Flashman

Vladd67

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I was sad to hear of the death of George MacDonald Fraser aged 82. His work on the famous Flashman papers covering the life and career of Brigadier General Sir Harry Flashman VC KCB KCIE, 1822-1915 are without equal for a student of the Victorian period.
For futher details this famous Victorian Soldier you need look no further than his Whos Who entry
Flashman, Harry Paget. Brigadier-general, V.C., K.C.B., K.C.I.E.; Chevalier, Legion of Honour; Order of Maria Theresa, Austria; Order of the Elephant, Denmark (temporary); U.S. Medal of honor; San Serafino Order of purity and truth, 4th Class. b May 5, 1822, s of H. Buckley Flashman, Esq., Ashby and Hon. Alicia Paget; m. Elspeth Rennie Morrison, d. of Lord Paisley; one s., one d. educ. Rugby School. 11th Hussars, 17th Lancers. Served Afghanistan, 1841-42 (medals, thanks of Parliament); chief of staff to H. M. James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak Batang Lupar expedn, 1844; milit. advisor, H.M. Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar, 1844-5; Sutlej campaign, 1845-6 (Ferozeshah, Sobraon, envoy extraordinary to Maharani Jeendan, Court of Lahore); polit. advisor to Herr (later Chancellor Prince) Von Bismarck, Schleswig-Holstein, 1847-8; Crimea staff (Alma, Sevastopol, Balaclava), Prisoner of war, 1854; Artillery adviser to Atilik Ghazi, Syr Daria campaign, 1855; Sepoy Mutiny, 1857-8, dip, envoy to HRH the Maharani of Jhansi, trooper 3rd Native Cavalry, Meerut, subseq. att, Rowbotham's Mosstroopers, Cawnpore, (Lucknow, Gwalior, etc., V.C.); Adjutant to Captain John Brown, Harper's Ferry, 1859; China campaign 1860, polit. mission to Nanking, Taiping Rebellion, polit. and other services, Imperial Court, Pekin U.S. Army (major, Union forces, 1862; colonel (staff) Army of the Confederacy, 1863); a.d.c. to H.I.M. Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico, 1867; interpreter and observer Sioux campain, U.S. 1875-6 (Camp Robinson conference, Little Bighorn, etc.); Zulu War, 1879 (Isandhlwana, Rorke's Drift); Egypt 1882 (Kassassin, Tel-el-Kebir); personal bodyguard to H.I.M. Franz-Joseph, Emperor of Austria 1883; Sudan 1884-5 (Khartoum); Pekin Legations, 1900. Travelled extensively in military and civilian capacities among them supercargo, merchant marine (West Africa); agriculturist (Mississippi valley); wagon captain and hotelier (Santa Fe Trail); buffalo hunter and scout (Oregon Trail); courier (Underground Railroad); majordomo (India), prospector (Australia); trader and missionary (Solomen Islands, Fly River, etc.); lottery supervisor (Manila); diamond Broker and horse coper (Punjab); dep. marshall, U.S.; occasional actor and impersonator. Hon. mbr of numerous societies and clubs, including Sons of the Volsungs (Strackenz), Mimbreno Apache Copper Mines band (New Mexico), Kokand Horde (Central Asia), Kit Carson's Boys (Colorado), Brown's Lambs (Maryland), M.C.C., Whites and United Service (London, both resigned), Blackjack (Batavia). Chmn, Flashman and Bottomley, Ltd.; dir. British Opium Trading Co.; governor, Rugby School; hon. pres. Mission for Reclamation of Reduced Females. Publications: Dawns and Departures of a Soldier's Life; Twixt Cossack and Cannon; The Case Against Army Reform. Recreation: oriental studies, angling, cricket (performed first recorded "hat-trick"; Wickets of Felix, Pilch and Mynn for 14 runs; Rugby Past and Present v Kent, Lord's 1842; 5 for 12, Mynn's Casuals v All Engand XI, 1843). Add. Gandamack Lodge, Ashby, Leics.
 
A sad loss...

He also wrote the McAuslan books, possibly some of the best stories about post-war life in the Army:

The General Danced at Dawn
(1970)
McAuslan in the Rough
(1974)
The Sheikh and the Dustbin
(1988)

And a book about the Border Reivers, The Steel Bonnets (Border_Reivers)

Bayete, George! 92, no deid yet!
 
Yes, I loved Flashman and McAuslan. The best ever, though was his fly-on-the-wall observation of McAuslan watching Scotland v Iran in the 1978 World Cup. I laughed so hard I almost forgot my own bitter memories of that game.
 
From The Sheik and the Dustbin, yes? My own personal favourite is the one about the inter-regimental quiz, won in the oddest circumstances....:D
 
As opposed to the Brigadier, who "heard it 35 years ago, at Eton"...:D

Oh yes, great stories....:)
 
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