Ve-day Mythology

[laufer]

I've just read an interesting article by Norman Davies in Sunday Times (01 May): "Russia, the missing link in Britain's VE Day mythology". You can find it in Timesonline http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...592247,00.html
I'm very curious about your opinions.

[Michal_Dembinski]

A link would be handy...

Michal

[laufer]

Originally posted by Michal_Dembinski@May 12 2005, 12:49 AM
A link would be handy...

Michal

Quoted post

Sorry, My mistake. This should help: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...592247,00.html

[Neil B]

Thank you for that, Laufer.

[adrian roberts]

laufer
Some interesting details in the article, but I wouldn't have said there was anything new in it.
Of course there has always been a populist view that the war was "England v Germany", as Davies says a precursor to the 1966 World Cup. But no reasonably well-informed person, either then or now, would have denied the more complex picture. The British Empire just about held its own until the USSR and USA entered the war, but it is virtually inconceivable that we could have won it on our own. If we had avoided being kicked out of France at Dunkirk we might have found it easier, but we wouldn't have been able to mount a seaborne invasion of Europe without US support and a massive commitment of German forces to the Eastern Front. We helped win the war militarily, but the effort bankrupted us (rationing got worse after the war) and we never recoverd economically.
The huge Soviet casualties, many of them self-inflicted, are well known. But it doesn't surprise me that the EU refused to pay tribute to those murdered by the NKVD: the Western liberal establishment has always tended to demonise the Nazis but to think of the Bolsheviks as quite decent chaps.
Adrian

[laufer]

Thanks for the reply Adrian. I quite agree. That sort of myths seems to be a much serious problem in case of Russia. As we know, for the real Russians the war began in 1941 and was rather a Great Patriotic one, than a World War II.

[stevew]

As Adrian said, nothing new in that article, but I do feel the article should've made the point that if it wasn't for Britain, the War would've more than likely been over by the end of 1940/early 1941. How close were the Germans to getting air superioty over England?

Probably no one could've defeated the Germans and their allies on their own. Maybe the Soviets were best equipped to do it, but we'll never know. 20 years ago you could argue that the real victors of the war were the Soviets, they had stretched an Empire into Eastern Europe, and in a strange way it was probably easier to see how the hand of Stalin hand struck. Now it is different, people who are 20 can't remember the Eastern Bloc, or iron curtain, or the Cold War, or East and West Germany for that matter and it is easier to say today how good all the allies were in defeating the evil Nazis. Personally I think it is a very mistitled article

[sapper]

You may find this interesting. On VE day, I was being operated on by a genius. A Major John Charnley, A true medical genius. To save one of my legs from amputation they had tried a bone grafting operation on a "Goat" then when they found it worked, they did it on me on V E Day.

To get enough bone, they took out the bits of hips I hang my trousers on. Now I have to wera old fashioned bracers. Or my pants fall down. They could not get enough bone to make the legs the same length so one is a bit shorter than the other.

It seems funny now, but in those days adulthood was at the age of 21, so my parents had to give their permission just in case there had to be an amputation. It worked and I got to keep my leg......

So remember with pride Major, or Sir John Charnley, the surgeon that invented the hip joint operation that has given comfort to so many folk.

In those far off days of 1945, I was able to help him make his own equipment. A true Genius, and one that brought succour and great care to many severely war disabled service men and women.

The hip joint operation is still called "A Charnley" For eher was aman that cared for his patients and was perpared to go to long lengths to give the best medical treatment. And afetr care inthe best convalescent himes imaginable.
So folks I give you Sir John Charnley ,a true Genius, and a man of great stature in the orthopeadic world.
Sapper

[kfz]

Originally Posted by sapper

You may find this interesting. On VE day, I was being operated on by a genius. A Major John Charnley, A true medical genius. To save one of my legs from amputation they had tried a bone grafting operation on a "Goat" then when they found it worked, they did it on me on V E Day.

To get enough bone, they took out the bits of hips I hang my trousers on. Now I have to wera old fashioned bracers. Or my pants fall down. They could not get enough bone to make the legs the same length so one is a bit shorter than the other.

It seems funny now, but in those days adulthood was at the age of 21, so my parents had to give their permission just in case there had to be an amputation. It worked and I got to keep my leg......

So remember with pride Major, or Sir John Charnley, the surgeon that invented the hip joint operation that has given comfort to so many folk.

In those far off days of 1945, I was able to help him make his own equipment. A true Genius, and one that brought succour and great care to many severely war disabled service men and women.

The hip joint operation is still called "A Charnley" For eher was aman that cared for his patients and was perpared to go to long lengths to give the best medical treatment. And afetr care inthe best convalescent himes imaginable.
So folks I give you Sir John Charnley ,a true Genius, and a man of great stature in the orthopeadic world.
Sapper

Always find your posts interesting Sapper. I dont recal you saying how you got the wound. Its was on the island want it?

Kev

[sapper]

HI Kev no mate,
I had already picked up one wounding in Normandy. The second time it was while I was out at night, about one in the morning. being I was one of the original crew this 19 year old was a trusted Vet, and was trusted to go back from the front line to get the next days battle orders.

That was on the Overloon Venraij road in Holland. On my way back with the orders big bang, big blast....Goodnight nurse. Fractured lower spine, lost top of my knee and one leg broken so badly that there was not enough bone left to heal together, Took me about two years to recover. More tea Vicar.
Sapper