The Military Imposter Walts fakes etc thread

Ha - I was a Walt and not ashamed to say it. It worked a treat in 1992 on Rhodes Island for me. I'm more akin to find them funny rather than be outraged by those that pretend to be in the armed forces.

 

Cannot understand why anyone would pretend to be in the Military in this way.
Needless to say it is usually something like the Royal Marines, Parachute Regiment or some of the various "Elite" type Units - Never heard any reports of some Walt pretending to be in the Catering Corps!

 

I chose the Royal Marines

 

Just as a counterpoint.. In 2005 there was a big exhibit in St James' Park commemorating 60th Anniversary of VE/VJ. There was the usual sprinkling of Paras, Commandos, SAS, fighter pilots.. I noted cattily to a companion that no-one reenacts mobile bath units and the like... To turn a corner to find a Field Postal Section, RE. (Bet they don't get invited to reconstructions for TV docos very often...)

All together now: "Walting Matilda, Walting Matilda.. Who'll come a Walting..."

 

I would happily join a Pay Corps re-enactment group.

 

An update on the passage of the private members bill currently passing through the House of Commons:

War medal fakers should face criminal charges, say MPs - BBC News

 

There is a slightly updated BBC news feature about the 'Walter Mittys' (25 November 2016):
The 'Walter Mittys': Why do some people pose as heroes? - BBC News

 

I was listening to a recent veteran (Iraq) speak about this subject. He feels these people need medical help rather than locking up.

 

Well-meaning but completely uneccessary bill in my opinion. These Walter Mitty types are regularly exposed in the media and on various forums and websites. That is the way to deal with them - public exposure and shaming (and possibly medical help as stated above). Clogging up Parliament and the legal system by passing more laws is not a practical solution, especially when there are far more imortant things to deal with at the moment.

 

A few years ago now, when I was in Caen going to the shops one afternoon a British car pulled up with two fellows dressed in parachute regiment paraphernalia (T-shirts, badges, baseball caps, etc). Evidently thinking I was French, they had a French / English phrasebook and asked me for directions to the Tourist Information Office. (It was in the days before Sat Navs).

I gave them the directions (in English) and asked were they going to be visiting Pegasus Bridge? Yes, they were and in fact that was where they had been heading after disembarking from the ferry. They had obviously missed the road for the bridge and ended up in Caen. I said I knew about Pegasus Bridge and was writing about it as part of my studies and I also told them I had visited the Arnhem Bridge. There was a puzzled look and another question, "What's that, is it somewhere near here?"

"No", I replied, "Arnhem Bridge, the 'Bridge too Far'" (blank looks). So I then asked if they had been in the parachute regiment? The answer was, "We were in the Falklands". It seemed a bit odd to me that ex-paras knew nothing about Arnhem .... I think they had likely been 'in the Falklands', possibly working as civilian contractors there some years after 1982?

Why were they dressed up in the parachute regiment gear? Could it be they were expecting better service in Normandy than a couple of blokes dressed in ordinary T-shirts? I appreciate anyone can wear a T-Shirt, baseball cap or badge with the Pegasus symbol on it. In fact, I have my own 'Pegasus' baseball cap, a souvenir of a visit to Arnhem / Oosterbeek. But I had the impression these guys were "Walts", trying to give the impression of either being 'paras' or or 'ex-paras'. As long as nobody actually spoke to them about the history of the Parachute Regiment they could probably get away with it.

 

This is clearly true in some cases, but--like this latest one with the pony--where there's been a conscious effort to defraud for financial gain (and not just inflate ones image or sense of self-worth), I think punishment serves a worthy punitive function as well as acting as a deterrent.

 

Totally agree with you CF.

 

1919 case.
DCM, French ribbon (CdeG?), 14 Star.

 

Tory walt.
Edward Andrews on Twitter

 

I see, not a walt then. But a politician in uniform. That's OK then.

 

Yes, I know they didn't have bonedomes in 1940...