Brilliant news, delighted that another one of those great men has “come home” !

As Cees says only one gone out of the thousands ! I wonder how many more could be identified if there was a detailed examination and correlation of the records that are now available?

A fine bit of flying to get her down relatively ok. Glad the pilot is ok !

Surely she will have to be transported back by road? Would’nt it be a risk to fly an aircraft back for repairs when she has belly landed ?

While understanding that there is a view that certain sectors should not take strike action for fear of it’s impact on essential services, I have to say that withdrawal of labour is a right that must never be taken away.

There are far too many employers and government bodies who ignore the impacts of their actions on either the general public or their employees when making decisions. I was lucky in that I had only to go out on an all-out-strike once in over 30 years. But there were plenty of times when if it wasnt for a certain amount of public spirit we would have been “out” due to the attitude of manangement.

Must be the hour of the day and a lack of sleep last night but i am still confused ! 😮

It was a very pecular kind of neutrality that released one side’s aircraft & men that had landed while on “training” missions while interning the other sides due to their combative status, allowed free access via the Donegal Corridor, provided intelligence and allowed access to any Axis technology developments that came into their hands, sent on weather reports that were vital on D-day etc, etc….

But then there was the disgrace that was the expression of sympathy on the death of Hitler, not our best hour.

CD – perhaps the paper was just trying to reflect the country’s neutrality at the time!!:rolleyes:

In what way ?

By the way the reason the pilot was returned to the Curragh was due to his having given his “parole” prior to escaping.

I think it’s a great idea, at least you wouldnt have to put any oil in the pan for that authentic Thai stir-fry taste!

Anyway a bit of grease is good for you isnt it? After all we have all loved our weekend fry-up for years havent we ? :diablo:

Not anything like on the scale of you fellas, but i picked up a fairly old wooden Carpenter’s plane at an auction a few weeks back for £12.00 ,Took me waaaaaaaaaaayy back to my woodworking days at school ! The only problem with it was that the wedge that holds the blade in place was well eaten by wood worm ! Strange to relate but I spotted another one on a stall over the weekend and it had woodworm in exactly the same place !!

Anyway, it will go well with my wooden sprit level that some kind chippy left in the back of my dad’s A35 van about 40+ years ago !

Normal people don’t win counterinsurgencies. COIN is typically won by the most ruthless genocidal maniacs. Genghis Khan never had much trouble with insurgents. Dont think there were insurgents, as we understand the term, in existance back then !What you consider war crimes is the way COIN has been won for thousands of years.So rape, murder of innocent civilians, deliberate & targeted shelling of a hospital, murder of those who have surrendered ISNT a war crime in your book? Amatures are those who don’t understand this. Do you mean Amatuers ?

This kind of war is not going to be won by what you consider civilized means, and is best avoided altogether if you disapprove of it. No war is civilised but there are rules which most “normal” people,military and civilian, regard as being non-negotiable, especially when they are applied to non-combatants.

The Brits always had a soft spot for the Tamils. Maybe it’s a colonial thing. But this is the way it must end. Either the Tamil Tigers get their way through terrorism, or the government gets it’s way through war crimes. 1. I am not British, 2. It might be more a question that people in general expect a government NOT to act like some sort of blood crazed madmen rather than any Colonial sympathy.3 Your statement that this was the only way to win that particular war is to be frank nonsensical.

I presume that if this crime had been perpetrated against members of Western Armed forces or for that matter Western civilians it would be equally acceptable ? Were the crimes of Japanese forces against the resistance in the Philippines okay? or against American POW’s on the Bataan Death march? What about the actions of the SS against civilians in Oradour-Sur-Glane ?

Your arguments excusing the actions of the government of a “civilised” country are better left to history…a history that no one in the right mind would should be held up as something to be repeated.