A couple of days ago, a friend sent me a clip of a large crowd in Belarus marching against that tyrant, Lukashenko. They are a brave bunch and I am really keeping my fingers crossed for them.
The reason he sent it was that the most conspicuous instrument being played by the youth, amidst all the guitars, dreadlocks and tattoos , was the bagpipes!
Well I never!! I knew nothing about the national instrument of Belarus: the duda, the Belarusian bagpipes.
(Back in the 1960s, a band from Minsk had a big international hit with I’m the Urban Cosmonaut , Comrade. Who remembers the Bonskoo Dog Duda Band?)
Anyway, as you all know, in the 1940s Woody Guthrie’s axe carried the war cry: “This machine kills fascists. Let’s hope that the same applies today: “These bagpipes topple tyrants!”
If these mighty pipers have anything to do with it, Lukashenko and his wee bampot pals will soon be history! But then again, I know all too well that when a merciless dictator faces a crowd of idealistic young people with their heart in the right place, the bad guys tend to win.
Anyroads, every protest movement has its troubadours and songwriters.
In this case, it’s the late great Victor Tsoi. And his band Kino.
He died 30 years ago in a traffic accident but his legend lives on. I do not understand a word of what he is singing bit I can understand a little of the magic.
I have two questions for you:
What is the best instrument with which to confront tyranny?
The bagpipes, the hurdy gurdy, the tuba, the acoustic guitar, the piano, the banjo, the electric guitar, the harpsichord, the kazoo, the saxophone…..?
And what is your favourite song of protest?
Strange Fruit by Billie Holliday, Staten och Kapitalet by Imperiet, When that man is dead and gone by Al Bowlly, God save the Queen by the Sex Pistols; Fight the Power by Public Enemy, Wat Tyler by Fairport Convention, Won’t get fooled again by the Who, Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochrane, …
Kaisfatdad says
This Irving Berlin composition was the last song that Al Bowlly recorded….
Mrbellows says
Wow. That was brilliant.
Mrbellows says
Oh, man! I’m going to have to get my thinking cap on for this!
My first inclination for an instrument would be the singing voice en masse.
Protest song would be this one.
Mrbellows says
Or this one.
Kaisfatdad says
I think you are right there, Mr B. A large crowd singing together is very empowering.
retropath2 says
Returning to the mighty bagpipe, it is more than protest that they can squeal. Not for nothing have the British army used pipers to lead the way into battle, the skirl of the highland war pipes enough to evoke fear into whomsoever heard and saw the ‘men in skirts’. Sadly, the war graves commission show how many perished, most distant island and highland graveyards displaying their graves.
The bagpipe theory is that, at the time of the renaissance, the appearance of violins and harpsichord prototypes superseded simpler and more “primitive” instruments to the fringes of the then deemed civilised world.Enough writing, who wants the two bastions of the fringes, together, the mighty bagpipe and the majestic banjo? I thought so, so from Fred Morrison’s superb 2009 fusion album, Outlands:
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks for providing some background, Retro.
Amazing how widespread bagpipes are. And how ancient!
I am rather keen about the gaita, the pipes of northern Spain: Astorias and Galicia.
thecheshirecat says
Oh yes, they are everywhere. So many casually uninformed think they are just a Scottish instrument. Far from it! The most surprising place I came across them was when staying with my brother in the Emirates.
I would suspect that most European folk cultures will have some form of bagpipe. They love them in the Morvan.
Julien Cartonnet can also play the banjo – what a star! – but not at the same time.
thecheshirecat says
and Maybe Macedonians love ’em too. But wait a minute, the tune they are playing is a schottische – a German word for a not-at-all-Scottish dance enjoyed across Europe. How confusing.
RobC says
From a distinguished member of the family, the Uilleann pipes. A gorgeous song from a wonderful album of Irish, Bulgarian and Macedonian folk fusion. Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlQW5wK7A6U
hubert rawlinson says
Not forgetting the noise generated by the mass trumpets at Jericho, loud enough to make the walls tremble and fall. “On the seventh day, Joshua commanded his people to blow their trumpets made of rams’ horns and shout at the walls until they finally fell down.”
Could they have created a resonance low enough to make the walls fall?
But the instrument to bring down a tyrant, surely the bombarde ( a type of shawm) should fit the bill if by name only.
thecheshirecat says
Their deeds are as good as their word. This is a declamation on recognition and reclamation of one’s national identity, specifically Breton identity. And few things are more specifically Breton than the bombarde, as you will find at 2:25
Kaisfatdad says
I’ve never really listened to a bombarde before, but you two bombardiers have really put it on the map for me this evening.
Kaisfatdad says
In the Netherlands, the name is “doedelzak.“
In Germany “doodlesack“
A whole blog site on the gaita, the Spanish bagpipes!
http://www.spanishbagpipes.com/blog#
hubert rawlinson says
I mentioned these before Sardinian launeddas and I’m happy to do it again.
One of the few times I’ve been at a concert and come out thinking what have I just seen.
What’s that, you’d like to hear on Indian bagpipes playing Star Wars?
thecheshirecat says
How about some pibgorn? One of my folk club compatriots of Welsh extraction has just acquired one.
thecheshirecat says
and that Sardinian launeddas was outstanding!
Kaisfatdad says
Seconded! , I am so glad you posted it, Hubert
Luigi Lai is in a musical world of his own.
Topette, Fred Morrison, Andy Irvine and Davey Spillane, Blowzabella, Gamelan Sulakat….
Ladies and Gentleman, we are cooking!
The music from the different islands in the Med is so remarkably varied..
I’ve mentioned Hector Zazou’s album of Corsican Polyphony. Do give it a listen!
hubert rawlinson says
Have a Sardinian polyphonic choir to go with Mr Lai.
Kaisfatdad says
Multi-instrumentalist, Carlos Nuñez has achieved considerable fame and commercial success.
He has played with the Chieftains, Ry Cooder, Altman, Sinead O’Connor and many others.
As has Susana Seivane from Galicia.
thecheshirecat says
Oh now look here -daddio. I’m supposed to be working from home today (yes, yes, I know, how the hell does a train driver work from home?) and you go and throw this bait out to distract me! Bagpipes, gurdies, banjos – these are the stuff of life!
So, to keep you going, here’s a cornemuse. If the auvergnats ever wanted independence from their neighbours in the Massif Central, I reckon that if they get to 1:13 of this little ditty at full volume, they will repel all boarders.
And you will know that there will be the twin assault of bombardes and binious later. Vive les bretons! Vive la Bretagne!
thecheshirecat says
As promised. Bombardes and binious. Hear that dancefloor rock!
Freddy Steady says
Well yes, I think we should be told @thecheshirecat, how does a train driver work from home? A model railway of your routes, or something virtual these days?
thecheshirecat says
Union rep. Also an instructor, so some of our training is done on Teams at the moment. Haven’t driven a train all week; I’ve either been in meetings or representing colleagues in hearings. Back in the cab on Monday, which will be the first August Bank Holiday I’ve been on shift since 2008, due to the lack of Shrewsbury Folk Festival.
And here’s our Rosie with a union song that she taught me, with nary a shawm or a Border pipe in sight.
Kaisfatdad says
That was stupendous. It also showed how sometimes one eloquent voice can pack as much punch as a whole choir.
We often say that AW is like a pub. This thread is like being in the snug of a rather charming rural pub in the company of some very knowledgeable pals who have all kind of eye-opening titbits to add to the conversation.
salwarpe says
Let’s not get things out of proportion – I’m sure there’s a way to do these things. Let’s have a big hand for train drivers everywhere!
Kaisfatdad says
Thanks for all your wonderful contributions. This thread is really cooking!
After Hubert’s clip, I am now looking forward to the reboot of Star Wars as a Bollywood musical!
As you can see from these clips, music played an important role in the Aldermaston marches in the late 50s.
and
This article tells the story.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/aug/10/folk.politicsandthearts
Here is the sound of subversion and civil disobedience, as mentioned in the article. Those trad daddios wanted no truck with the H bomb.
Mike_H says
If you want your tyrant to flee his palace in abject terror, the obvious band lineup would be kettle drums, marching band cymals and cowbells, two 6-string basses, massed banjos and accordions, bagpipes, vuvuzelas, pan pipes, a heavily-amplified bontempi organ, 6 death metal vocalists and Yoko Ono in full wailing mode.
That would scare the bejaysus out of ’em and send them running for the hills.
Kaisfatdad says
That’s quite a line up, Mike. I am not sure I would pay to see them, but I would give them a chance at Roskilde.
That is where I saw the Fire! Orchestra. 30 wacky jazzers on one small stage and it was cacophony with a capital F.
Mike_H says
I’m very partial to Fire! Orchestra. I’d definitely go to see them doing this sort of thing.
(Ritual)
thecheshirecat says
My favourite protest song is Palaces of Gold by Leon Rosselson. And if you go to 14:00, you will hear me singing it.
hubert rawlinson says
Le Grande Fromage @thecheshirecat knows his pipes. I met him at a ceilidh where Blowzabella played so this is for him.
I was lucky enough to see them years ago with the twin bagpipes and hurdy gurdys.
thecheshirecat says
Well, funnily enough I was talking to Jo Freya today. As part of a Sidmouth fundraiser, I have paid for Blowzabella to write a tune. You will know that this pleases me beyond measure.
hubert rawlinson says
Shall look forward to hearing it.
Glad you liked the launeddas.
Kaisfatdad says
Some clips showing the joys of playing together, and of painting squiggly white lines on your breasts.
No better start than Timbalada, the percussion community form Candeal in Salvador, founded in 1993 by that great Brazilian showman, Carlinhos Brown. His goal was spread the word about the timbau a local drum, by using it in a poppier context
This clip has a longish introduction by a Brazilian TV host but then gets going.
In a similar vein, Johny Kalsi founded the Dhol Foundation to put Punjabu drum, the dhol, in the limelight.
They too drum up a storm.
Finally, when Scotsmen drum together, they too can give it some welly.
Kaisfatdad says
If you want some tinky, plinky, skronky, plonky pandemonium, nothing can match an Indonesian, gamelan orchestra.
I found the gamelan rather heavy-going, when just listening.
But then I watched this enormous combo at Roskilde, and it all made wonderful sense.
Bur lock old Lukashenko in a padded cell with non-stop gamelan for a day or two and I think he might consider resignation.
hubert rawlinson says
Time for a revolution.
A Eurovolution.
https://eurovisiontimes.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/esc-histroy-how-a-eurovision-song-started-a-revolution/
Kaisfatdad says
We are breaking interesting new ground here today.
The Gaita, Bagpipes and Launeddas are all related.
http://www.folkworld.eu/45/e/albo.html
And Ibon Koteron from Bilbao was a key figure in their revival.
Stupendous stuff!
thecheshirecat says
Looking at that image, you don’t need to screw your eyes up too hard to see the link to the pibgorn and the bombarde either. Can you imagine what if, instead of that wretched vuvuzela, the terraces had warmed to the launeddas? The world would be a better place, wouldn’t it?
retropath2 says
Broadly speaking, they are all whistles really, except some get blown by a bellows. (No, not Mrbellows) Is the fingering all the same, and the same number of holes, I wonder? (Stop sniggering.)
hubert rawlinson says
Another instrument with a name to bring down tyrants the rackett.
Basically a short bassoon.
Kaisfatdad says
I’ve mentioned the timbau and the diol. Here they are along with some other popular drums.
https://jamaddict.com/7-common-drums-used-in-folk-music/
I suspect you all know the djembe from West Africa and the Irish Bodhran.
What about the Bombo Legit
Mike_H says
BBC Radio 3’s “Late Junction” did an entire 1 hour 30 minute programme on bagpipes and bagpipe variants from around the world, back on February 28th 2019. I recorded it at the time.
That show is long gone from the BBC Sounds website, of course.
A bit of syncronicity, because it came up on my random play yesterday evening.
Kaisfatdad says
Great comment, Mike.
Gone but not forgotten, Mike.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002skp
With that track listing, I can probably find some of the things Jennifer played.
Like this.
And here he is again in Toronto..
Those bagpipes are in a class of their own. They look like a piece of lost luggage from a rather old-fashioned railway.
This thread is certainly exploring murky corners of popular music rarely visited on the AW.
We have now left the Roman alphabet behind and are treading boldy…..
Do you do Duduk?
thecheshirecat says
Now then, you’ve all been too coy about posting gurdies. Maybe it’ll be easier if it’s softened by the gentle serenade of two bagpipes, oh, and some rant-stepping into the bargain.
hubert rawlinson says
When two bagpipes are not enough.
Or maybe be be soothed to sleep by a bagpipe and harp combo.
A couple of chums of mine, hurdy gurdy out of view.
thecheshirecat says
He-e-e-e-re’s Ross and Jarlath
retropath2 says
Wonderful: Ross Ainslie is a god to me. Also one of the 2 pipers in the Ferocious Orchestra, the other being the great and thirsty Ali Hutton, strangely, the rhythm guitarist in the Ross and Jarlath trio and bigger band respectively. Some good duo pipes and/or whistles from he and Ainslie as Ross and Ali, as well as he being current piper in Old Blind Dogs.
Love the bagpipes me, realising I have whole shelf of such music, bands with bagpipes and solo stuff from their players.
Kaisfatdad says
Ross Ainslie was a new name for me. Thanks for putting him on the AW map, Retro.
There are not many female pipers, but here is Ross with Brighde Chaimbeul from Skye. playing a medley of Bulgarian tunes.
That got me wondering: are there any pipers on ECM?
And that led to Swedish folk musician, Per Gudmundson, who has played with Lena Wiilemark and Ale Möller, and with his 1982 album, Säckpipa, (Bagpipes), gave a great boost to the revival of the Swedish bagpipes.
https://www.classicalnext.com/net/caprice_records/per_gudmundson/saeckpipa
Here is a track.
Read more abut the revival hre.
http://olle.gallmo.se/sackpipa/revival.php?lang=en
T
Kaisfatdad says
Back to Brighde for a moment. The Grauniad were keen about her album.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/feb/08/brighde-chaimbeul-the-reeling-review-river-lea-gaelic-drones
Here’s an appetiser.
Kaisfatdad says
This comment is slightly off piste, but I feel I must share a discovery with you.
The Belarus pipers confronting tyranny got me thinking of other musicians who have done likewise.
That thought led me first to this French music site. Interesting to read how the Nazis tried to woo the French during the occupation, and how local composers concealed patriotic messages in their music,
https://www.francemusique.fr/en/musical-resistance-and-smuggling-musicians-during-occupation.
That led to this excellent article about French jazz during the Occupation.
http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/french-resistance/double-life-of-french-jazz/
Discovery of the day was that French jazz fans in the 194os called themselves Zazous.
http://holocaustmusic.ort.org/resistance-and-exile/french-resistance/double-life-of-french-jazz/
Hang on! Can there be a connection with one of my favourite producers ,the late, great Hector Zazou?
Sure thing! It was a nickname he got from one of the guys in his band, back in Marseille in
the 50s.
Here is a top notch article about his early years.
https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/11/hector-zazou-feature
Kaisfatdad says
Inspired by Hubert’s clip of Bagad Cap Caval, I got thinking of other events where people gather to make music or dance together.
I’m thinking mostly of somewhat DIY local events for local people which are full of enthusiastic amateurs.
Some of those Belarus pipers might have been at the Rajok Festival of Traditional Music in 2019.
On the bill were: Folk Band Rada, Varhan, Vuraj, Kolisnija, Relikt, Ivan Kirchuk, Ales Los, Dudarski club, Kalyhanka, Bareznburger kapelye, Liubanskija muzyki, Gamanina; Traditional Folk band from Polesie: Babina leta, Chabatuhi, Hatovichy, Cierabianachka, Vytoki, Lukjanovich sisters and etc..
All big names in Minsk, I don’t doubt.
Here in Sweden, it is a glorious sound when a spelmanslag get fiddling.
Hankly panky in Thaxted.
Eistedfodd participants singing the Gorwed Prayer
In Asturias in the north of Spain, there are bagpiping festivals.
Alternatively you could grab your tuba and head for the Tyrol to participate in the Woodstock of Brass.
At some festivals the audience sing along. At this one, they all play along on their brass instruments. I am very impressed.
hubert rawlinson says
At a quick glance I read that at the Eisteddfod they were singing the Corvid prayer.
Kaisfatdad says
To my shame, I did not know what a bagad was until this morning.
It’s a Breton band with bagpipes, bombards and drums and every major city in Brittany has one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagad
The plural of bagad is bagadou! I suspect that Black Lace have done an LP of Bagadou hits.
Read more in French.
http://www.bagadbrieg.bzh/quest-ce-quun-bagad/
When I think of bagpipes, I tend to get a mental picture of a burly Scotsman with an enormous beard, a kilt and sporran and no underpants, Refreshing to see the bagadou, full of young Breton lasses n T shirts,
Kaisfatdad says
Gosh! An English bagpipe ensemble; Zephyrus.
They have a distinctive sound.
https://chriswalshaw.co.uk/zephyrus/
Led by Jon Swayne who is a bagpipe maker.
https://www.jonswayne.com/about
thecheshirecat says
That would be the Jon Swayne who is a founder member of … huzzah! …. Blowzabella. I’m guessing that I may be the only Afterworder who owns a Zephyrus album, though Hubes could surprise me.
hubert rawlinson says
No but it looks like I should.
Moose the Mooche says
I knew who had started this thread just from the title.
God bless KFD.
Kaisfatdad says
Well I never! What a pleasant surprise to see you here!
I am very flattered to hear that I am so instantly recognisable.
A KFD thread is like a delicious, deep-fried Mars bar. You know what you are getting!
Mike_H says
Bagpipes in jazz. What?!?
There’s the frankly not very good (IMO) Rufus Harley.
.
..or there’s the positively fearsome (or is that frightful?) Paul Dunmall.
Kaisfatdad says
I tend to agree with you there, Mike. Rufus was a pioneer but basically something of a novelty.
However listening to the likes of modern pipers like Ross Ainslie, I am convinced that pipers could follow in the footsteps of musicians such as Jan Garbarek, and create some very listenable modern jazz.
Here’s something fun.
I’ve been trying to get some of my Stockholm pals to follow me down Bagpipe Boulevard.
One of them just sent me a delightful clip from Bulgaria.
A researcher going out and doing interviews in the field: some pipers reminiscing.
I do not understand a word she says, but that face tells many a story.
thecheshirecat says
Great Bulgarian footage! It put me in mind of Mike Billington, who has a range of bagpipes that wouldn’t suit a vegetarian. For some, you can pretty much identify their gender.
Moose the Mooche says
The beginning of this post is something I will now cry out in moments of apprehension and astonishment.
Kaisfatdad says
The only Bulgarian music I’ve listened to at any length are those extraordinary. polyphonic women’s choirs.
What a very unearthly sound it is when these folk musicians from the Rhodope Mountains play their kaba-gaida pipes together.
666 is the Number of the Beast. 333 is the number of Bulgarian bagpipers it took to get into the Guinness Book of Records. Some may see a connection between these two facts.
When Brighde Chaimbeul spent a month travelling around Bulgaria to learn more about the folk music, she found that the locals were very friendly, despite the language barrier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jccGfGBkky4&fbclid=IwAR3yKsh6u-diCqoEOMAxsj1kEuDbchvRJ93JeeqmZnprvl6QNQi5nyn8WC8
Kaisfatdad says
Mike Billington is an interesting fellow and knows his pipes.
“A multi-instrumentalist, he plays recorders, crumhorns, shawm, rauschpfeife (and just about anything else you can blow!) and a variety of bagpipes from England, Scotland, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary.”
He he is with the Galician pipes. the gaita.
retropath2 says
A good time to mention Jean-Pierre Rasle, a french player of all of those, including, of course, bagpipes. The missing link between the Albion Dance Band and Jah Wobble.
Kaisfatdad says
That clip was posted by the Bagpipe Society.
Their YT channel had several interesting things, no least this Bavarian combo, Ensemble Unisonus.
I do like that a lot. Classical rather than folk music and written by Ana Maria Leyrsederin dated 1761.
hubert rawlinson says
Can’t find the music to post.
There’s also this.
Kathryn Tickell and Andy Sheppard.
https://www.kathryntickell.com/shop/items/eps/music-for-a-new-crossing-ep
Kaisfatdad says
Great suggestion, Hubert!
I don’t know how I got this far without mentioning Kathryn Tickell.
Basically because I don’t know much about her. Dunce’s Hat for me!
hubert rawlinson says
Of course KFD has form in the bagpipe department.
In his Lusophone post he had already mentioned the bagpipes of Belarus, and on another post he posted these Albanian pipes.
Moose the Mooche says
Anybody else thinking Mulligan and O’Hare?
Kaisfatdad says
“KFD has form in the bagpipe department” !
The jury should consider previous offences when coming to a verdict.
Time for Grand Uncles Bulgaria. From the Tanchaz Folk Festival, here are some of those rowdy Magyars whooping it up with Hurdy gurdies and pipes.
A bit more on the festival..
http://tanchaztalalkozo.hu/2019/index.php/en/videos
Táncház is a big event in Hungary. Hungs just want to have fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BRH-r
Kaisfatdad says
This article about Vermeer and the bagpipes also provides an excellent history of the the instrument- Top notch!
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/folk_music/bagpipe.html
hubert rawlinson says
Let’s go electric!
Kaisfatdad says
I’m glad you mentioned him, Hubert. José Ángel Hevia Velasco, from Asturias i Northern Spain, is not only the inventor f the electric bagpipes. He is also something of a superstar in the piping world.
Busindre Reel is his best known track
Now he has relocated to the Carribbean and is experimenting with Latin sounds and the flute. I’ve never heard bagpipes on a salsa track.
The singers are singing “A me me gusta la gaita” (I like the bagpipes)!
He is certainly exploring new territory.! We are a long way from a soggy Scotsman in a kilt tootling away on the shores of Loch Ness.
retropath2 says
Never heard bagpipes on a salsa track? Where’ve ya bin?
And while we are at it, here’s some indian fusion too, India Alba.
(And btw, yer man Ross Ainslie was in both groups at various times.)
Kaisfatdad says
What day is 10th March every year? It’s international Bagpipe Day of course.
https://www.internationalbagpipeorganisation.com/international-bagpipe-day.html
The International Bagpipe Organisation organise different activities to spread the word about their favourite instrument.
It led me to this: an article about piping in the Garhwal Hills!
https://scroll.in/article/665319/a-reminder-for-the-scots-india-has-a-thriving-bagpipe-tradition-too
Introduced by the British, piping has continued to be popular, not least at weddings! The Empire may be gone, but all over the world, the pipers are still at it. More than anything else I suspect, those military bands have put Scotland on the map as the great nation of pipers.
thecheshirecat says
Oh now look! You’re just goading me to post something about Audlem Bagpipe and Hurdy Gurdy Day again.
Kaisfatdad says
No dawdling please, when it comes to posts about Audlem!!
The writer of this article has really done their homework and goes right back to Nero who loved a bit of piping.
https://theconversation.com/bagpipe-bandits-how-the-english-blew-scotlands-national-instrument-first-55403
Kaisfatdad says
My apologies for rabbiting on, but there are so many interesting artists who are playing pipes of different kinds.
The pipers of Ireland are worthy of thread in their own right. The Uillean Pipes are a gorgeous instrument and I want to hear a lot more. There are many fine players.
Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains. Such a talented, charming man
Correct me if I am being Pollyannaish, but they¨people seem to have piping in their blood over in Ireland. Child prodigy Mikie Smith was met with great respect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqe-vZdInkU&t=93s
In Italy the bagpipes are called zampogna and they are a whacking great beastie, Every gig must be like a wrestling match.
Zampona are particularly popular in the south.
Here’s a fine combo Zampogneria Fiumerapido.
Kaisfatdad says
I am very chuffed about the motley crew of rugged, rebellious, righteous Pipeheads who have stayed on board for this very enjoyable journey of discovery.
Back in 2016 @Murkey was singing the praises of Jarlath Henderson and Ross Ainslie and I was not paying sufficient attention.
But I am now reading through your comments, Murkey and enjoying them a lot..
Some interesting odds and sods..
After Scotland, the country that exports most bagpipes is Pakistan!
In WW2, the playing of bagpipes was banned in Poland by the Nazi occupiers as it inspired nationalistic feelings.
Another WW2 story. Lord Lovat had his own personal piper for the D Day landings.
How magnificently bonkers ( and very heroic) was that?
Mike_H says
I wonder, on D-Day, was Lord Lovat’s landing craft (TMFTL?) a DUKW?