Sod That for a Game of Soldiers: A Personal Account of the Falklands War and 3 Para’s Bloody Battle for Mount Longdon

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The military has some formula for naming operational tours in war zones. I’m not sure if it’s chosen by a grey-suited civil servant deep in the bowls of MOD Headquarters in Westminster or if it’s the result of some oversized computer that spits out random names (and probably the winning numbers of the premium bonds as well). So, by whatever means, the name for deployment in Northern Ireland was Operation Banner We ate in a basic canteen, which served basic yet wholesome food. The army cooks were helped by local Protestant civilians, and hatred of all things Catholic was very evident. I guess if you were brought up in such troubled communities your opinions would be tainted. They were good to us and always asked us if we needed anything from outside as we couldn’t leave the Mill unless on patrol. The rest of the Mill was made up mainly of accommodation, with some rest areas and briefing rooms, all very basic, and we had two pay telephones outside the canteen (these were the days before mobile phones). We always knew when something was up – either an incident or operation – as you would find guards on the telephones so that you could not use them.

That is what death is like. It doesn’t matter what uniforms the soldiers are wearing. It doesn’t matter how good the weapons are. I thought if everyone could see what I saw, we would never have war anymore.” Legal history was made when Private Ian Thain was convicted of Reilly’s murder and sentenced to life in prison. It was the first time that a British soldier serving in Northern Ireland had been convicted of murder while on duty. During the five-week trial, Thain claimed he thought Reilly was armed. However, this was rejected by the court after they heard that he had been wearing only a pair of shorts and had been searched before the incident. Mr. Justice Higgins rejected the defence, saying that it had been “concocted” during the soldier’s time on remand in a military base in England. He said that Thain had been deliberately dishonest throughout. I wasn’t mentioned at the trial, but Mr. Justice Higgins was wrong in his assumption that Thain had concocted the story that a gun was present that day. I heard the shout, calling out that there was a gun. I have no idea if a gun was present, but I don’t buy the idea that just because Reilly had previously been searched he could not have had a gun. Someone else could have given it to him and then taken it away after the shooting. In addition to this, there has to be a tipping point where the facts, on balance, point one way or the other. Did Reilly have a gun? I don’t think so. Was there a gun present? Possibly. Barker has produced ‘Sod This For A Game of Soldiers’, a touching commemoration that depicts unexpected fraternity in the gruesome theatre of war, inspired by the famous football game between German and British soldiers on Christmas Day 1914. From It’s really a question of confidence…, by Peter Wilkin, published in the Bury Free Press (Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England) of Friday 29 th November 1974:

blow this/that for a game of soldiers

Painted in the nostalgic-style that this Yorkshire-born and bred artist is known and admired for, ‘Sod This For A Game Of Soldiers’ is an atmospheric work that shows a group of English and German soldiers playing football on Christmas Day 1914. Actually it was when I was mentally concocting a headline-snatching article about going fishing 50 times without a bite and making history in the Guinness Book of Records, that I finally realised that I had given in and did not expect to catch a fish. When Bob and Dave – whom the artist describes as the “most knowledgeable man on history I have ever known” – began to discuss key moments of the four-year conflict, it ignited a yearning in him to create the painting. Blow" in a pejoritive sense has of course recently got a new lease of life, courtesy of US English from what I understand, as in "let's blow this popsicle stand" or even the more vulgar "that blows".

We still had one of his medals, it was the Great War Medal, the type that had an angel on it and his name was printed around the edge,” he explained. Stephen Newman was born in the UK and came from a long line of military ancestors, full of medals and trauma. The conflict was a constant in his life, starting with his early childhood spent in volatile Aden. The army seemed like the best career choice, so Newman became a soldier for Northern Ireland. He discovered he liked to chase the bad guys, so he did it on the streets, as a policeman, and also from an office, investigating financial crimes. The MI5 tried to convince him to join them, but he declined. His career path continued and led him to new challenges. Are you curious to discover what he learned in the process? have been asked far too often if I could ever kill someone. The answer, in a binary way, is yes, but it is more complex than that. If I or my colleagues are under immediate threat of harm then, yes, I would do so without hesitation – soldiers are trained that way. If the threat is not immediate then I have to set myself some questions: Is this an enemy combatant or (in the case of Northern Ireland a terrorist)? Is he or she armed? Will they pose a future threat in the short or long term? Will a civilian get hurt?A painting inspired by the famous football game between German and British soldiers on Christmas Day 1914 was unveiled at Castle Galleries, Exeter on Saturday 19 July ahead of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War on 4 August. A cold gust of wind fans your face, you shiver slightly, you have been standing still, “get moving,” you say to yourself, only another hour to do, the rifle is heavy, brrrr, blow this for a game of soldiers, they have no consideration at all. There is an idiom that seems to be distinctly British: “—- this for a game of soldiers” where the dashes are replaced with various swear words. For example: “Sod this for a game of soldiers.” It usually seems to involve profanity but there are some cleaned-up variations such as “Stuff this for a game of soldiers.” From Robinson Crusoe Smith, by John Smith, published in the Sunday People (London, England) of Sunday 23 rd November 1975: Barker said he was inspired to create the piece after he and his older brother began to talk about their grandfather William Barker, who served in the war.

This phrase occurs, for example, in A new start after 60: I found love after a painful divorce—and we moved to an uninhabited island, by Emma Beddington, published in The Guardian (London and Manchester, England) of Monday 3 rd April 2023: And now, Castle Galleries has commissioned 195 signed limited edition prints and the artwork is available to view at Castle Galleries, Exeter. I was all for doing a marooned mariner bit, and spending the night in Alexander Selkirk’s cave. But Man Friday muttered the Spanish equivalent of “Maracas to that for a game of soldiers,” and I settled for a room in a tiny inn. The basic meaning is clear: “—- this” expresses disapproval of a situation. But I’m curious about the modifying phrase. From Country Matters ( London: André Deutsch Limited, 1971), by the British author and broadcaster Fred Basnett (1928-2006):With the deep sandbanks of the trenches in the foreground, torn barbed wire fencing and trees that have been destroyed by bombing, this poignant piece of artwork is a timely reminder of how humanity can transcend the horrors of war. From Forging the Link: A Handbook of Hashomer Hatzair in England and Israel (London: Hashomer Hatzair, 1952):

The training for Op Banner, as it became known, was long and comprehensive. It involved shooting ranges, fitness, and presentations from colleagues who had been on previous tours, information and training on terrorists and why things go wrong, as well as a lot of time in a shooting range that resembled the streets of Ireland, complete with targets that popped up from windows and doorways.The 9th of August is the anniversary of a now-suspended British policy of internment for suspected Republicans, which could have been why the disturbance was bigger and more violent. Suddenly, a shot rang out. I didn’t hear it over the noise, but it resulted in the death of Thomas “Kidso” Reilly, a road manager for the girl band Bananarama. I heard someone shout that there was a gun, but I cannot recall if that was before or after Reilly was killed, nor did I see Reilly or any other rioters with a weapon – that’s not to say that a gun wasn’t present but if it was I didn’t see it. Rita Jones, Castle Galleries, Exeter’s gallery manager, said: “Bob Barker’s work is mesmerising and we are so pleased to have his work on display at the gallery. From a spark of an idea whilst talking with my brother, researching so much over a period of five months, imagining so many different emotions all of this poured out into the piece.”