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Interesting Article About Monocled Mutineer

I remember reading a reprint in the Cumberland and westmoreland herald when the bbc,s lefty bollox was aired about the copper who was dispatched
( on a bike I think) up the A6 from Penrith to apprehend ( or shoot) the dodgey git. He went for the latter course of action.
The herald seemed to think he was no loss
 
The annotations to his Medal Index Card and Medal Roll give an interesting footnote and without the hyperbole:

Toplis 1.JPG


Toplis 2.JPG
 
The annotations to his Medal Index Card and Medal Roll give an interesting footnote and without the hyperbole:

View attachment 305666

View attachment 305665

That's very confusing because Wilipedia has him in prison for fraud for the whole of 1919.

However, this has him in the Service Corps and the Crabs in that period.
Percy Toplis - Wikipedia

When, according to his card, did he part company from the RAMC?

Is his name spelt Topliss or Toplis?

The truth is certainly stranger than fiction.
 
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Working class murderer and deserter has book written about him , therefore he's a hero ?
There must have been dozens of similar characters floating about Paris , Bolougne , London , Amiens , you name it . After all , there were millions of soldiers in France , and enough deserters to man at least a brigade .
Why pluck one out of obscurity and label him some sort of hero ?
The heroes were those that stuck at it .
 
The problem with the Toplis story is the book and the TV show The Monicaled Mutineer was sold as true story when it was complete horse dung.

He was not involved in the Etaples mutiny. That has been proven many times. He was shot dead by the police in justified homicide though. Toplis, Percy

With regards his MIC this was done after the events and they can show fraudulent enlistment on them if proven it is the same man. No standard ID then, very easy to enlist under another name. There was various punishment for this as it happened often. So noting unusal about his MIC showing his fraudulent enlistments. The RAOC one fits in with the petrol scam he was part of.
 
That's very confusing because Wilipedia has him in prison for fraud for the whole of 1919.

However, this has him in the Service Corps and the Crabs in that period.
Percy Toplis - Wikipedia

When, according to his card, did he part company from the RAMC?

Is his name spelt Topliss or Toplis?

The truth is certainly stranger than fiction.

The stark, cold facts of history are far less romantic than an author (with an agenda?) might wish-plus, it doesn't sell books!

Both the MIC and the Roll record him as 'Percy Toplis': sadly, his original attestation form does not appear to have survived and neither document records when he and RAMC went their separate ways.
 
The stark, cold facts of history are far less romantic than an author (with an agenda?) might wish-plus, it doesn't sell books!

Both the MIC and the Roll record him as 'Percy Toplis': sadly, his original attestation form does not appear to have survived and neither document records when he and RAMC went their separate ways.

Top of my head the family changed betwee Toplis and Topliss. There are descendents using Topliss.
 
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