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Frangas non Flectes |
You should read this thread. As to Ronnie Russell, I would think this is a fellow who would be just about taken care of for life. That was a solid-gold badass move, knocking out a guy who had just shot three people and rescuing the Princess. He should've been knighted. ______________________________________________ Carthago delenda est | |||
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| half-genius, half-wit |
You have it just about right, sir. Thank you. My manners and position as a furrin guest on this forum prevent me from making any remark about the poster you mentioned. Here, however, is the Obit of an officer of whom I once had the acquaintance of. A nicer chap would be hard to imagine, and he looked just like anybody's favourite uncle. My apologies for the length of the article on the late Lt Col George Styles GC, but just remember that an entire NATION was awarded the George Cross for their steadfastness under siege by the Luftwaffe in WW2 - I refer, of course, to Malta. Lt Col George Styles, GC Master bomb disposal officer who saved lives in Northern Ireland Diana Condell Wed 16 Aug 2006 23.57 BSTFirst published on Wed 16 Aug 2006 23.57 BST Shares 0 On October 20 1971, George Styles, then a major in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) and deputy assistant director of ordnance services in Northern Ireland, was called to the Europa hotel in the centre of Belfast to deal with an IED (or improvised explosive device) in a telephone booth in the hotel bar. The first of these IEDs, whose purpose appeared to be to wipe out the bomb disposal teams sent to deal with them, had been found at Castlerobin, County Antrim, the previous month and had killed one of Styles' colleagues. In order to deal successfully with such devices, and gather the forensic evidence the bomb-maker invariably left behind, it was crucial to recover an IED intact. When eventually this happened, it was discovered that the box containing the explosive had been booby-trapped. Micro switches at the top and bottom of the container meant that whichever way it was tilted, or the lid was lifted, the bomb would go off. Advertisement Styles, who has died aged 78, had a dummy made - with a light bulb substituted for the detonator - and after experimenting at home on the kitchen table was confident he had worked out how the device operated. Now, with the Europa hotel cordoned off, he and two other RAOC officers began the painstaking process of disarming the bomb. The first state involved disabling the electrical circuits, a task that took seven hours. Finally, he was able to get a line round the device, and in two moves pulled it some 50ft out on to the pavement. Styles always refused to divulge his theory on how to deal with IEDs, but he later admitted that the Europa bomb had been a menacing experience. As he graphically put it, in that telephone booth there was "enough energy to blow your head from your shoulders, your arms and legs from your trunk and your trunk straight through the plate glass windows of the Europa". Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you Read more Bomb-makers leave their "trademark" on the devices they produce, and Styles was fairly sure he both recognised the bomber and that he would have another try. As the unofficial headquarters for legions of journalists covering the Northern Ireland troubles, the 12-storey Europa was a prime target. And indeed, two days later, Styles was called back to the hotel, where a second bomb, containing nearly 40lbs of explosive had been found. Although this device had the same circuitry as the previous one, a mass of complex wiring and micro switches had been added. Also new was a chilling message written on the container, reading, "Tee-hee, hee-hee, ho-ho, ha ha". It took Styles and his team some nine hours to disarm and remove the bomb. On January 11 1972 the award of the George Cross to Styles was announced. The official citation described him as displaying a "calm resolution in control, and a degree of technical skill and personal bravery in circumstances of great danger far beyond the call of duty". During his remaining service in Northern Ireland, he and his team dismantled more than 1,000 devices and destroyed an equal number by controlled explosions. On leaving the province in 1972, Styles was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and subsequently appointed chief ammunition technical officer with responsibility for all RAOC bomb disposal teams both in the UK and abroad. After his retirement in 1974, he continued to use his expertise as an adviser to companies with interests in anti-terrorist measures. His book, Bombs Have No Pity, appeared in 1975. Styles was born in Crawley, Sussex, and educated at Collyers grammar school, Horsham. Following his call-up for national service in 1946, he was commissioned into the RAOC. In 1949 he was selected for a regular commission and attached to the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, with whom he served in Malaya, where he was mentioned in dispatches. On his return to the UK he took an engineering degree from the Royal Military College of Science. Following another tour of duty in Malaya, in command of the 28th Commonwealth Brigade Ordnance Field Park, he was posted to Germany, from where he went to Northern Ireland in 1969. Styles was an immensely likeable man with a rather droll sense of humour, who enjoyed shooting and collecting rare cartridge ammunition. He is survived by his wife Mary, whom he married in 1952, a son and two daughters. · Stephen George Styles, bomb disposal expert, born March 16 1928; died August 1 2006 | |||
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Member |
Thank you for the article, Tac. | |||
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A Grateful American |
Allow me, Tac. To wit...
Feel free to post all your awards and pontificate of all your military exploits. "the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב! | |||
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| half-genius, half-wit |
Thank you, Sir. I could not have put it better myself. | |||
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