Dezember, HSE First Aid at Work mit DG James Shortt (UK)

http://www.iba-deutschland.de/german...prog.php#kurse

edit/ Pudding fingers

19 Dezember, 51st Lucien Ott Memorial Dinner & Awards (Bellingham Castle, Irland)


Anyone fancy turning up a presenting him with a "Walt Award"

Originally Posted by Gas Gas Gas

Originally Posted by Rocketeer

Welcome Kingston..

soo....you're saying that Ott actually knew his stuff then, being a real soldier an all, not just pretty face in the Officers' Mess?

Unless somewhere along the line the "Commandant" was translated to "Major" for the benefit of those ignorant of French ranks?

Rocketeer:

Yep, that about sums it up, and being a Warrant Officer may explain the lack of information on Google. I have confirmed with a Captain in the R22eR this morning, who did an exchange with the Frence Army, that the rank of Major is indeed a Warrant Officer.

GGG:

Could be. However, his Lordship, Baron Shorttarse, claims an Irish background. A case of the finest Canadian beer to the first Gentleman (or Lady) who can tell me what the Irish Army rank of Major is called?

Cpl. ripper:

Wowser!!

The man has some mega frequent flyer points coming his way.. The Itinerary for the courses Jimmy is conducting all around the world has the guy living out of suitcases for weeks... hope he packed light and isn't hauling all the kilty bits, LoFty suit and spare medal racks with him.. or his overweight allowance will be eaten up in no time..

Still, it explains why he hasn't been visiting out little thread.,. too damn busy imparting bodyguard wisdom to paying customers.. Bet he just is too tired -when he gets back to the hotel, he crashes on the vibro-massage bed and drops off without plugging in to the free in-room internet connection and checking us out..

The man is a wizard at toughing it past jetlag, no wonder he's so famous..

Originally Posted by gallowglass

"

I note that Major Lucien Ott apparently escaped from Viet Minh captivity after the fall of Dien Bien Phu - surely the instances of escapees after the fall of DBP were quite rare and are well documented?

Intrigued by this, I dug out my copy of 'Hell in a very small place - The siege of Dien Bien Phu' by Bernard Fall, just to see if there's any mention of the good Maj / WO. My thinking being that this could shed some light on this brave man.

Sadly he's nowhere to be seen. Shocking, eh?

Originally Posted by KingstonRadio

Originally Posted by Gas Gas Gas

Originally Posted by Rocketeer

Welcome Kingston..

soo....you're saying that Ott actually knew his stuff then, being a real soldier an all, not just pretty face in the Officers' Mess?

Unless somewhere along the line the "Commandant" was translated to "Major" for the benefit of those ignorant of French ranks?

Rocketeer:

Yep, that about sums it up, and being a Warrant Officer may explain the lack of information on Google. I have confirmed with a Captain in the R22eR this morning, who did an exchange with the Frence Army, that the rank of Major is indeed a Warrant Officer.

GGG:

Could be. However, his Lordship, Baron Shorttarse, claims an Irish background. A case of the finest Canadian beer to the first Gentleman (or Lady) who can tell me what the Irish Army rank of Major is called?

That would be Commandant

A case of beer to His Excellency Lord Gallowglass!

That didn't take long for Gallowglass to come up with the right answer. Yes, the Irish Army also uses Commandant instead of Major, so I don't see how the good Baron Shorttarse could confuse things.

Charles de Gualles bodyguard

well apparently the chap in this news article was de gualle's bodyguard taken from linked articlef so where did Ott fit in?

It was natural that when de Gaulle became president in 1959 he should call on Comiti to be his chief bodyguard. After his death Comiti served with Georges Pompidou and assisted Valery Giscard d'Estaing on his visits abroad. But his loyalty was always to General de Gaulle, for whom, he said, he had been ready to die. Paul Comiti, bodyguard: born Sotta, Corsica 30 November 1921; died Paris 5 March 1997.

Good evening, My Learned Canadian Friend and the motley Crew of ARRSE ...

Oh, gosh, wow ... I go away for a [rather] long weekend and even more dubiousness arises. May the Saints preserve Saint Google and the Wholly Inernet

I shall have to re-read it all several times, to try and re-establish where I was, but in the interim could I beg colleagues to keep updating Wiki [addresses, bank accounts, honours, "When I was ..." and stuff]. Collating all this stuff is mega time-consuming, and your kindness if posting on the thread would be a greater kindness if you also pasted the text [appropriately, and politely, in the Wiki.

Personally, in recognition of my recent visit to Yorkshire, I would like to award myself a minor defunct European Order for discovering York's finest bull-sh1t rip-off restaurant. I shall not, however, divulge its name ... if they can get punters through the door at those prices [and then charge £3 extra for vegetables, and not offer a slice of bread while you wait interminably for service] then all I can say is [I now know a very nice pub
with better food, prices, service, choice, ambiance ...]

A fantastic weekend's work by the Shortt Team
CU later.