For those that like Heroes

[KeithMacdonald]

For starters, I offer the legendary Eric "Winkle" Brown

"The Pilot Who Flew 487 Different Aircraft & Landed 2,271 Times On A Carrier"

 

 

[Allegheny1600]

I once knew a smashing chap called Alistair, whose second name I always forgot, sorry.

He was an engineer and I think, a tankie who had taken part in the Normandy landings.

He had worked on various projects and claimed to have possibly been responsible for the cancelling of the “Blue Streak” missile project! I had no way of verifying any of this, of course but he told me that he had spotted a way of making the engine more efficient - such that it could hit Moscow.

Apparently, London grew very nervous about this as they didn’t want to directly threaten Moscow itself, just parts of the Warsaw Pact. Alistair said that after his improvements, the project was cancelled but - I always thought it was down to costs?

Never mind!

Alistair had a wonderful skill as a modeller, not in our discipline but in model ships, he had several, all probably post WWII and military,  all built by himself and none smaller than about six feet in length. He had also designed and built a motorcycle engine that was very small and powerful but I don’t know if it was ever used.

Sadly he died only about six months after I got to know him but I guess you could say he was a hero of mine.

 I don’t think you get to know too many people like that!

I’ve met and much admire Professor Sir Roger Penrose and he’s utterly brilliant so maybe he’s also a hero of mine.

 

[BoD]

I like most heroes but my least favourites are the double decker and fudge.

 

Sorry, but somebody had to, so best get it out of the way early.

[Steamport Southport]

12 minutes ago, BoD said:

I like most heroes but my least favourites are the double decker and fudge.

 

Sorry, but somebody had to, so best get it out of the way early.

 

That was what entered my mind when I saw the thread title.....

 

That or Marvel/DC Comics/etc.

[Classsix T]

1 hour ago, BoD said:

I like most heroes but my least favourites are the double decker and fudge.

 

Sorry, but somebody had to, so best get it out of the way early.

For starters, Double Deckers are the confectionery of Champions.

 

Secondly I like a lot of Bowie's other songs too.

 

C6T.

[Sidecar Racer]

Two posts before thread drift is here .   😂

Edited January 5, 2023 by Sidecar Racer

[The Sled]

This thread seems to have dried up a bit, so I'll see if two of my heroes, who I suspect few will immediately recognise, can revive it. We all need heroes.

 

The first is a Cornishman, Cyril Richard Rescorla, a man of great personal courage and conviction. You can read more detail of his incredibly full life online, just Google (other search engines are available!)  his name. During the Second World War, much of Cornwall became a training ground for US troops preparing for Normandy. As a young boy, Rescorla idolized them and became fascinated by all things American; it was probably then he decided that he wanted to become a soldier. After working in the military and police in the UK and Rhodesia (as it was then), Rescorla moved to the US and as soon as he was able, enrolled in the US Army. He became a platoon commander in the 7th Cavalry and demonstrated his leadership and personal bravery during the Battle of Ia Drang, where his battalion was outnumbered and became surrounded by NVA and Vietcong. He was involved in the thick of the fighting, calming his young troops by walking round their positions at night singing (sometimes bawdy!) Cornish folk songs. They nicknamed him "Hard Core." If you watch the Mel Gibson film "We Were Soldiers" you'll see him represented (Rescorla himself rejected any suggestion he was a hero and refused to see the film or read the book on which it was based, declaring that they had buried all the heroes over there). He returned from Vietnam with the Silver Star, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Lt. Colonel Hal Moore, his CO, himself a leader not lacking in guts and ability, described him as "the best damn platoon commander I ever saw."

 

Despite this tough guy image, Rescorla had a gentle, thoughtful, and intellectual side: he loved music, ballroom dancing, yoga, and studied the spiritual side of Amerindian culture. After leaving the army he studied English and law at university, gaining a Masters in the former. He then went on to become a university lecturer and had a textbook published. He also studied several foreign languages, learning Portuguese, Italian and Arabic.

 

He left teaching for better paid jobs in corporate security. While working in the World Trade Centre he identified its vulnerability to terrorist attack, suggesting that a truck loaded with explosives could be parked in the underground car park next to a load-bearing column. His report and recommendations were largely ignored, that is until 1993 when terrorists did just that, placing the bomb 30 feet from where he predicted. Rescorla gained much credibility after that, and while with Morgan Stanley he continued to look at the WTC's weaknesses. He was the man who predicted 9/11, that terrorists could crash an aircraft into it. As a result, he implemented regular fire training and evacuation drills, despite opposition from some high-powered executives. When, on the 11th September 2001, the first aircraft struck the South Tower, Rescorla ignored the official advice to occupants of the North Tower to remain where they were and personally directed an evacuation of Morgan Stanley's 2700 employees. Nearly all of them survived. Sadly, not Rick himself. After he had got most of Morgan Stanley's people out, he went back into the building to try to help others evacuate and was last seen on the 10th Floor heading up the stairs. His remains were never found. The man was a great leader and had balls of steel.

 

My second hero, you've almost certainly never heard of. Kenneth Frederick Jousiffe was a fire fighter for most of his working life. He joined the fire service shortly after doing his National Service in the Royal Navy. One night in 1958, he and his colleagues responded to reports of a fire at a furniture warehouse near Wembley (West London, UK). On arrival, they could see no obvious sign of fire, though they could smell smoke. The crew entered the building to investigate. As they made their way to the back of the building, it suddenly erupted into flame. The crew including Jousiffe exited, but on emerging they realised that two of their crew were missing. Jousiffe had a lot to lose, as he was engaged to a young nurse and they were due to marry later that year, but despite this he and another fireman volunteered to don breathing apparatus and re-enter the building to search for their colleagues. What had happened to the missing men was when the fire erupted, they found themselves trapped on a walkway some distance above the warehouse floor. With the building all around them thoroughly alight, their only means of escape was to jump from the walkway onto the concrete floor below: it was that or burn to death, so jump they did. One of them suffered severe back injuries, the other serious leg injuries. Both passed out.

 

As Jousiffe and his colleague advanced into the building, they found themselves in a desperate situation. Thick smoke meant they could not see more than a few inches in front of them. The building all round was an inferno, the noise of the fire deafening and the heat debilitating. The only way they could make any progress was by crawling along the floor and feeling their way by hand. Jousiffe was trying to listen for the bleepers the missing men carried, as a clue to their whereabouts, but the BA and helmet he was wearing made it difficult. So he took a decision that might cost him his life: he took off his helmet and BA to listen. As a result, he and his colleague were able to locate the two men, and by sharing their BA with them and dragging them clear, all four survived. Both Jousiffe and his colleague were awarded the British Empire Medal for Bravery. Without their personal bravery their two colleagues would not have survived the fire.

 

Jousiffe married his sweetheart, Nina, later that year, and continued to serve the capital city as part of the London Fire Brigade until his retirement, rising through the ranks to a senior position. He is still alive today, and will celebrate his 92nd birthday next week. Sadly, time has taken its toll, and he is suffering dementia, but if you mention it in conversation he still remembers with pride his time in the Royal Navy and the Fire Brigade:  his face lights up and his back straightens and you glimpse again the courageous young man who did his duty and risked his life for others.

 

You won't find much online about him, but his citation published in the London Gazette is available. So how do I know so much about him? Nina, his wife of 66 years, is my aunt.

 

Who are your heroes? And why?

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

When you think of anti-apartheid activists you don't really think of George Formby, but there you are.

 

 

[APOLLO]

Being a Wiganer I've never heard that one !!!!!

 

George also won the Isle of Man TT race once !!

 

 

What a Hero !!!!!!!!!!

 

Brit15

[The Johnster]

George winning a TT, and Billy Cotton the bandleader being the first man to lap Brooklands at a 100mph average, are my two favourite bits of trivia.  I have a mental picture of George, doing up the chinstrap of his helmet, getting on the bike, saying 'turned out nice again, en't it' with a cheery grin, and away...